Winners and losers from Cowboys’ blowout win versus Cleveland

When you dominate a game the way the Dallas Cowboys did on Sunday, there’s not much to nitpick. They handled the Browns the way an elite team should handle a 0-8 team. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the Cowboys’ winner and losers from their blowout win:

Winners

Dak Prescott

Prescott was flawless. Just perfect. And that’s coming from someone who was critical of him last week. His footwork was much improved, and his accuracy was pinpoint. Good teams don’t let bad teams hang around, and Prescott stepped on the Browns throat early in the first half. A lot of people want to talk about Prescott and his future with Dallas, but this was a big step in the right direction for them. You have to win this game and he did. Well done by Prescott.

Maliek Collins

A few weeks ago, we highlighted Collins as a player who was playing really well, despite missing all of training camp. But Collins recorded his first sack of the season and then recorded another for good measure. Collins has been superb as a rookie, and we’re looking forward to seeing his growth long term.

Jason Witten 

What more is there to say about Jason Witten? On Sunday, he caught eight passes for 134 yards and a score. That was his sixth-most receiving yards in a game in his career and most since 2013 (side note: Witten once had a game in 2013 where he caught 18 passes. Somehow, I forgot this).

And get this; there have only been five players in NFL history to have a 100-yard receiving game after their 34th birthday. That list includes Tony Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe, Ben Watson, Wesley Walls and Jason Witten. That’s a pretty special list.

But what makes Witten special isn’t his receiving ability, it’s his ability to do everything at a high level. He was a force again in the run game after starting the season offf slow. He’s the leader of their offense and an ageless wonder.

Losers

Injuries 

With a lot of big games coming up, the Cowboys’ can not afford to lose any players. At one point yesterday, Tyron Smith, Doug Free and Ronald Leary all left the game. With another big road game coming up against the Steelers, the Cowboys are hoping to avoid any major injuries here.

Orlando Scandrick

I wouldn’t call his performance on Sunday a disappointment, but he just doesn’t look healthy yet. The Cowboys’ tried to send Scandrick off the edge a few times, and he just didn’t have any explosion. With Antonio Brown on the horizon for Scandrick, the Cowboys better hope that he can get healthy quickly.

David Irving

Look, when your a young defensive end competing for a bigger role on the defensive, the last thing you can do is kicked out on the first drive. This was a perfect game for Irving to get reps in the second half, yet he was forced to watch in the locker room. A dumb move that may cost him snaps in the future.