Cowboys defeats Raiders
By Elwyn Henderson
The 3-5-1 Dallas Cowboys traveled to Las Vegas for Monday Night Football against the 2-7 Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It was a tough night for the Cowboys as the game marked their first game since the tragic death of Marshawn Kneeland.
Las Vegas won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The kick was returned up to the Dallas 26 where Dak Prescott brought the Cowboys offense out. It was a quick three-and-out, and after a Brian Anger punt, Jeno Smith brought the Raiders offense on the field for their first possession of the game.
After picking up one first down the Dallas defense forced an AJ Cole punt that was downed at the Cowboys 4 where Prescott and company returned to the field hoping for a better result than the previous attempt.
Dallas managed one first down and then Prescott was hit and fumbled the ball away and it was recovered at the Dallas 16 by Las Vegas and the defense was in a deep hole.
The defense rose to the occasion, forcing a Daniel Carlson 35-yard field goal attempt. The kick was good and the Raiders took a 3-0 lead with 7:55 left in the first quarter. The drive was 4 plays, -2 yards and took 1:16.
After the ensuing kickoff Dallas began their next drive at their 32 after a 24-yard return by KaVonte Turpin. The Cowboys moved down to the Raiders 32 and on 4th down Brandon Aubrey came in an booted a 50-yard field goal with 5:36 left in the opening frame, tying the score 3-3. The drive was 7 plays, 37 yards and took 2:19 off the clock.
The Raiders began their next drive at their 27. They moved the ball down to the Dallas 27 where Carlson notched a 45-yard field goal with 2:02 left in the opening frame, putting the home team back in the lead 6-3. The drive was 7 plays, 46 yards and took 3:34 off the first quarter clock.
Dallas began at their 32 after another Turpin return and Prescott immediately hit George Pickens on back-to-back passes that moved the ball to the Vegas 34. The drive ended when Prescott hit Cee Dee Lamb on an 18-yard TD pass on the first play of the second quarter with 14:51 left in the half, capping off a 6-play, 68-yard drive that took just 2:11. Aubrey split the uprights on the PAT and Dallas took their first lead of the game, 10-6.
Smith brought his offense back on the field at the 31 after the kickoff return. The Raiders moved the ball up to their 45 but were penalized 5 yards for delay of game and punted the ball away from their 40. Cole’s punt was returned to the Dallas 21 where Prescott brought the Cowboys back on the field again.
The offense moved the 79 yards for their second TD of the game. It came on a 4th and 1 play from the 6 when Prescott hit Jake Ferguson for the score. Aubrey’s point after was good and Dallas led 17-6 with 5:16 left in the first half. The drive was 12 plays and took 6:33 off the second quarter clock.
Vegas began their next drive at their 22. They picked up a couple of first downs but a Smith pass was intercepted by Markquise Bell at the Dallas 7 and he returned the ball up to the 31 where Prescott and the offense hit the field once again.
They found the end zone again when Prescott hit Pickens on a 38-yard catch and run into the end zone with 1:10 left in the half. After an unsportsmanlike penalty for running into the goal post after the score, Aubrey added the extra point and the Cowboys were in complete control leading 24-6. The drive was 69 yards, 4 plays and took 1:14.
When the Raiders got the ball back after the score they went into 2-minute mode, hoping to get a 2 for 1 since they were to get the ball to begin the second half.
The Dallas defense held when the Raiders moved closer to the goal line and forced a 38-yard field goal on the last play of the half, moving the score to 24-9.
Three time Grammy winner Nelly provided the halftime entertainment that rocked the stadium.
Las Vegas went three-and-out on their first possession of the half and after a punt Prescott and the offense began at their 20. They took 12 plays and 7:07 off the clock to move the 80 yards for yet another touchdown. The score came with 6:19 left in the third quarter when Prescott hit Ryan Flournoy on a 2-yard TD pass. Aubrey’s point after kick was good and Dallas led 31-9.
The Raiders finally got into the end zone on their next possession when Smith hit Tre Tucker from 6 yards out with 13:22 left in the game. Carlson added the extra point and the Dallas lead was cut to 31-16. The drive was a 14-play, 62-yard affair that took 7:57 off the clock.
The Cowboys got a great return up to the 43 on the kickoff but were unable to do anything and went three-and-out. An Anger punt was taken by Tucker at his 6 and he went backward to the 2 and the Raiders were in a dangerous spot to begin their next possession.
The danger turned into disaster as Ashton Jeanty was stopped in the end zone for a safety and the Dallas Cowboys lead advanced to 33-16 with 11:39 left in the game.
Following the free kick from the 20 and a return by Pickens the Cowboys were in excellent position, beginning at the Vegas 33. Dallas moved down to the 5 and facing a 4th and 2 Lamb dropped a wide open pass in the end zone ending the drive with 3:56 left in the game.
Vegas managed one first down and then facing a 4th and 10 from their 15 they went for a first down and Smith was sacked at the 6 and Dallas took over on downs.
Brian Shottenheimer had the team in victory formation choosing not to run up the score but there was 2:31 left in the game and the Cowboys could not run up the clock. The Raiders were called for off sides, moving the ball down to the 3. Prescott took a knee and the clock moved to the 2-minute warning.
Prescott knelt three more times and the ball turned over on downs. The Raiders took a knee and the game ended with Dallas moving to 4-5-1 on the year and taking the 33-16 victory.
Shottenheimer addressed the media after the win and the Mirror asked him if he had Prescott take a knee out of the victory formation four straight downs due to his respect of Pete Carroll.
“Absolutely, yeah; when they huddled coming out of their drive, of course, I knew they were going to go for it on fourth down but I wasn’t going to try to score there. I have too much respect for the game, too much respect for Pete, and again, walk out of here with a great win and a great team win.”
When Prescott came out for his postgame presser the Mirror asked him if the tragic death of Marshawn Kneeland and the team’s honoring his memory could propel the team to a winning streak and propel them to another level.
Yeah, why not? I’ve been saying and I’ll probably keep saying it; why not? It’s more about we’re in control (of our destiny this season), we’re in control, right? It’s more about life’s going to throw things at us and it threw us a hell of a curve ball this past week and how are we going to respond? I keep telling the team to have a testimony you’ve got to have a test and this a big time test of who we are and our brotherhood and this organization. Let’s have pride and honor our brother and if we’ll continue to do that and move forward honoring our brother and carrying that light, why not?”
We also asked Dak to talk about the honor Haughton High School gave him last week by naming their football field Prescott field.
“Yeah, that was special. It was a hard day. It was the same day that we lost Marshawn so it was a very whirlwind of emotions. You know, it was a tough day. I don’t know if my emotions were even in line with everything to enjoy it the way that I wanted to but I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of my high school and where I’m from. Talking about carrying things on, I am from Haughton, Louisiana, and I am Haughton! I told them wherever I go they go with me. I’m proud to be where I’m from and thankful to be able to give back and be in this position and hopefully, to inspire a bunch of kids there with it being Prescott field. It’s not just honoring me, it’s honoring my mother who put so much into the community, allowing her boys to go for it and to show some light and both of my brothers who were great athletes and inspired me to be the great athlete that I am in this position.”
Dallas has a short turnaround with two major challenges in the near future. This Sunday, the 23rd they host the high flying Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium in a 3:25 PM contest and then just four days later on Thanksgiving Day they play host to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. IF they can win both of those challenging contests they would move to 6-5-1 and would be in a great position with five weeks left in the season to make a playoff run. Hopefully, that will be the case. Stay tuned!
