LAS VEGAS – After a long, difficult bye week for the Cowboys following the loss of Marshawn Kneeland, Dallas returned to the gridiron for their first game since the tragedy on Monday night.
Brian Schottenheimer said earlier in the week that for some players, getting back on the grass would be the best thing for them. For others, it would still be painful and emotional.
There was a mixture of both on Monday night, but the Cowboys achieved their goal of honoring Kneeland through their play with a big 33-16 win over the Raiders.
Let's dive into more news and notes from Dallas' fourth win of the seasons:
The Cowboys lost 44-24 to the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon, with self-inflicted wounds and big plays being allowed being among the factors that slowed Dallas down.
Strong Response
The beginning of the game for the Cowboys came with a surprise on offense, as both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were not on the field with the offense on the opening drive.
The team later announced that it was a coaches decision after "they missed some things," and Brian Schottenheimer reiterated the same following the game, without diving into much more detail but saying that the decision was made on Monday.
In response to being benched, Pickens caught nine passes for 144 yards and a touchdown with Lamb adding five more catches for 66 yards and a touchdown as well, all good for a combined 14 receptions, 210 yards of offense and two touchdowns.
The Debuts
On a night full of NFL, season and Cowboys debuts, newly-acquired DT Quinnen Williams stole the show with a dominant performance in his first game as a Cowboy. Williams finished with 1.5 sacks, five QB hits, five pressures, a tackle for loss and four total tackles.
The other new external addition for the Cowboys was LB Logan Wilson, who played 32 snaps and dialed two tackles. The other linebacker playing for Dallas for the first time this season? DeMarvion Overshown, who made his long-awaited return to the lineup and played 29 snaps with a tackle and a TFL as he ramps back up to full shape.
Rookie CB Shavon Revel played his first NFL game on Monday night after recovering from an ACL tear that cut his final year at East Carolina short. Brian Schottenheimer said that the Cowboys would get him into the game and involved, and they did, as he played 17 snaps with a tackle, allowing one reception on two targets for four yards.
Dialing it Up
The Cowboys' pass rush has struggled to find consistency all season long. They're hoping that the performance they put on display Monday night will turn into the new norm thanks to the new additions they made at the trade deadline, and getting some of their other players back and healthy.
Dallas' pass rush sacked Geno Smith four times for a loss of 29 yards. They generated pressure on Smith on 30.6% of his drop backs, where he completed three of his nine passes for just 23 yards.
Matt Eberflus deployed a blitz on 30.6% of the Cowboys' defensive snaps, leading to the four sacks as well as a 30.6% pressure rate and a 26.5% hurry rate for Geno Smith.
Everybody Eats
We covered the big night that CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens had earlier in Pic 6, but the Cowboys offense was spreading the love throughout the entire night.
Four different Cowboys receivers caught a touchdown pass, with Jake Ferguson and Ryan Flournoy joining the fun in the end zone. Eight different Cowboys players caught a pass, leading to 267 of the 381 total offensive yards for Dallas coming through the air. Oh, and don't forget Javonte Williams adding 22 carries for 93 yards on the ground as well, with Malik Davis making the most of his opportunities as well adding four carries for 20 yards at five yards per carry.
All Three Levels
At all three levels of the defense, the Cowboys found success on Monday night.
Starting up front on the defensive line, the four sacks and 13 pressures had an effect on Geno Smith throughout the course of the entire night and limited the Raiders on what they could do offensively.
In tandem with the defensive line, Dallas' linebacker core helped step up in the run game, with the front seven limiting the Raiders to 27 total yards rushing. All the moves that Dallas has made since before the year began have been with the intention of stopping the run, and they were able to do so against Las Vegas.
Last but not least, Dallas' secondary forced a turnover after a Kenneth Murray tipped pass that landed in the hands of Markquese Bell for an interception.
Dak Delivers
For the 13th time in his career with the Cowboys, Dak Prescott had a four-plus passing touchdowns game.
Prescott finished the day completing 25 of his 33 passing attempts for 268 yards, and said following the game he was looking to be a "point guard" by spreading the ball out efficiently to all his receivers.
Prescott and head coach Brian Schottenheimer also knew they'd be facing a defense with a lot of spot drops, and the Cowboys' receivers were in their spots on time when Prescott let the ball go to them.
