The Dallas Cowboys defense came up big in the final two minutes of "Monday Night Football" against the Los Angeles Chargers to secure a 20-17 victory after a game full of errors and flags for penalties.
The Cowboys improved to 4-2, while the Chargers fell to 3-3, as quarterback Justin Herbert continued to play despite having a fractured middle finger on his non-throwing hand.
The cowhands demanded any kind of palm after what occurred last week against the San Francisco 49ers; still, a palm was demanded. Indeed though Monday's palm was not particularly emotional, the cowhands enter their bye week with a 4- 2 record and are still in reach of the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, who suffered shocking losses Sunday. After last week, everything was under consideration. play- calling by Mike McCarthy, Dak Prescott's gift, and the defense's fiber. Nothing was perfect — there were too numerous penalties, too numerous big plays that were allowed, not enough big plays that were made, and a special brigades development but they made the critical plays when it counted.
Starting with three crucial third-down conversions on a drive that ended in a field goal by Brandon Aubrey, a sack by Micah Parsons -- the Cowboys' first of the game -- and a clinching interception by Stephon Gilmore.
After a loss in each of the previous two seasons, the Cowboys are now 10-1.
Perhaps they are still alive.
QB Breakdown : Forget Prescott's passing probabilities. He rushed, so let's talk about that. In the first quarter, he scored on a run of 18 yards, the longest by a cowhands quarterback since 2010. Prescott hasn't been using his bases as much recently. In his first three times, he scored 18 rushing touchdowns; in the last five, he has scored nine. In his first five games, he rushed for 45 yards, including 33 against the Dishes in the first half. Although he is not a running quarterback, he can be productive when using his bases and may need to do so more frequently.
Promising trend : CeeDee Lamb, a wide receiver, had 84 receiving yards in the first half, surpassing his total from four of the previous five games. He acknowledged that after acting irate in the San Francisco game, his body language needed to be improved. In the first and second quarters, he caught five passes totaling 10 or more air yards. He completed eight passes with 10 or more air yards in the New England game.
Silver Lining The Cowboys performed admirably in their first game without linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, so perhaps this isn't a trend after all. After DeMarvion Overshown suffered an ACL tear and was sidelined for the season, Markquese Bell switched positions from safety to linebacker late in training camp. When the Cowboys had two linebackers in their personnel group, he was able to produce a tackle for loss and a pass breakup in the first half on 17 snaps. Late in the previous season, when the Cowboys lost Vander Esch, the run defense suffered. In Austin Ekeler's injury-recovery start for the Chargers on Monday, they only managed 50 yards on 22 carries.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers and Cowboys game on Monday night seemed to have everything necessary to be a high-scoring, touchdown-filled contest: A former coordinator facing his former team, two of the league's top offensive units, and a struggling Chargers secondary. Instead, it was yet another Chargers defeat that was decided in the dying seconds. This season, every one of their games was decided by 7 points or fewer.
Herbert experienced the highest pressure rate of any game this season (42%), up from his fifth-lowest rate of 25% prior to the game.When Herbert scrambled for runs and took numerous hard hits from defenders while playing with a fractured finger on his left hand, the Cowboys' pass rush frequently forced him out of the pocket.
Crucial play All game long, the Chargers' pass rush pressured Herbert, and in the fourth quarter they finally forced the game-changing mistake. With just under two minutes left in the game and the Chargers trailing by three points, the rush led to Herbert's errant pass landing in Gilmore's hands, effectively ending the game.
Unsettling pattern: The Chargers continue to have trouble running the ball. Even after recovering from a high right ankle sprain he sustained in Week 1, the Chargers' running backs had little success, gaining just 35 yards in total. The Chargers have only gained over 100 rushing yards once this season, and their combined total for Weeks 2 and 3 was just 91 yards. Week 1 saw them gain 233 rushing yards.
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