Gameday is always a whirlwind when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys. What we think will happen is rarely what actually happens. What actually happens goes by in a blur. And when all is said and done, there's a new week's worth of aftermath to sort out, good or bad. The DallasCowboys.com staff is always there to cover every aspect.
The day after each game this season Further Review will give a chance to catch your breath and look back at what actually happened. What did we think going in? What happened? And what does it all mean?
The Warm Up:
- Isaiah Stanback said that if the running game was going to get going, numerous players were going to need to stop missing assignments, and he had the film to back it up [Watch Stanback diagnose the run blocking on Special Edition]
- Why does every pass from Dak Prescott to Amari Cooper look so effortless? Cooper says it's all about natural timing [Watch Cooper talk chemistry with his QB and preparing for Washington]
- Tony Pollard wasn't declared inactive until Sunday morning, and Pregame Live was ready to react to the news in real time [Watch Nate Newton break down how the Cowboys could handle playing without Pollard]
- Prescott said earlier in the week that the time for him to use his legs more might be arriving. "I'm not going to regret not doing it but as I said I think there's a time where you see it more," Prescott said. [Read about Prescott’s plans for becoming a ball carrier before he went on to use his legs to seal a victory]
Game Time:
- Cooper wasn't kidding about that chemistry [Watch Amari put that natural timing to work with a perfectly executed first quarter touchdown]
- Randy Gregory is back and healthy, and on Sunday he reminded everyone he is an elite playmaker [Watch Gregory talk after the game about his incredible play and the D-line’s dominance]
- Trevon Diggs felt the energy in the stadium Sunday afternoon as his defense stepped up [Watch Diggs discuss covering the Washington receivers]
- ● It had been two years since Corey Clement got the kind of opportunity he did on Sunday [Watch Clement talking about why he didn’t need to get ready]
What now?
- Was it a close game? Was it a blowout? How did it happen? If you really want to understand how the Cowboys beat Washington Kurt Daniels has all the numbers and moments that defined the game [Read Daniels’ game recap]
- Prescott had some miscues later, but he narrowly avoided disaster on the first drive. "The Cowboys were able to continue the drive with another first down and eventually made a field goal to take a 3-0 lead," Nick Eatman wrote. "But a pick thrown by Prescott on the first drive could've changed the entire sequence." [Read about all five of the crucial plays that Eatman thinks you might have forgotten]
- Now that it's fully healthy, was Sunday's game proof that the D-line can carry the Cowboys to victories? "The all-angles pressure was suffocating for Heinicke," Rob Phillips wrote of the unit on Sunday [Phillips on the dominant D-line]
- Mike McCarthy and Ron Rivera both sparked a few headlines leading up to Sunday's game. "Neither said anything that was particularly offensive about the other, but after the game, it seemed both veteran coaches may have known something about how to motivate their teams," Jonny Auping wrote [Auping on McCarthy sparking a rivalry and delivering on a guarantee]
