DALLAS — When the Dallas Cowboys were coming out of training camp this summer, a game like Sunday’s victory over the reigning NFC champions was what many observers expected. Preseason pundits anticipated seeing a good team who was capable of putting together complete performances in all three phases of the game.
In reality, the Cowboys haven’t had many efforts like those in 2020. However, in Week 15, Dallas had one of their best games of the year in a 41-33 win over the San Francisco 49ers. The triumph proved meaningful as well as the team remains in the NFC East race heading into the final two weeks of the season. A 5-9 record never looked so momentarily acceptable.
For a team that has seen its effort questioned all season, it didn’t look like they lacked any heart in this game. The special teams unit set the tone early when they forced a fumble on a punt following a stalled drive. Defensive end Dorance Armstrong’s hit that caused Niners’ Richie James to lose the ball gave Dallas their first turnover of the game. It wouldn’t be their last.
Just as they did in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cowboys turned the miscue into points. Running back Tony Pollard cashed in with a 1-yard touchdown run five plays later after making his first start of the season for an injured Ezekiel Elliot.
After scoring 17 points off of turnovers in Cincinnati, the Cowboys turned four 49ers turnovers into 24 points this week. Good teams take advantage of their opportunities and Dallas made sure to make San Francisco pay for giving up the ball.
Meanwhile, for a defense that’s taken a beating all year long, and even though they gave up a boatload of yards, the Cowboys had a strong showing. Fittingly, the defense was the unit that got some of its secondary pieces back on Sunday and they made a big difference.
Cornerback Anthony Brown and safety Donovan Wilson returned after multi-game absences and each player had a big fourth quarter interception. Wilson’s pick was perhaps the key play of the game as the 49ers had the ball with the game tied early in the fourth quarter.
After Wilson’s takeaway, the Cowboys managed to kick a field goal to take the lead and put the pressure back on San Francisco’s backup quarterback Nick Mullens. That was exactly where the Cowboys wanted to be against the mistake-prone QB.
With a lead, and the ability to send pressure, it didn’t take long for the defense to make another big play. Brown’s interception as the 49ers were driving with under three minutes to play gave the Cowboys an opportunity to seal the game. The Dallas secondary has been picked on this season, but when they needed to make plays on Sunday, they stepped up against the 49ers.
With the ball back in Andy Dalton’s hands, and an opportunity to salt the game away, Pollard essentially ended the contest with his spectacular 40-yard touchdown run. The scamper on which Pollard broke tackles and accelerated for the score was one of the highlight plays of the season for the Cowboys.
If you’re on Team Running Backs Don’t Matter or believe that Pollard brings more to the offense, today was your day. The second-year runner was electric, running for two scores and contributing in the passing game as well. There haven’t been many games this season where Elliott has looked as good as Pollard did on Sunday afternoon. The sophomore back out of Memphis totaled 132 yards and contributed a pair of touchdowns in his first look as the feature back.
The oft-maligned special teams unit capped off the win when wideout CeeDee Lamb returned an onside kick for a touchdown. Though it was something of a meaningless score and under unusual circumstances, Lamb’s TD still marked the first kick return touchdown for Dallas since the 2008 season.
Ultimately the win allowed Dallas to finally do something resembling a victory lap on some of their recent decisions.
Signing Dalton has shown to be a smart move. He brings a calming presence and a leadership quality that the offense needs without Dak Prescott. Though Dallas would prefer to have their franchise signal caller, Dalton is the best backup the team has had in a long time.
The game also highlighted defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and showed why the franchise gave him a big contract extension. Lawrence made big plays all game long, including a strip sack of Mullens.
Dallas can also point to this game as reasons for why they brought in defensive end Aldon Smith, inserted Wilson into the starting lineup, extended Brown, and drafted cornerback Trevon Diggs and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore.
Each of those defenders made plays to help win the game for the Cowboys.
Now the Cowboys have won back-to-back games for the first time this season. The win was an impressive effort, especially on defense, to keep the team in contention for a postseason berth. For a team that traditionally struggles to get takeaways, producing four, including two in key moments, was not something many people saw coming.
No one on the Dallas Cowboys has given up on the season and their effort in the win over the 49ers proved that the team is still in the hunt.
Are you happy that the Cowboys have started winning or is it too little, too late? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
