Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys defeat Lions: What I Liked, What I Didn't

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 2:09 a.m. ET

Fansided, Dyllan Larson/FanSided via The Landry Hat

Here is a compilation of things that I really liked and things I didn’t like at all about the Dallas Cowboys’ Week 16 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Well, that was quite the performance by the Dallas Cowboys (13-2) in a 42-21 victory over the Detroit Lions (9-6) Monday night.

Rookie quarterback sensation Dak Prescott had yet another impressive performance, completing 15 of 20 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 35 rushing yards on 5 carries.

“Dapper Dak”, as I like to call him due to his preference of wearing a bow tie as opposed to a traditional neck tie when wearing his game day suits, is now the Cowboys single season franchise record holder for games completing 70 percent or more of his passes (nine games). It’s pretty much impossible to doubt or hate this kid at this point.

Rookie and NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott didn’t exactly get to eat all game, but he displayed what makes him a special, transcendent player. Zeke ran for 80 yards on only 12 carries and scored two touchdowns including a 55-yarder that he took to pay dirt. I know that Elliott is saying all of the right things to the media as far being more concerned about team wins and getting to the Super Bowl than he is about breaking the NFL rookie rushing record.

Deep down I believe Zeke really wanted to break it. I was hoping he would get closer to 20 carries tonight to put him in position to break it next week but the coaches decided to get Darren McFadden more touches and rest Zeke for a lot of the second half.

Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant had himself one heck of a day as well, catching four passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. His play of the night was undoubtedly the reverse pass that Dez threw for a 10 yard touchdown to tight end Jason Witten. It was Bryant’s first career pass and it was a thing of beauty.

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After five years of showing up to games early to watch players warm up and seeing the freakishly ridiculous arm talent that Bryant has when he throws the ball, I was satisfied to see offensive coordinator Scott Linehan finally dial up a call to utilize an untapped resource in the form of Dez’s left arm. I expect to see a bit more of this in years to come, perhaps on a more vertical passing play. Bryant can throw the ball farther than anyone on the team and I am not kidding when I say that.

Wide receiver Terrance Williams was nothing short of spectacular tonight. While four catches for 61 yards doesn’t sound like a spectacular game, his catches were all critical plays that helped sustain scoring drives. Fans that follow this team closely know that Williams is notorious for being a “body-catcher”.

Terrance had several plays Monday night where he attacked the ball at its highest point and snatched the ball from the air, with his hands, and came down with the pigskin. It always irks me to see Williams let the ball come into his body because that gives defenders more time to play the ball and close in to defend the catch. It was a pleasant surprise to see him go savage mode and go get the football.

The Dallas defense allowed the Lions to score 21 points in the first half, but bounced back in a major way in the second half. The Cowboys shut out the Lions in the second half and forced two key turnovers- a J.J. Wilcox interception and a forced fumble by David Irving. The pass rush is continuing its trend of starting off lethargic then coming on hot towards the ends of games and I am perfectly okay with that.

Dallas registered four sacks on the night and the defensive line was consistently putting pressure on Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford throughout the 2nd half. I would love to see this defense put together a full game where they are assignment sound and playing at the level that they have frequently displayed throughout games this year.

One more thought on the defense- now that the pass rush is coming alive, that is no longer my biggest concern regarding the defensive side of the ball. My biggest concern now is gap assignments out of the nickel defense. When teams go with three wide receiver formations and the quarterback is in shotgun, the defense seems to lose their gaps and give up big runs. This has consistently happened all season starting in Week 1 against the New York Giants.

Lions running back Zach Zenner was torching the Cowboys when running out of shotgun against Dallas’ nickel defense. The run defense has been great when in their traditional base 4-3, they are consistently clogging up every gap and making stops at or near the line of scrimmage. They need to fix their weakness of defending the run out of the nickel formation before the playoffs start.

The Dallas Cowboys took care of business last night and further proved that they are motivated to “finish the fight” and earn the right to play in Houston come February.

What a time to be a Cowboys fan.