Nothing is more satisfying than eating great food, spending time with family, and enjoying a nice Cowboys victory on Thanksgiving. Of course, things haven’t been so delightful in recent years as the previous two Thanksgiving games left fans with an upset stomach.
Last year, Tony Romo got knocked out of the game, throwing the dirt on any chances the Cowboys had to make the playoffs. In 2014, things were also unsettling as Romo threw two interceptions and finished with less than 200 yards passing with no TDs. Dallas lost to the Eagles 33-10, allowing them to jump ahead of the Cowboys in the division race.
Things are quite different now. The Cowboys have a healthy quarterback and nobody is even remotely concerned about his durability. Dallas has won their tenth straight game, which has never been done before in franchise history. They have a two-game division lead.
And right now, the Dallas Cowboys are being touted as the best team in the NFL. It's an exciting time and we have a lot to be thankful for. It was a great win, but what stood out the most? Here are my observations from Thursday.
Play Calling
It is easy to criticize the play calling when things don’t go as planned. In past years, how many times have people jumped on the offense for not being able to preserve a lead by chewing up some clock. Defenses would load the box and Tony Romo would check out of a running play only to have something terrible happen. Well, Scott Linehan has found some new answers to keep the defense honest and it comes with some creative play calling.
The Cowboys sent a message right out of the gate with a Lucky Whitehead jet sweep that gained 15 yards. This has been a very productive play for Dallas this season. Not only does it pick up good yardage when Lucky gets the ball, but it makes the defense recognize his presence every time he goes in motion. This makes it harder for those edge guys to just sell out to stop Ezekiel Elliott.
Another play that works well against a loaded box is the Cole Beasley bubble-screen. With Washington over-committing to stop the run down a score late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys caught them off guard with a quick pass to Beasley. Both Dez Bryant and Tyron Smith did a great job picking up their blocks and Beasley did the rest to get the first down. This is the second time the Cowboys have used this play (the other against San Francisco) to get a first down to put the game away.
There are a lot of people who moan and groan about the lack of resources this team commits towards the defense compared to the offense, but they should take satisfaction in the fact that the offense is taking matters in their own hands late in the game and not leaving it up to the defense to hold the lead.
Cowboys have won 5 games this year by only one score. In 4 of them the offense has taken matters in their own hands to close out the game.
— Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) November 25, 2016
The Prescott Advantage
Every time the defense guesses wrong on the read option it turns out to be a big gain for the Cowboys offense. Dak Prescott will read the defense and figure out where he should go with the ball. If the edge over pursues the inside, Dak will just keep it and push to the outside. He had a nice 18 yard run capped off with a nice “who’s your daddy” stiff arm.
And if the edge stays put, the Prescott lets the running back keep it and they burst through the middle. Alfred Morris had a 12-yard run that was directly attributed to a successful read option.
Even the bootleg becomes a formidable option for this offense as teams are forced to try to stop Elliott. The Cowboys rookie quarterback took full advantage as he was able to use his speed and go untouched into the end zone.
These are things that Tony Romo just can’t do for this offense.
Taking Care Of The Ball
For the fourth straight game, the Cowboys defense has failed to create a turnover. It’s starting to feel like déjà vu all over again as the defense finished dead last in takeaways last season with only 11. So far this season, they only have 10, which is fifth worst in the league.
The defense has certainly has struggled in this department, which is odd since they often times make teams one dimensional and usually have a lot of players around the ball.
But while not a whole lot has changed with the generating turnovers, there has been a drastic change from the offense with protecting the ball. In 2015, the Cowboys gave the ball away 33 times, which tied them with the Tennessee Titans for worst in the league. After 11 games, the Cowboys are now second only to the Buffalo Bills for fewest turnovers in the league with a miniscule six giveaways.
Why such a night and day difference? Well, it’s simple – Dak Prescott is taking care of the ball. Between Tony Romo, Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel, and Kellen Moore, the Cowboys threw 22 interceptions last year.
Prescott has only thrown two.
Defense
If there is any reason to be concerned in Cowboys Nation it would be directed towards the vulnerability of the defense. For the second time in three weeks, the defense has allowed a quarterback to throw for 400+ yards. It’s concerning.
Especially since they struggle to put pressure on the quarterback and create turnovers. But as soft as they look at times, it shouldn’t go unnoticed that they are playing with such a great collective effort from so many players across the board. Check out all who contributed with some key plays in the game:
First, the Rushmen…
David Irving continues to make splash plays in limited snaps. He hit Kirk Cousins as he was throwing, causing the pass to be off target. He got into the backfield twice causing the Redskins running backs to be tackled for a loss.
Tyrone Crawford had two big pressures causing Cousins to throw incompletions, including one on third and goal that forced the Redskins to settle for a field goal.
Cedric Thornton sniffed out a screen pass and was able to trip up Rob Kelly in the backfield saving the Cowboys ten yards and putting the Redskins behind the chains. They would miss the field goal on fourth down.
DeMarcus Lawrence put pressure on Cousins forcing him to get rid of the ball on third and goal.
And, then there’s the linebackers…
Justin Durant read a screen play well and tackled Jamison Crowder at the line of scrimmage, which made the Redskins field goal attempt longer. And they missed it.
Anthony Hitchens also diagnosed a screen pass extremely well and tackled Chris Thompson for a five-yard loss.
It’s not surprising when Sean Lee makes big plays. He got in on the action when he busted through line to tackled Kelly for a loss.
But the real surprise is the continuous quality play from second year player, Damien Wilson. Not only is he getting making more tackles against the run, but he had a great onside kick recovery when the Redskins tried to be sneaky and steal a possession midway through the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys defense is quietly ranked second against the run, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens.
And then there is that banged up secondary…
Byron Jones shows up again and again, both in coverage and against the run. He make the Redskins regret trying that silly wild cat play at the goal line when he tackled Kelly for a loss. And while many will remember the pass interference penalty when Jordan Reed made that great catch, Jones still held his own against the pass. He had a great pass defended effort against Vernon Davis.
Anthony Brown also will be remembered for the wrong reason after he let DeSean Jackson get behind him on that deep touchdown pass, but the kid still kept fighting. Brown would have a touchdown saving pass defense on the Redskins next possession.
And speaking of touchdown saving pass defense, Brandon Carr had great position and was able to get his hand in to deflect a pass at the Redskins goal line. Washington would have to settle for a field goal.
For as much offense as the Redskins had, they didn’t score a touchdown until the start of the fourth quarter.
What things caught your attention? Share them with Dan on Twitter @DannyPhantom24.
