Cowboys Demolish Browns 35-10

There was no trap game to be found when the Cowboys put the pedal to the Browns and demolished them 35-10. The defense once again held the opposing team’s running back and receiver to under 100 yards each.

Quick look the stat line —

Dak Prescott 21/27 for 247 yards 3 TDs

Ezekiel Elliott 18 for 92 yards 2 TDs

Jason Witten 8 catches for 134 yards 1 TD

Maliek Collins 2 Sacks

Sean Lee 5 solo tackles

My takes on the game:

• Jason Witten has been rejuvenated with Prescott, and had another solid game. You rarely see Witten out receive the receivers, but he had an amazing game against the Browns. The Browns did not have an answer for the Dak & Witten connection.
• Maliek Collins will be a player to watch as the year continues and moreover for 2017. Collins is turning heads and good against the run and he’ll pressure the QB.
• Orlando Scandrick held his own, but it was clear the Browns wanted to go after Scandrick. It’ll be interesting to see how he does next week against the Steelers.
• J.J. Wilcox continues to miss tackles, we may get exposed here against better competition. Hoping we get Church back or even consider getting Frazier some snaps.
• Damien Wilson is now the starting SAM LB in the base defense, and he again made some nice plays today.
• Cole Beasley had a nice bounce back game as well, put in 6 catches and a TD
• Demarcus Lawrence is disappointing since his return, he looked slow out there and had a ill-advised penalty when he went low on Cody Kessler. At this pace, I doubt Lawrence gets a 2nd contract. He has 8 more games to turn it on. The good news — Lawrence usually turns it on the final quarter of the season, so we’ll see.
• Lucky Whitehead will thrill you or kill you with some of his decisions in special teams. Against better competition, he needs to make better decisions with the ball.
• Ezekiel Elliott continues to show you why selecting him #4 overall was a homerun for the Cowboys. He is the complete back.

Other Notes:

Ronald Leary suffered an undisclosed injury in the 3rd quarter and it was later revealed he was under the concussion protocol. The good news is that Leary himself declared he is ok per his tweet:

Another great win for the squad! #CowboysNation …… And I'm all good. Preciate it

— Ron Leary (@BigLeary65) November 6, 2016

Fellow Ohio State Alum, Robert Smith thinks Zeke is better than Emmitt Smith:

Ezekiel Elliot is a better runner, blocker and receiver than Emmett Smith. Don't know if he'll have the career, but clearly better.#Cowboys

— robert smith (@Robert26Smith) November 6, 2016

Dez Bryant has had another injury riddled season and a slow start. Today he had 1 catch for 19 yards, bringing his total to 15 catches for 253 yards and 2 TDs. You have to wonder if the torch for the #1 playmaker on the team has been passed to Zeke.

We’ve reached the halfway-point of the season and there are some bad teams that will be looking for new head coaches. If the Cowboys continue to roll, especially offensively, then Scott Linehan will get a look for more than a few teams. Where this could get interesting is with Norv Turner. If Linehan were to take a gig, Turner would be salivating over the thought of coordinating with the offensive line the Cowboys boast.

Who gets your gameball for this week’s victory, take the poll below:

Cowboys MVP in Browns victory is? #CowboysNation #DallasCowboys #DALvsCLE

— Joe Rodriguez (@CowboysBlogNet) November 6, 2016

Next game: @Steelers