It was more of a struggle than it probably should have been for the Cowboys on Thursday night, but they ultimately leave Nashville with a 27-13 victory over the Titans.
The win means the Cowboys are still in contention for the NFC East title, pending Philadelphia’s game with the Saints this weekend.
Here are some of the positives and negatives from Dallas’ victory.
STAR UP
DeMarcus Lawrence: Lawrence was largely quiet in the second half, but he made several plays early in this one. The Titans had a tough time blocking him up in pass protection or run blocking. Lawrence finishes the game with 5 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and a forced fumble.
CeeDee Lamb: This is CeeDee Lamb’s weekly appearance as a Star Up. There just isn’t much Lamb does wrong lately. Lamb reached 100 yards receiving for the third straight game, the first Cowboys player to do that since Terrell Owens in 2007.
Dalton Schultz: Schultz and Lamb are the two players who have most benefited from Dak Prescott’s return to the lineup, and for Schultz that’s particularly true in the red zone. He showed his reliability in the red zone once more with two touchdown catches.
T.Y. Hilton: Hilton is proving to be a clutch playmaker, picking up three more third down conversions on Thursday. Dak Prescott already seems to have a lot of faith in Hilton in big moments.
Damone Clark: I’ll have to watch the tape back to see exactly how good he was, but a first viewing on television looked as if Clark played well. He flashed on at least three occasions in this game, appearing to read and react better than he has in several weeks.
STAR DOWN
Turnovers: Whether it’s a dropped pass by Peyton Hendershot, a risky throw from Dak Prescott, or a bad exchange between center and quarterback, turnovers continue to be a plague for the Dallas Cowboys. Fluky or not, this can’t continue. The Cowboys will be an early playoff exit if it isn’t corrected.
Anthony Barr: Just as CeeDee Lamb is a weekly addition to Star Up, Anthony Barr is becoming a regular in Star Down. He was bad in coverage again in Week 17. Leighton Vander Esch can’t get back soon enough.
Nahshon Wright: Wright came up with a big interception in the fourth quarter, but Josh Dobbs and the Titans picked on him for much of the game. Wright is often in good position, but fails to finish plays. Hopefully the interception was a sign of things to come.
Kelvin Joseph: Joseph committed two more penalties on special teams, giving him six for the year now. It’s getting to a point where Joseph serves absolutely no point on this roster.
Kellen Moore: Moore continues to batter the offense’s head against a wall with early down run plays that go nowhere. Moore called 19 carries on first down in this game, and those plays picked up a total of 33 yards. Entering Thursday’s game, no team had run the ball more than Dallas on first and second down over the previous two games. They ranked in the bottom third in the league in efficiency on those runs. Those numbers are sure to go down after Thursday’s performance.
