Winners & Losers: Donovan Wilson separates balls from foes, himself from rest of Cowboys secondary
Before Sunday, the last time the Dallas Cowboys had won a game was 42 days ago. The four-game schneid was the team’s longest since 2015 when they suffered not one, but two losing streaks that were actually worse. Still, it ranks among the darker times this franchise has ever seen, so despite people pining for a continued tank, it’s a breath of fresh air to not be abject failures for one day.
As always, there are winners and losers from Sunday’s game. Though today’s recap will be more rosy than most in recent memory, there’s plenty of room for improvement despite the Cowboys looking like a functional football team the last two times they stepped onto the field.
Winner: Donovan Wilson
Donovan Wilson is a heat seeking missile. He is a battering ram. He has forced himself into the starting lineup through sheer force. Wilson plays with an absolute disregard for the health of himself or his opponents and that kind of weapon is something this defense has needed for a very long time. Fans will remember his preseason performance from 2019 and be completely befuddled by his lack of play. He has been a salve for this defense adding a physical toughness that the team didn't have on the backend. He forced two fumbles against the Vikings, recovering one himself in an incredible play. He will always be limited in the passing game, but there's no doubt who the best safety on the team is right now. For those who missed it, here's his two best plays from Sunday's action: https://twitter.com/nflmx/status/1330626887253626882?s=20 https://twitter.com/jonmachota/status/1330645095926943745?s=20
Losers: The rest of the secondary
The rest of the secondary is a liability. Chidobe Awuzie returned from injury and immediately back to form by refusing to turn his head and look for the ball. Anthony Brown and the chip on his shoulder must be getting bigger by the second because nobody believes in him at this point. The group has been riddled with injuries and the lack of continuity clearly hurts them, but some decisions remain mind boggling. Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan must believe in an everyone must play rule akin to Little League because Rashard Robinson was allowed to stay on the field despite getting picked on repeatedly. For the record, rookie Reggie Robinson II hasn't been made active for a single game this season at a position that might be the worst on the team.
Winners: Kellen Moore
Kellen Moore is out there calling plays for a team without starters at several key positions. In the past, this team would never have sniffed a 30- point game. In fact, in 2015, the last season similar to this one, they never once hit that mark. On Sunday, they managed it despite missing so many key offensive players it would take too long to write it up. People have taken umbrage with Moore's reliance on the run game, but for at least one day it worked. He mixed in wide receiver runs with CeeDee Lamb as well as a healthy dose of Tony Pollard. All in all, the running game went for 180 yards despite never salting away victory. The go-ahead touchdown to Dalton Schultz was a familiar mesh route that worked so well no one was anywhere near the tight end as Andy Dalton found him.
Losers: Michael Gallup
There was a lot of talk about Gallup taking over for Amari Cooper one day. That day is nowhere near as his inconsistency as a player is keeping him from hitting his ceiling as a wide receiver. He had two drops on Sunday, one of which took away a big play near the end of the first half that cost the team points. Without Dak Prescott at the helm, he doesn't seem to be the same player. In the five games he's played with backups, he's caught 14 passes on 32 targets without a touchdown. He's gone from one of the most efficient wide receivers in the league in 2019 to largely ineffective.
Winners: Ezekiel Elliott
Elliott is a misnomer in the NFL in 2020. He often gets too much credit when things go right, and his contract gets him too much blame when things go wrong. To be fair to his critics, this has been, on paper at least, his worst year by a country mile. But on Sunday, he felt more like the Elliott Cowboys fans came to adore. He hit the century mark for the first time this season, but it was more than that. There wasn't a play in which he seemed to make a single, obvious mistake. He seemed to hit every hole. He caught a touchdown pass. He played a clean game in every way imaginable and was a driving force behind the Dallas win.
Winners: Zack Martin
The man is so good at offensive line play he just casually switches to right tackle and plays a dominant game. It's likely no coincidence that the Cowboys offense played at its highest level since the Prescott injury after removing Terence Steele from the lineup and replaced him with Martin. Dalton was hit just twice all game and the run blocking was better than it has been all season. Earlier in the year, head coach Mike McCarthy decried those calling for this switch to be made, saying it was nothing more than fantasy football. That may be true for every other offensive lineman in the league, but not for Martin.
Winners: CeeDee Lamb
It would be a shame if Lamb didn't get at least a mention here, but it's not like he won't be talked about in other circles. The touchdown grab he made was absolutely breathtaking, but that wasn't all he did. He contributed in the run and return game. All told, he totaled 94 yards on the day and continues to feel as if he's a touchdown waiting to happen anytime the ball is headed his way. Oh, he also broke the Cowboys rookie reception record with five games to go. Quick thanks to every team that passed on him in the NFL Draft.
