Cowboys who fought hard against Falcons

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ATLANTA – Although this matchup could not mathematically have eliminated the Dallas Cowboys from playoff contention since it is only Week 9, that does not mean their matchup against the Atlanta Falcons could be viewed as anything other than a must-win scenario – Sitting at 3-4 after two defeats, three of them at home.

They performed better away from home, holding a 3-1 record on the road, and they were hoping to shake off the loss in San Francisco to recapture that magic when they face Kirk Cousins ​​and his armourers.

However, for this to happen, several, if not all, players would have to make it big for the Cowboys at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Ultimately, it wasn't a success for McCarthy's squad as they lost three games in a row and fell to 3-5 on the season. However, the following players deserve credit for doing their best to stop the relegation.

Ask 104,757 times and you will receive, folks. Prescott helped get back on track both in the air and on the ground for most of the contest in Atlanta, starting and running when the opportunity presented itself and then taking advantage to keep the Falcons off balance bring to Danger the struggle when one is under duress. On the fourth drive of the game, Prescott managed a 22-yard run on 2nd-and-15 to extend a drive that ended in a touchdown throw made possible by Prescott first using his legs to deal with the pressure escape, and threaten to run – before throwing it to Rico Dowdle, who cut the Falcons' lead to just four points.

At this point, Prescott had also completed 10 of his 11 passes for 82 yards, zero interceptions and the aforementioned touchdown, for a strong passer rating of 128.0. Also notable was his decision-making when there was no way to run and throw, such as late in the third quarter when he threw the ball to the ground in front of Jake Ferguson instead of receiving the sack from Matthew Judon. That gave Brandon Aubrey a chance to kick a 57-yard field goal, making it a one-possession game at that point.

However, he would be forced out of the game at the end of the third quarter as the threat of injury apparently had not yet reached the Cowboys' roster.

With Ezekiel Elliott considered inactive and Dalvin Cook breathing down his neck in search of more action, Dowdle made a strong case to be officially named Dallas' RB1 for the remainder of the season. His first half against the Falcons was outstanding out of the backfield as both a running back and receiver – averaging 5.4 yards on the ground on eight attempts (43 yards), along with three catches on three targets and the Cirque du Soleil touchdown grab . He wasn't finished yet, and there's no real argument that could be made in the future for not feeding Dowdle over and over again.

It was Ferguson who got the party started early for Prescott and the Cowboys' offense. It was obvious that head coach Mike McCarthy's plan was to use Ferguson frequently against the Falcons' defensive system that makes teams attack them from underneath. But it wasn't just the catches that impressed, it was the Pro Bowl tight end's physicality, showing both his tyrannical mentality when going through defenders and his athleticism to get around them and get them to do so , to tear off more yards. It was undoubtedly one of the best games of the season for Ferguson.

In the absence of Sam Williams, Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Marshawn Kneeland, the Cowboys desperately needed Carl Lawson to show what made him such a good player in his prime. It felt like he was accomplishing what he showed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in recent games, which is to say, he exploded in Atlanta, with two sacks against Kirk Cousins ​​in the first half alone – both of which he scored at on third down, which then forced the Falcons to punt on one occasion, with his first sack forcing a fumble that was recovered by Donovan Wilson deep in Cowboys territory.

It wasn't the best day for Wilson, but the fumble recovery couldn't have been more fitting for the Cowboys. Lawson did the heavy lifting and Wilson made sure he was the local Johnny to do the rest. Unfortunately, the Cowboys' offense couldn't score any points from the takeaway, one of the few Dallas was able to muster this season, but Wilson did his job on that play and it could have put the game back in the Cowboys' favor – if even just.

The dominant player in the Cowboys' secondary struggled to swing the game the Cowboys' way with the best coverage of the day. Even after being evaluated for an injury, he returned and made an impressive play, a drive-saving tackle on Bijan Robinson on 2nd-and-8, with the Falcons only leading 7-3 at the time. after Robinson broke free from Trevon Diggs. The next piece? Well, it was Carl Lawson who sacked Cousins ​​and forced the aforementioned fumble. Lewis continues to scratch and scratch weekly.