6 Winners and 3 Losers From Cowboys Week 9 Win: Caleb Downs shines, and a rising player deserves a bigger role
Caleb Downs won the family bowl on Sunday with a strong showing as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Colts 27-20 to improve to 4-5.
The Dallas Cowboys won in not-so-pretty fashion against the Indianapolis Colts. After a 17-7 halftime lead, the Cowboys had to fight until the very end to fend off an Indianapolis comeback.
As always, let’s dive into our immediate winners and losers from yet another dramatic Cowboys showing.
Winner: S Caleb Downs
Guess who won the Downs Bowl? Josh was targeted twice against Caleb, who allowed no catches, via Sumer Sports. Not against Josh or anyone. He recorded two pass deflections, too.
Downs is a problem as a blitzer and I hope the Cowboys continue to find ways to capitalize on it. DC Christian Parker dialed up a simulated pressure on third and long that freed up Downs over the left edge of the O-line.
And then, Downs got a chance to seal the game and delivered with a game-clinching pick. Big game for the rookie.
Loser: HC Brian Schottenheimer
The truth is the Cowboys offense had to do much better against one of the league’s worst defenses in the league. We can talk about execution all we want, but at some point the play caller has to elevate the players on the field. Dallas had seven drives of four or fewer plays.
The Cowboys called too many second-and-long runs and questionable high-leverage plays. Struggles versus the blitz persisted, too. But Schottenheimer’s biggest problem? Playing for field goals. Toward the end of the game, conservative play calling set up a 50-yard field goal, which Brandon Aubrey missed after some trouble with the snap.
The whole sequence could have cost the Cowboys the game, as Indianapolis got a short-lived lead after it.
Loser: LS Trent Sieg
Not sure how you can end on this list as a long snapper other than for a long snap. To be fair, Sieg rarely makes mistakes but the Brandon Aubrey 50-yard miss happened as a result of a bad snap.
Loser: S PJ Locke
Locke loves to deliver a big hit but this is the second time in the last couple of weeks that trying to lower the boom results in a missed tackle and a huge gain for the opponent. His miss against Ashton Dulin resulted in a 55-yard touchdown that cut the Cowboys’ lead down to three.
With Jalen Thompson yet to return, the Cowboys need more from Locke.
Winner(s): RB Tyler Goodson and Javonte Williams
Goodson is unlikely to bench Javonte Williams anytime soon, but boy is he earning a higher snap count on the Cowboys offense. He averaged over six yards per rush attempt while finishing with 77 rushing yards. Had it not been for an injury that took him out of a portion of the game, it could have been more.
But Williams himself posted a 101-yard performance so he’s got to be on the list.
Winner: WR CeeDee Lamb
So… this one might be controversial one. Lamb did made a couple of costly mistakes on this one. One was a catch attempt in the end zone in which he failed to secure his two feet inbounds. The Cowboys later had to settle for three. Later, it was a fumble that wiped out what would have been a 48-yard gain. Can’t have that from 88.
But he was responsible for almost 40% of the Cowboys’ 508-yard outing. Lamb finished with 195 yards and a touchdown and was by far the main engine of the offense on Sunday.
Winner: QB Dak Prescott
Similar to Lamb, Prescott made some mistakes. He was off target early on, missing multiple throws, particularly to Lamb. But he delivered as the game heat up, posting a 114.2 passer rating with 335 passing yards and two touchdowns.
The best part might have been a 46-yard bomb to Ryan Flournoy to set up the game-winning score with under two minutes left to go in the fourth quarter.
Winner: DT Quinnen Williams
Right at the edge of another collapse, with the Colts driving downfield down 20-17, Cowboys DT Quinnen Williams forced a fumble tackling RB Jonathan Taylor. He finished the game with three tackles for loss. Williams has been on a hot streak as of late and is one of the few bright spots on defense.
