JJT: 10 Thoughts on the Cowboys’ Win Over Detroit

The Cowboys evened their record at 2-2 thanks to one of the best performances of Ezekiel Elliott's career. Here's are NBC 5 Cowboys Insider Jean-Jacques Taylor's 10 thoughts on the Cowboys' 26-24 win over the Detroit Lions Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

1. You ask anybody of note in the Cowboys' organization and they'll tell you Ezekiel Elliott had the best game of his career Sunday against the Detroit Lions. He carried 25 times for 152 yards and caught four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Elliott accumulated 240 total yards, surpassing his previous career-high of 219 against San Francisco last season.

2. Dak Prescott passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns. He had three completions of more than 30 yards as he surpassed the 200-yard mark for first time this season and only the third time in the past 12 games.

3. DeMarcus Lawrence had a terrific game with eight tackles, three sacks and three tackles for loss. He also hit the quarterback twice. He's a relentless pass-rusher and that's why he already has 4.5 sacks.

The Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions with a late, game-winning drive, but the defense did it's part too, behind defensive end Demarcus “Tank” Lawrence, who recorded a career high three sacks. NBC 5 Sports Director Newy Scruggs and Cowboys Insider Jean-Jacques Taylor discuss what it’s going to take after this year to keep Tank in a Cowboys uniform.

4. Kicker Brett Maher made the first game-winning kick of his NFL career, a 38-yarder as time expired. Maher, playing his first season in Dallas, replaced Dan Bailey, the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history.

5. This is how the Cowboys' envisioned their passing game working when the season began. Five players were targeted at least five times, five players caught at least two passes, five players had at least 30 yards receiving and four players had a reception of at least 19 yards, including three players who caught at least one pass for 30 yards.

Blue Star

The center of the Dallas Cowboys universe.

Dallas Cowboys 2 hours ago

Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott reportedly discussing potential reunion

Dallas Cowboys Apr 18

A new Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders show is coming to Netflix this summer

Dak Prescott has received a lot of the criticism when the Cowboys have struggled this year, but he answered the bell in a 26-24 win over the Detroit Lions. NBC 5 Sports Director Newy Scruggs and former Cowboys defensive back Dennis Thurman discuss how far Prescott has come and how he needs to play moving forward to keep this team winning.

6. The Cowboys established season highs in points (26), plays (65), yards (414) and first downs (26) without committing a turnover.

7. Leighton Vander Esch, making his first NFL start in place of Sean Lee, did a solid job with six tackles. He made at least two or three open-field tackles, including his best play. Near the end of the first half, the Lions set up a screen and Theo Riddick had three blockers in front of him, but Vander Esch knifed between the blockers and tackled him for a two-yard gain.

8. In the last two weeks, Elliott has accounted for gains of 19, 19, 19, 21, 26, 34 (receiving), 38 (receiving) and 41 on a total of 48 touches. Wow.

Zeke's career day, Dak eclipses 200 passing yards and everything else you need to know about the Cowboys' 26-24 win over the Detroit Lions from NBC 5's Pat Doney.

9. Golden Tate, who caught eight passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, became the first receiver this season to have a 100-yard game against the Cowboys. He had touchdown receptions of 45 and 38 yards.

10. Dak Prescott threw deep balls to Michael Gallup, Ezekiel Elliott and Tavon Austin. He completed two of the three for gains of 37 and 34 yards, respectively, and the pass to Austin should've been a 34-yard touchdown, but he dropped the ball. It would've been a contested catch, but one Austin would tell you he should've caught.