Dallas Cowboys keep playoff hopes alive with dominant win over Las Vegas Raiders
By Patrick Sung, CNN
(CNN) — The Dallas Cowboys ensured they stayed in the NFL playoff hunt with a 33-16 road win against the Las Vegas Raiders on an emotional night for “America’s Team.”
In Dallas’ first game since the death of Marshawn Kneeland, the Cowboys – who wore shirts in memory of and bowed their heads during a moment of silence for the defensive end – snapped a two-game losing streak while showing the type of offensive play that could make them a dangerous matchup throughout the rest of the season.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some tears when I first put the shirt on, as you can imagine,” Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “But more than anything, I know Marshawn was looking down on us, and we wanted to make him proud, and I think we did that.”
Behind an impressive Dak Prescott – who threw 25-of-33 for 268 yards and four touchdowns – and a stout run defense that limited the Raiders to 27 yards on the ground, the Cowboys took control in the second quarter and eased to victory.
After a relatively slow 15 minutes that featured three field goals and ended with a 6-3 Raiders lead, Dallas quickly put Las Vegas in the rear view mirror with Prescott throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to a wide open CeeDee Lamb nine seconds into the second quarter to cap off a six-play, 68-yard drive.
Prescott had his second touchdown of the day almost 10 minutes later, this time throwing a short pass over the middle to Dallas tight end Jake Ferguson to make it 17-6 after the extra point.
The Raiders were marching downfield looking to cut into the deficit with roughly 2:30 left in the half, but Geno Smith’s pass was tipped by Kenneth Murray Jr. and intercepted by Markquese Bell to take the wind out of Las Vegas’ sails.
Prescott then capped off his extraordinary second quarter with his third touchdown of the night, this time to George Pickens, who caught the ball at the 25, spun away from Kyu Blu Kelly toward the sidelines and cut back to evade two more Raiders defenders and run it into the end zone.
The flashy touchdown was the icing on the cake for a standout performance from Pickens, who finished the game with nine catches for 144 yards.
Despite a Las Vegas field goal as the half ended tightening the scoreline to 24-9, Dallas stayed firmly in control in the second half with Prescott adding his fourth touchdown, this time a short pass to Ryan Flournoy with 6:19 left in the third.
Smith threw a touchdown early in the final quarter to Tre Tucker, but the Raiders didn’t really trouble the Cowboys the rest of the night despite also tallying a safety with 11:39 remaining.
After the game, Schottenheimer said the players wanted a good showing for Kneeland: “They wanted to honor him, and we’re not done honoring him. He’s a part of our family forever.
“But it’s been tough, man. I mean, these past 11 days have been really tough. I’m proud of those guys because just the way they played today, they played with Marshawn’s play style.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones added that the statement win served two purposes.
“In a way, a competition like this with the Raiders is good therapy to come back and get in it. They know how much that Marshawn loved to compete, how much he loved the Cowboys,” he said. “And to me, it’s just a way of saying, ‘This one’s for you, Marshawn.’”
With the win, the Cowboys move to 4-5-1 and second in the NFC East. While Dallas currently has a 7% chance to make the playoffs according to the NFL’s playoff picture calculator, offensive play like Monday’s could see a strong end to the season and a chance to crash the postseason party.
The-CNN-Wire
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