Good, Bad, Ugly: Cowboys WRs star in crunch time, Gregory just crunches QBs

There are numerous ways to describe the Dallas Cowboys’ thrilling, 35-29 overtime victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday. It was a great win over a team the Cowboys haven’t defeated in 25 years, but at several (too many) points in the game was also an ugly, frustrating aberration where there was far too much sloppiness.

The game was frustrating. It had massive emotional swings and certainly tested the patience of Cowboys Nation. Yet in the end, Dallas found a way to finally beat Bill Belichick and his Patriots, much like they have found ways to win five out of six games on the season. With each victory Dallas inches closer to the postseason, and as is the case with each game there’s been a lot of good, some bad and a few things that should be buried and never spoken of again.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly as the Cowboys improved to 5-1 with a Week 6 win.

The Good: QB Dak Prescott

Prescott wasn’t sharp early, he threw behind an open Cedrick Wilson for a would-be score that turned into an interception, but the veteran QB found his groove, throwing for 445 yards and three scores.

If anyone was wondering the last time any QB put that kind of game up against a New England defense, they should wonder no more. The answer, is never.

On the Cowboys’ final two possessions, Prescott went 10-12 for 126 yards and a score. Included was a game-tying field goal drive and the game winning touchdown. Prescott was money when he needed to be.

The Bad: Connor Williams

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It wasn’t a pretty game for the starting left guard Williams, who was flagged for four penalties: three holding and one personal foul. While a couple of the flags seemed questionable at best in a game where the referees certainly weren’t at their sharpest, Williams clearly wasn’t at his best against the New England defensive front.

Williams’ poor play helped stall drives and put the offense in holes they weren’t always able to climb out of. Dallas failed to score on the first two drives where Williams was called for penalties. On the final drive of regulation, he was called for both holding and a personal foul on the play, though CBS failed to show a replay of the infraction and caused mass confusion to the viewing audience by putting the incorrect down on the screen. It seemed the refs did a bad job of explaining it to the Cowboys on the sideline, as they botched their timeout rhythm too.

The Cowboys got points out of the drive, a game-tying field goal by Greg Zuerlein, but if not for the penalty Dallas may not have had to risk overtime at all.

The Good: Cedrick Wilson

One of the plays of the game was Wilson’s clutch, leaping grab for 13 yards on 4th-and-4 late in the fourth quarter.

With the game on the line, Prescott threw the ball only where Wilson could catch it. If Wilson doesn’t come down with the acrobatic reception, the Cowboys give the ball back to the Patriots and the game is over.

Instead, Wilson makes the grab, moves the chains and the Cowboys kick the game-tying field goal five plays later. It was a game saving reception from Wilson.

The Bad: Run defense

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The Cowboys had trouble stopping the Patriots on the ground, allowing 120 yards and two rushing scores. Damien Harris ran for 101 yards on just 18 carries and the Patriots RBs averaged almost 5.4 yards a carry.

That’s a rough outing for a defense going up against an offensive line missing three starters. Dallas was lucky the offense held the ball so long and didn’t allow the Patriots to wear them down in the trenches.

The Good: CeeDee Lamb

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This was the type of game Cowboys fans have been waiting for from Lamb. The second-year WR had nine catches for 149 yards and two scores. The first touchdown, a toe-drag catch in the corner of the end zone, was the 2500th touchdown in the history of the Cowboys organization.

Lamb had the game-winning score, but his 24-yard catch on third-and-25 late in the fourth quarter to put the Cowboys in field goal range was about as clutch as it gets.

The Bad: Turnovers

The Cowboys had two killer turnovers in the red zone, one an interception by Prescott on a ball thrown behind an open Wilson, and another on Prescott’s fumble at the goal line. Those turnovers cost them a potential 14 points.

Wilson also failed to bring in a perfectly thrown ball from Prescott, that cost them four more. The game didn’t have to be as close as it was, but the Cowboys made it difficult on themselves.

The Good: Randy Gregory

The edge rusher came up with another outstanding game, picking up two sacks, a forced fumble, and three QB hits. His first sack came at one of the most frustrating parts of the game. The referees had finally started calling penalties on New England and on the prior play, the right guard was flagged for holding Gregory, it brought back a touchdown play that would’ve made the score 21-7.

Not to be denied his stat ledger, Gregory logged the fastest QB sack in his career, dislodging the ball from Mac Jones and giving the Cowboys the ball.

His second sack stopped New England’s first drive of the second half, on third-and-short.

Gregory currently leads the Cowboys in sacks with four and he’s been an absolute menace over the last several weeks following a nine-pressure performance against the Giants and a two-sack day against the Panthers in Week 4.

The Good: Special teams

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The 51-yard miss by Greg Zuerlein shouldn’t be remembered, as it looked like he had to adjust to not have the kick blocked. One may want to question the idea behind Dallas not trying to go for it on fourth-and-1 late in the game, but Zuerlein appeared to make one of the wisest decisions of the game, as a blocked kick could have been so much more catastrophic than a missed one.

The Cowboys blocked a punt midway through the second quarter, though it didn’t result in points after the refs somehow didn’t rule Prescott scored on a QB sneak on third down and then he fumbled on the next try. Still, it was a huge play by Luke Gifford.

Zuerlein later nailed a 49-yard kick to send the game into overtime and remains a clutch kicker, making big kicks in the key moments with the on-purpose miss being the only unsuccessful FG attempt since a rough Week 1.

The Good: Trevon Diggs

Another week, another interception from Diggs. That makes seven picks in six games and his return for a touchdown was almost the play of the game.

Check out the NFL’s social media reaction to Diggs’ dominance as well as a look at all seven of his 2021 interceptions.

The Ugly: Penalties

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The officials did the Cowboys no favors, they had a brutal showing, but the Cowboys had sloppy play and didn’t acquit themselves very well here either. It’s easy to blame the referees, but there’s no excuse for having 12 penalties for 115 yards. They weren’t all questionable calls and the Cowboys will need to clean it up moving forward.

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