The Dallas Cowboys won their third-straight game with a convincing 45-10 win over the Washington Commanders. Despite the 35-point blowout, this game was relatively close for most of the contest before the Cowboys pulled the rug out in the fourth quarter. There were good things on offense, defense, and special teams. Here are 10 thoughts on this Thanksgiving runaway victory from our beloved boys in blue.
1. PICK-SIX HISTORY
DaRon Bland is having an incredible season. Last week, the second-year corner tied Eric Allen for the most interceptions returned for a touchdown in a season with four. Now, he has that record all to himself as he did it again. It’s just incredible that this guy is able to lurk in the trees, jump routes, and fly to the end zone. Bland has had an interception in four of his last five games and continues to lead the league in picks with seven on the year. It’s a special moment for a special player.
2. FOURTH-QUARTER ONSLAUGHT
For a while, it appeared as if the Cowboys were allowing Washington to hang around as they took a 20-10 lead into halftime and it remained that way until the fourth quarter. In less than 10 minutes, the Cowboys tacked on another 25 points after a Brandon Aubrey field goal, CeeDee Lamb touchdown (and two-point conversion), KaVontae Turpin touchdown, and then finally capped off by the Bland pick-six. As this team often likes to do, the Cowboys held serve throughout most of the game, and like melted butter, they went on a roll.
3. CRUISIN AT HOME
The Cowboys are 5-0 in the confines of AT&T Stadium this season. Not only have they won every game at home this year, they’ve never trailed. They get up early and stay up. And not only do they win, but they win big. The Cowboys have a point differential of +140 at home this season. That means they are beating teams at home by an average of 28 points this year. That’s absolutely crazy!
4. MORE TOUCHDOWNS FOR PRESCOTT
Can you believe that Dak Prescott only had one game where he threw more than one touchdown pass over the first six games of the season? With his four-touchdown effort against Washington, Prescott has now had five straight games with multiple passing touchdowns and has taken over the lead for most touchdowns this season with 23. For anyone who doesn’t think Prescott belongs in the MVP conversation, think again.
5. DEFENSE COULDN’T GET OFF THE FIELD
The final score screams dominance, but we know better. This game had its share of stress throughout the first three quarters. The reason for this is that the Cowboys’ defense couldn’t seem to get off the field. Excluding the end-of-half possession, Washington’s first six possessions all went for at least six plays and helped them hold a significant time of possession advantage of 37 minutes compared to just 23 for the Cowboys. The Commanders weren’t putting up many points, but they made it hard for the Cowboys’ defense to get off the field and kept them in it for the great majority of the game.
6. FINALLY ALLOWED A 100-YARD PERFORMER
This Cowboys defense has faced some talented skill players this season. Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, A.J. Brown, and Cooper Kupp to name a few. But what they haven’t faced is a player who has put up 100 yards on them this season either rushing or receiving. That is, until now and the player that did it might surprise you. Commanders receiver Curtis Samuel had nine catches for exactly 100 yards on Thursday, ending that streak.
7. RED ZONE PERFECTION
It’s no secret the Cowboys’ offense has struggled in the red zone this season as they were fourth-worst in the league just a couple of weeks ago. But they have shown improvement in recent weeks going 6/7 against the New York Giants 11 days ago and were a perfect 3/3 against the Commanders on Thursday. This is a promising sign for a team that continues to get better on offense.
8. STILL PERFECT
Brandon Aubrey made two more field goals on Thursday and is now a perfect 23 for 23 on the year. He and Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker are the only two kickers who have made 100% of their field goals this season. Aubrey has been sharp at FGs, but he did miss an extra point for the second-straight game. It’s odd how he strikes those field goals right down the middle, but then will pull the PAT to the left.
9. A MARKQUESE SCARE
There was a brief moment when Cowboys fans were on pins and needles after linebacker Markquese Bell was seen down on the ground. Fortunately, Bell only missed limited time and was back out there. One can’t help but think that this could serve as a reminder of how thin the Cowboys linebacker group is and could add some fuel to the Shaq Leonard interest the team already has.
10. SECOND-BEST RECORD IN THE LEAGUE
A win is nice, but this team still has a lot of work to do if they are to catch the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles. It’s unfortunate that the Eagles are doing so well because if the Cowboys were in any other division, they’d be in the lead. At 8-3, only the Eagles have a better record than Dallas. It’s a tough pill to swallow to think that the Cowboys could finish with the second-best record in the league and still end up playing a road game on wild card weekend.
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