Playing with heavy hearts, the Cowboys did more than win. They dominated.
Dallas routed Las Vegas 33-16 Monday night at Allegiant Stadium, less than two weeks since the passing of Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland in an apparent suicide. Monday marked the team’s first game since Kneeland’s death.
Dallas (4-5-1), which was on its bye last week, snaps a two-game skid with the victory. The Raiders (2-8) have now lost four straight games.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Cowboys’ offense gets back on track
At first, the Cowboys’ offense didn’t look much different than the past two weeks. Dallas went three-and-out on its opening possession — with leading receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Picks benched in an apparent coach’s decision — and had a giveaway deep in its own territory on its second drive, thanks to a forced fumble from Maxx Crosby.
Then, the dynamic Cowboys’ offense we’d grown accustomed to early in the season re-emerged.
Dallas scored a field goal on its third series, the start of five consecutive scoring drives – the latter four of which were touchdowns. The Cowboys had 253 of their 381 net yards by halftime.
Pickens led the way for Dallas, catching nine passes for 144 yards (his second-highest total of the season) and a touchdown.
Three of Dak Prescott’s four passing touchdowns came in the first half, going to Lamb, Pickens and tight end Jake Ferguson. Lamb and Pickens, arguably the NFL’s best wide receiver tandem, combined for nine catches on 12 targets for 156 yards through two quarters.
2. More of the same in a rough rookie season for Ashton Jeanty
The No. 6 overall pick was held to a season-low seven rushing yards on six carries. Jeanty was stonewalled on many of his runs, including one early in the fourth quarter, which resulted in him being tackled in the end zone for a safety.
That’s been a theme for the former Boise State star in Year 1. He just hasn’t gotten much help from the Raiders’ offensive line. And handling a Cowboys’ defensive front that just added Quinnen Williams proved to be too tall of a task.
In the pass game, Jeanty saw eight targets, catching six passes for 27 yards.
3. Williams comes as advertised in his Cowboys’ debut
The Pro Bowl defensive tackle had 1.5 sacks, five quarterback hits, a tackle for loss and four tackles Monday night, doing most of his damage through two quarters. His presence helped the Cowboys to a dominant performance in the run game as well — Dallas held Las Vegas to just 27 rushing yards.
Dallas paid a steep cost for Williams — a 2026 second-round pick, a ‘27 first-rounder and defensive tackle Mazi Smith went to the Jets — but his performance Monday was a reminder why he’s one of the most disruptive defensive players in football.
4. Cowboys’ defense could be turning a corner
Yes, the Raiders are a bad offensive football team. They entered Week 11 averaging just 15.4 points per game, second-worst in the league. There’s only so much you can draw from a dominant effort against Chip Kelly’s offense.
But this was a Cowboys’ defense that was giving up plenty of points and yards to everyone. Before Monday night, all of their opponents this season had scored more than 20 points. So Monday marked a major step in the right direction.
Dallas’ defense was so dominant that the Raiders, a Pete Carroll-led team, abandoned the run for long stretches of the game. Their ground attack went nowhere. Just four of Las Vegas’ 35 offensive plays in the first half were runs. The Raiders went just 3-of-12 on third down for the game.
The reinforcements on defense certainly helped. In addition to Williams, former Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson made his Cowboys debut. Standout linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and third-round rookie cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. made their season debuts, as well.
4 ½. What’s Next?
The Cowboys return home to face the Eagles (8-2) at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, looking to avenge their season-opening loss to Philadelphia.
It kicks off a challenging three-game stretch for Dallas — after playing Philly, the Cowboys host the Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) four days later on Thursday Night Football, then play in Detroit the following Thursday to square off against the Lions (6-4). That’s three games in 11 days against opponents at .500 or above.
The Raiders on Sunday will host the Cleveland Browns (2-8), who will have fifth-round rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders making his first career start if starter Dillon Gabriel doesn’t pass through concussion protocol in time for the game.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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