The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Washington Commanders for the fourth time in the past six attempts this past Thursday.
A 45-10 win gives the Dallas Cowboys an 8-3 record on the season, matching Detroit and San Francisco for the second-best record in the NFC.
The blowout victory also marks the first time in QB Dak Prescott’s tenure that the Cowboys won back-to-back Thanksgiving Day games.
Last year, the Cowboys knocked off fellow division rival New York by the score of 28-20.
Like last November, this year’s Thanksgiving Day victory comes after a strong performance from QB Dak Prescott coupled with a strong defense led by Micah Parsons.
Washington kept the game close with timely third-down conversions that helped them win the time-of-possession battle, but it wasn’t enough.
Dallas’ quick-strike offense and stifling defense proved to be too much for HC Ron Rivera’s group.
In a 35-point win, there are several players with notable performances to point out.
Today, I am choosing my top three standout stars for the Dallas Cowboys, and recognizing them for their efforts.
Dak Prescott
It might be cliché to list the quarterback first on the list, but there really isn’t anywhere else to start.
Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has been playing like an All-Pro since the blowout loss in San Francisco.
The Cowboys have won five of the six games since, with the only loss being on the road in Philadelphia.
Even in the loss, Dallas was on the verge of scoring the go-ahead touchdown before unraveling in the moment.
Despite the loss, Prescott was the superior quarterback over his counterpart on the Eagles’ sideline.
Dak was also superior to Commanders’ QB Sam Howell on Thursday.
Prescott was surgical. He finished 22/32 for 331 yards and four touchdown passes, and most importantly, zero sacks and zero turnovers.
After punting on their first possession of the game, Prescott led the Cowboys to three straight touchdown drives to end the first half.
He completed passes to 10 different pass catchers and completed 68.7% of his passes on his way to a season-high 142.1 QB Rating.
Prescott put the cherry on top of a great passing day with a beautiful 34-yard touchdown pass to WR KaVontae Turpin up the seam.
Dak then celebrated by pulling a turkey leg out of the bottom of a Salvation Army kettle.
He bit into the turkey leg as he put his ball cap on, knowing his day was done.
Micah Parsons
Mentioning Micah Parsons on any players of the game list seems redundant.
I liken it to how LeBron James hasn’t won NBA MVP every season since he became the dominant force that he is.
It’s not that he wasn’t the best player on the planet every season.
It’s that players like LeBron and Micah fall short of expectations any moment they aren’t looking like gods amongst men.
As much as we might think these players are machines, they’re humans just like us, and maintaining dominance isn’t easy.
Parsons experienced this himself after not making the stat sheet for the first time in his career in a win over the New York Giants a few weeks ago.
What has he done since then?
Oh, nothing. Just 9.0 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, five pressures, and six quarterback hits.
Parsons is up to 11.5 sacks on the season after a 1.5-sack effort against the Commanders and Sam Howell.
Micah dominated the Commanders’ offensive line, and once again drew several holding penalties that weren’t called on the field.
He sits 1.5 sacks behind the league lead, held by Cleveland’s Myles Garrett with 13.0.
Parsons seems to just be hitting his stride and takes this momentum into a stretch of games where the Cowboys will need him the most.
DaRon Bland
I just want to take this opportunity to say that #CowboysNation should be grateful for the people in charge of the Cowboys’ personnel.
From the scouts up to DC Dan Quinn and VP of Player Personnel Will McClay, finding DaRon Bland in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft might have saved this season.
I don’t exaggerate when I say the loss of Trevon Diggs to a torn ACL after just two games this season could have been a disaster.
Without Bland, who is playing at a 1st team All-Pro level, the Cowboys could have been playing the same cornerback carousel they played last season opposite Diggs.
This time around, the healthy boundary cornerback is Stephon Gilmore, and Dallas has found an answer for 2023 in DaRon Bland.
Bland added to his incredible season with a team-leading 10 tackles and an NFL record-breaking fifth interception returned for a touchdown in 2023.
The previous record for interceptions returned for a touchdown in a single season was four, held by three other players.
Bland has seven interceptions on the season, good enough to rank him tied for first in the NFL with a few more games to be played in Week 12.