Top 10: Once Again Led By Zeke, LVE & D-Law
Just like last week against the Eagles, it was Ezekiel Elliott, Leighton Vander Esch and DeMarcus Lawrence leading the way. After, there were plenty of other guys who contributed to the 22-19 win over the Falcons, including a few players who had to redeem themselves later in the game to get on the list.
10. Xavier Woods – He missed a big tackle in the second half, but Woods was all over the place despite that play. The Cowboys' defense did a good job of keeping the Falcons' high-powered offense in front of them, and it started with Woods' play at safety.
9. Brett Maher – It's hard to make the list with a missed extra point, but Maher did drill a 50-yard field goal on top of his game-winning field goal. Credit to him for bouncing back to win the game.
8. Cole Beasley – See a theme here? Just like Woods and Maher, Beasley had a huge drop early in the game that cost the Cowboys a touchdown. Still, he came back in the second half with two big catches on scoring drives. His 17-yard catch led to a touchdown and his 19-yarder help set up the winning field goal.
7. Maliek Collins – How about one more bounce-back player? Collins dropped an easy interception on the first play of the game but still had big plays throughout the game. He had to play more than usual and was in the Falcons' backfield on several occasions.
6. Tyrone Crawford – Same as Collins, Crawford didn't get a lot of rotational help throughout the game and even dealt with his own injury issues. But he was credited with a split-sack with Lawrence and was part of a defense that gave Matt Ryan problems all day.
5. Zack Martin – Limited earlier in the week because of an injury, Martin was still dominant as usual. He was out on pulls and sweeps despite his knee issue and helped paved the way for a couple of big runs by the offense.
4. Dak Prescott – It's not always pretty, but the end result was all the Cowboys wanted. Prescott played within himself and engineered late drives with the game on the line. His touchdown run gave the Cowboys the lead but his poise in the pocket on the final drive is why the Cowboys left Atlanta with a win.
3. DeMarcus Lawrence – He had the No. 3 spot last week in Philly as well. D-Law had 1.5 sacks against the Falcons, including a big play that knocked Atlanta out of field-goal range. There wasn't a lot of rotation but he still was active all game, flushing Matt Ryan out of the pocket.
2. Leighton Vander Esch – Once again, it's hard to put him No. 2 on this list because the rookie was everywhere. He didn't have as many tackles this time around, but also had an interception, which proved to be a huge turning point. LVE is playing as well as anyone on this team right now.
1. Ezekiel Elliott – Two weeks in a row, Zeke was the best player for the Cowboys and the reason why they won. This offense is leaning on him in a major way. He went over 200 all-purpose yards, accounting for more than 60 percent of the Cowboys' overall production.
