Le s than three weeks after falling to 3-5, the have emerged as the front-runners and clear-cut best team in the NFC East.On Thursday, the Cowboys turned away the Alex Smith-le s with a comfortable 31-23 win, avoided both falling into a two-game hole in the division and surrendering the head-to-head tiebreaker to Washington, and pulled even with them atop the NFC East. In the proce s, for at the trade deadline is starting to look like the catalyst of their surge. Coupled with the acquisition of Cooper might be what ends up deciding the fate of the division. The Cowboys needed Cooper to win the biggest game of their season. Trailing 13-10 midway through the third quarter, Cooper powered the Cowboys to victory by scoring two long-range touchdowns on consecutive drives. The first touchdown -- a 40-yard catch and run -- put the Cowboys ahead by four points. Falling down in coverage against Cooper is not advisable: Feast your eyes on this TD! Dallas
Jason Verrett Jersey Cowboys (@dallascowboys) On the Cowboys' next series, Cooper broke loose for a 90-yard touchdown that buried the Redskins. AMARI COOPER GOES BACK FOR SECONDS.90-YARD TOUCHDOWN! : on FOX NFL (@NFL) From there, the Cowboys cruised to a comfortable win in a game that started as a slog before morphing into a blowout that the Redskins adorned with a couple of late garbage-time scores. The Cowboys began the game with a touchdown on their opening series, during which Cooper converted two key third downs with some slick routes, but points were hard to come by in the first half. At halftime, the Cowboys led 10-7. On the other side of the break, the Redskins took the lead via an unlikely source in , who set up his team with excellent field position with a 30-yard punt return before he hauled in a touchdown three plays later. The Redskins led 13-10 after a mi sed extra point. Then it all unraveled. Cooper scored those two touchdowns. promptly turned the ball over. And made the blowout official with a five-yard touchdown run.As a result, the Redskins and Cowboys are neck and neck atop the NFC East at 6-5. But the Cowboys are the only team equipped to pull away. The Redskins, after two straight lo ses and a devastating injury, are sinking like a stone in the sea. The Cowboys, after three straight wins and the addition of Cooper, are on the mend. Make no mistake about it, the Cowboys are the new front-runners in the NFC East -- in
Ahkello Witherspoon Jersey part because the division stinks, but also because they're getting hot at the exact right moment. And the Cowboys are heating up partly because they finally have a WR1 on their offense. When you've made one good personnel decision CJ Fogler (@cjzero) It's not just about his catches and touchdowns, though those have undoubtedly fueled the Cowboys. Cooper's impact extends beyond that. His mere presence allows the Cowboys to spread out their offense, to modernize their personnel groupings, to create more space for , and to give Prescott an explosive downfield target.That doesn't mean the Cowboys won't eventually come to regret the price they paid to acquire Cooper, but for now, they're more than happy riding him to the promised land. As of now, Cooper appears to be the prince that was promised. Zeke keeps on eating Entering Thursday, Elliott was on an absolute tear with 500 yards from scrimmage over his past three outings. He didn't slow down against the Redskins, picking up 143 yards on 31 touches. He got the party started with a touchdown on the opening series of the game. , Elliott Zeke to the & tops it off with a donation right into the red kettleYou can donate now by texting "kettles" to 91999 Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) Great shot from of Ezekiel Elliotts $21 red kettle donation Jon
Solomon Thomas Jersey Machota (@jonmachota) On that opening series, Zeke totaled 34 yards on five touches. The Cowboys kept on feeding him. And he kept on feasting. Zeke just to sing dudes now The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) Over his past four games, Zeke has now put up 643 yards on offense. Ezekiel Elliott has: 6 games with 100+ rush yards this season (Most in NFL) 11 games with 100+ rush yards since 2017 (T-Most in NFL, Todd Gurley) 18 games with 100+ rush yards since 2016 (Most in NFL) NFL Research (@NFLResearch) That'll work. Dak finishes strong Dak is a very strong man. If you didn't already know that, you learned about it toward the end of the first half when he shrugged off a sack and converted a huge third down. . refuses to go down and finds his receiver for the first down! : on FOX NFL (@NFL) Later on that drive, though, Prescott underthrew a wide-open touchdown as he backpedaled away from pre sure before taking an unnece sary sack on the next play
Dee Ford Jersey , resulting in the Cowboys settling for a field goal. The Cowboys couldn't connect on this would-be TD on 1st down.They ended up settling for a FG. FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) Ain't nothin' but a TEAM thang. | Washington Redskins (@Redskins) At the same time, it's fair to question the Cowboys' play-calling. Why weren't they running Zeke on at least one of those plays above? But that doesn't absolve Dak of mi sing an open man and taking a sack. It didn't help that the Redskins' pa s rush penetrated the pocket with ease for much of the first half, leading to le s than ideal pa sing conditions. They sacked him four times in the first half. But the offensive line shored up protection in the second half, allowing zero sacks over the final 30 minutes of gameplay. And Dak made a few big-time plays down the stretch. You already saw his pair
Jimmie Ward Jersey of touchdowns to Cooper. He also scored a touchdown with his legs that turned a 11-point game into an 18-point advantage. Just ridiculous, .Another touchdown!: on FOX NFL (@NFL) In all, Dak went 22 of 31 for 289 yards, two touchdowns, no picks, and a 121.6 pa ser rating. He wasn't perfect, but he was good enough, especially late in the game. That'll also work. McCoy's turnovers prove costly To no one's surprise, Colt McCoy didn't look like a starting-caliber quarterback for most of the evening's events.He nearly got picked on his first pa s of the game. He fumbled on his third drop-back, but his own team fell on the loose football. On the Redskins' second series -- after he made a few nice plays to escape pre sure -- McCoy gifted the Cowboys this free interception. . early feasting with this interception. Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) McCoy rebounded midway through the second quarter when he hooked up with agele s tight end for a game-tying, 53-yard touchdown. And just like that we are TIED!Colt McCoy with a DIME to Vernon Davis! FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) At that point in the game, the Redskins had accumulated 132 yards on offense. The Redskins' tight ends, Davis and , were responsible for 102 of those yards. In the third quarter, McCoy turned a three-point deficit into a three-point lead wit
