Cheers Cowboys Nation! Any kind of hangover you may have today should be the result of some happy drinking. The Dallas Cowboys won a hard-fought battle against the Detroit Lions Sunday afternoon, and looked much more like the team we expected them to be to start the 2018 season.
It wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows for the Cowboys yesterday afternoon, but it rarely is when they face off against the Lions. When these two teams face off against one another it usually comes down to the final play of the game. Luckily, the Cowboys were able to secure the victory as time expired on a Brett Maher field goal.
For the most part, Dallas Cowboys controlled the game from start to finish against Detroit yesterday. They were able to do that by getting their talented running back, Ezekiel Elliott, heavily involved in not only the running game, but the passing game as well. It was arguably Zeke’s most dominant performance of his career.
To say that Ezekiel Elliott was the MVP Sunday afternoon would be an understatement. He accounted for over 200 yards of offense all by himself, 152 yards rushing on 25 carries, and 88 yards receiving with one touchdown on four catches. He was in dominant form yesterday and Detroit simply couldn’t come up with any answers as to how to contain him.
Zeke of course wasn’t the only bright spot for the Dallas Cowboys yesterday. Quarterback Dak Prescott looked much improved from what we’ve seen from him so far this season. He was much more decisive with his throws and wasn’t afraid to take shots down the field. This is the QB the Cowboys need more of moving forward.
Defensively this wasn’t the best outing for the Dallas Cowboys. QB Matt Stafford and his receivers were able to find some success in the passing game, although many of the catches were against some pretty tight coverage. This young secondary will continue to improve of course, but it’s safe to say the Lions WRs got the better of them yesterday.
With Sean Lee out, the Cowboys LBs played pretty well at first glance. Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon both had some pretty impressive plays, which was good to see considering they are likely the future of the position moving forward.
The Cowboys pass rush got off to a slow start, but ended up putting pressure on Matt Stafford when it was needed most. DeMarcus Lawrence continues his domination against any offensive lineman unfortunate enough to try to block him. He is on pace to not only match what he was able to do last year, but exceed it. With each QB sack, he seeing nothing but more and more $’s.
And, last but not least, how impressive has Kicker Brett Maher been since taking over for Dan Bailey? He not only made both of his extra point attempts against the Detroit Lions, but went 4/4 on field goals, including his game-winner. It looks as if the Cowboys may have made the right decision in releasing Bailey after all.
Overall, the Dallas Cowboys did what needed to be done against the Detroit Lions. As fans, all we can do now is hope we see much more of this as the season progresses. The Houston Texans are up next on the schedule in a matchup that has state pride on the line.
