The Dallas Cowboys have won nine straight games in a row and are without a doubt one of the best teams in the entire NFL. That’s quite a turnaround from the 4-12 team they were last year.
After watching the first half, it was hard to imagine that the Cowboys would be the victor in this game. The Baltimore Ravens did everything in their power to control Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott, but the young rookies were too much for them in the end.
Speaking of Elliott and Prescott, they continue to break records with their impressive play on the field.
Prescott threw for at least two touchdowns in his fifth consecutive game, tying Dan Marino and Russell Wilson as the only other rookies to ever accomplish that feat. Elliott broke Tony Dorsett’s rookie rushing record for the Dallas Cowboys (1,007) that was set back in 1977. Elliott now has 1,102 rushing yards on the season.
Although this was still an impressive win, I still wanted to share with you what I thought was The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly for the Dallas Cowboys against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Good
I actually debated about which part of this game I wanted to mention in the good category, but how could you not say that what Dak Prescott was able to do doesn’t belong here.
Prescott and the rest of the Dallas Cowboys offense started off a little slow, but he ended the game throwing for 301 yards and three touchdowns.
Honestly, I was a little worried while watching the first half that this was the game that we finally see Prescott unravel, but to his credit he stood in there and finished strong.
There were a few times that I thought he might not be able to continue after some of the big hits he took, but I really admire how he continued to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball downfield. I really liked how he finally got Terrance Williams and Brice Butler involved as well.
This performance solidifies why he is still the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, despite a healthy Tony Romo.
The Bad
I’m going to go out on a limb here and probably catch a lot of flak, but I think the bad this game was on the defensive side of the ball for the Dallas Cowboys.
I honestly believe that this was arguably their worst performance of the season, but they were still able to do just enough to secure a victory.
The Cowboys defense continues to perform over expectations, but really struggled with an average Baltimore Ravens offense yesterday afternoon.
Terrance West was pretty much untouched when he ran for a touchdown in the first quarter, and Joe Flacco had all day to throw the entire game.
This game was a lot closer than it should’ve been because the defense struggle get the Ravens off the field in some key situations.
The defense can’t continue to play like this if they want to be a playoff contender. The Cowboys will face better offenses down the road, especially in the postseason.
The Ugly
It would be too easy to say that the entire first half or all of the penalties for the Dallas Cowboys was the ugly, but I’m going to go a different direction here and say that it was Ezekiel Elliott.
No, I’m not saying that Elliott’s performance was in any way ugly. I’m saying that he faced the top run defense in the NFL and had to grind out those ugly/dirty yards that we haven’t had to see him do just yet.
He finished the night just 3 yards from hitting the 100 yard mark (97) on 25 carries, and also added four receptions for 30 yards.
This might be one of my favorite performances by Elliott to date. He didn’t see very many wide open running lanes, but he continued to grind out yards, which opened up the passing game.
This is one of the reasons why Ezekiel Elliott is so valuable to this offense. Defenses have to account for him and this time Dez Bryant was the beneficiary because for some reason the Ravens defense decided to devote one defender to try and guard him.
What is your Good, Bad, and Ugly for the Cowboys against Baltimore?
Please feel free to use the comment section below to share your thoughts and opinions on this topic.
