Studs and Duds: Should Cowboys even let McCarthy celebrate the win?

There’s rarely a dull moment with the Dallas Cowboys and that proved to be true once again in their thrilling 20-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. With the walls closing in on the Cowboys, the team overcame some sloppy football to make big plays at the right times and walk away victorious.

The Cowboys needed to head into the bye week on a positive note, and despite a slow start, horrific coaching decisions, sloppy play and penalties, the team escaped Los Angeles with a win.

In victory, Dallas had their best players step up and make key plays to eradicate some of the ugliness. Here are the studs and duds for the Cowboys in their Week 6 win over the Chargers.

Stud: Dak Prescott

After playing one of his worst games in defeat last week, Prescott came back to answer his critics with a dynamite performance against the Chargers. Prescott threw for 272 yards and a score, while also leading the offense in rushing yards and running for a touchdown as well.

Those numbers could have looked much better if wide receiver Michael Gallup didn’t drop a few passes, but Prescott made plays all game.

The first big play from Prescott came on Dallas’ second possession with the offense facing a fourth-and-one from the 18-yard line. Prescott kept the ball instead of giving it to running back Tony Pollard on the read option, and faked out the Chargers defense on his way to the end zone. It was a beautiful play from Prescott, who finally utilized his legs in the red zone for the touchdown.

Prescott also engineered another touchdown drive in the fourth quarter when he scrambled and found Pollard for 60 yards on a 3rd-and-11. That play set up Prescott’s touchdown throw to wide receiver Brandin Cooks late in the game. The scoring pass was somewhat of a milestone for Prescott in his Cowboys’ career.

Prescott came back strong after a rough week where his play was questioned. The veteran QB had his best game of the year in the win over the Chargers.

Dud: Michael Gallup

It was a rough game for the veteran receiver. Gallup struggled to find a rhythm with Prescott and had three drops on 10 targets. Of Prescott’s nine incompletions, seven were on throws to Gallup, who finished with just three catches for 24 yards.

The biggest mistakes from Gallup cost the Cowboys points. In the first quarter Prescott threw to Gallup up the seam on a ball that was a little high, but the WR mistimed his jump and resulted in an incompletion. The Cowboys would put seven on the board just two plays later, but Gallup had a chance to make a play and couldn’t.

Gallup’s biggest drop came in the second quarter when Prescott placed a perfectly thrown ball right into Gallup’s hands that should have resulted in a touchdown. Instead, Gallup couldn’t reel it in and the Cowboys wound up getting no points because they got stopped on a fourth down.

Stud: CeeDee Lamb

Much like Prescott, Lamb had a rough week dealing with the loss to the 49ers. Lamb’s body language was questioned throughout, something he admitted wasn’t the best, but the fourth year WR came up big in his return to the field.

The Prescott-to-Lamb combination was perfect on the night, the duo connecting on all seven targets. Lamb had 117 yards receiving and all seven of his catches went for first downs.

It was in crunch time where Lamb had his biggest catch. Late in the fourth quarter, with the Cowboys trying to milk the clock and get into field goal range, the offense was facing a 3rd-and-6. Prescott rolled right and found an open Lamb for 18 yards and got the Cowboys into field goal territory.

The offense would move the chains again, bleed the clock some and kick what would become the game-winning field goal. That winning drive doesn’t happen if Lamb doesn’t work his way open to extend the possession.

Dud: Mike McCarthy

If McCarthy was trying to prove he could get the offense to turn the corner, it wasn’t his night. McCarthy far too often called runs on first and second downs when they were behind the chains. The Cowboys struggled to be successful with the running game yet could easily move the ball when they threw it, but McCarthy’s offense remained stale, and predictable.

As bad as he was in calling the game, however, McCarthy’s biggest head scratching move was electing to kick a field goal instead of taking a shot at the end zone near the end of the first half.

The Cowboys were armed with two timeouts, there were eight seconds on the clock with the ball on the Chargers’ 14-yard line when the head coach of an NFL team decided to not run a play to score a touchdown. Instead, McCarthy elected to let time go off the clock and kick a field goal in the ultimate act of cowardice.

It was a decision that should be scrutinized heavily and possibly show Jerry Jones McCarthy isn’t the right man for the job.

Aside from that ridiculous decision to not go for the end zone, the Cowboys were remarkably undisciplined, again. That falls on the coaching staff which includes and reports to McCarthy. Dallas was called for 11 penalties, some of which included offsides and having 12 men on the field. Those are inexcusable mistakes from his team.

Studs: Offseason acquisitions

The Cowboys made a few big splashes last offseason when they traded for cornerback Stephon Gilmore and WR Brandin Cooks. Both players had their signature moments in Cowboys uniforms in the win.

Cooks had his best game of the season, catching all four of his targets for 36 yards and one huge touchdown. The score in the fourth quarter was his first with the Cowboys and came on a beautiful route where the speedy receiver came across the field and hauled in Prescott’s floater for a two-yard score.

However, it was on the final drive where Cooks made his biggest impact. Cooks picked up 14 yards on one catch before his play of the game. The Cowboys were facing a 3rd-and-9 and a long field attempt if they offense couldn’t pick up any yards. A failure to get a first down also would’ve given the Chargers plenty of time and armed with timeouts to win the game.

Cooks had other ideas. Prescott found Cooks for an 11-yard gain to keep the drive going and forced the Chargers to use their timeouts. The catch made it a shorter field goal for kicker Brandon Aubrey, who made the winning kick.

Gilmore, didn’t have the best game in coverage, until it mattered most. The veteran corner sealed the game with his interception of Herbert with 1:22 to play.

The Cowboys made two smart moves in the offseason to add veteran players, and both came up with winning plays.

Studs: Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence

The bookend defenders were on their game to help the Cowboys hold the Chargers’ potent offense to just 17 points and 272 total yards. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was pressured 18 times and got the ball out quicker because of the heat from the defense led by Parsons and Lawrence.

Lawrence knocked down two passes, one of which might have saved a touchdown, and was a big part in holding the Chargers to just 53 yards rushing.

Parsons also harassed Herbert into quick, inaccurate throws, had a tackle for a loss, three QB hits, and provided one of the biggest defensive plays in a key moment. On second-and-two, just after the two-minute warning, Parsons fought through a double-team and sacked Herbert.

It was the only sack for the Cowboys on the night and it put the Chargers in a position where they were scrambling on third down. On the next play, Gilmore got the interception, but it was Parsons’ sack that changed the momentum of the final drive.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire