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On a night filled with mourning, the Dallas Cowboys honored their late teammate Marshawn Kneeland with a victory.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer had his eyes closed, like many others on the sideline during the national anthem in Las Vegas, while wearing a T-shirt honoring Kneeland, the 24-year-old who died by suicide earlier this month. Schottenheimer and the Cowboys had not played since Nov. 3, as they were on their bye in Week 10, and the group had been hurting since the news broke three days after their “Monday Night Football” loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Both teams honored Kneeland with a moment of silence before kickoff, then the Cowboys went out and dominated the Las Vegas Raiders, 33-16, to get back in the win column this season.
The Cowboys’ defense, a unit that has struggled for much of the season, was flying all over the field and disrupting the Raiders’ offense led by quarterback Geno Smith, who was sacked four times in the team’s eighth loss of the season. Newcomer Quinnen Williams, acquired from the New York Jets before the NFL trade deadline, had 1.5 sacks in his Cowboys debut, while his defensive tackle counterpart Kenny Clark added half a sack. James Houston and Osa Odighizuwa each recorded a sack in the win.
On offense, Dak Prescott and company were cooking, as the veteran quarterback threw for four touchdowns and 268 yards.
It was an interesting start for Dallas, which went three-and-out to open the game on a series where both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens didn’t see the field. ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters said on the “Monday Night Football” broadcast that it was a coach’s decision to sit the star receivers for the first drive.
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Things didn’t get better when Maxx Crosby strip-sacked Prescott on the following drive, though the Cowboys’ defense was able to hold the Raiders to just three points on the turnover in their own red zone.
When Pickens and Lamb entered the game after those series, they immediately went to work.
Both receivers scored touchdowns, with Lamb getting the first on an 18-yard strike from Prescott on the team’s third drive. Then, after Prescott found tight end Jake Ferguson, Pickens made multiple defenders miss on an impressive 37-yard catch-and-run into the end zone to blow the game open, 24-6, near the end of the first half.
Pickens had himself quite the game in Sin City, collecting nine receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown to lead all players in both categories. Lamb finished with five receptions for 66 yards, while Javonte Williams carried 22 times for 93 yards on the ground.
Meanwhile, Smith was pressured throughout but still managed to go 27-of-42 for 238 yards, with one touchdown pass to Tre Tucker in the fourth quarter. Tucker finished with four catches for 47 yards.
Tight end Brock Bowers did his best to spark the Raiders, catching seven of his 12 targets for 72 yards. But it was a pass-heavy approach all night, with rookie running back Ashton Jeanty getting just six carries for seven yards.
In fact, the game-sealing play for Dallas came when the defense stopped Jeanty in the Raiders’ end zone for a safety. It was a 31-16 game with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys slammed the door from that point on.
The Cowboys, now 4-5-1, will continue to push forward despite the tragedy that shook their locker room. They’ll return home for an NFC East showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles next week at AT&T Stadium, where they hope to start a win streak.
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