ARLINGTON – Oh, the fun they had.
Gashing through the Washington line. Running away from the Redskins secondary.
Depositing some touchdown cash into the Salvation Army kettle.
Depositing some Dak into the other one.
Who says the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day are no longer must-see TV?
As the home team moved into a virtual lead in the NFC East with a 31-23 victory over the Redskins, much will certainly be written about the return of the Cowboys’ swagger. Their giddy-up, to use the local vernacular. A confidence they haven’t shown in, oh, maybe 22 months.
Was that all they had to do – fire the offensive line coach and bring back Hudson Houck from California?
Give up a No. 1 draft pick for Amari Cooper?
The Magic 8-Ball says yes. All that. And the Redskins.
As the Pilgrims showed us in their original, 1621 game plan, the key to any successful Thanksgiving celebration is to invite some accommodating guests.
Washington provided them aplenty, not to take anything away from the stellar performances of Cooper, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and the whole Cowboys defense.
The truth is, the 6-4 record that the Redskins brought to Arlington was a house of cards. Thursday’s loss was Washington’s third in four games. Its starting quarterback is lost for the season. Its child-beater running back has, again, run out of gas.
Worse, the Redskins could do the math and map the vectors. The Amari Cooper-enhanced Cowboys’ were trending up. This wasn’t the same Dallas team that they defeated in October, 20-17.
Yet, Washington snatched the lead, 13-10, six minutes into the third quarter. Momentum — and a clear path to December — were there for the taking.
But what happened during the ensuing seven minutes – 6:58, actually – U-turned the two teams’ seasons, certainly the Cowboys’.
Receiver Cooper, the expensive holiday gift from Oakland, scored twice on 40- and 90-yard touchdown plays, and Prescott whirled and scrambled and eventually flipped into the end zone for a 31-13 lead.
“I see why we don’t get the respect,” Washington safety D.J. Swearinger said later. “We don’t win the big games.”
Writing in the Washington Post, respected columnist (and home for the holiday) Sally Jenkins likened the Redskins’ defense to pie – “Resistant at first, then crumbling into nothing.”
Jenkins correctly described the Washington defense as “airy.”
Adding to the visitors’ bedevilment was that Colt McCoy, the Texas ex, was making his first start since the Eisenhower administration. The rust showed, never more so than the wobbling duck he threw to Maurice Harris as the Redskins tried to come back in the game’s final five minutes. Three Cowboys defenders were closer to the ball than Harris, and safety Xavier Woods did the honors, McCoy’s third interception of the day.
The Washington running game, meanwhile, contributed nothing. Adrian Peterson, who was pretty good when flip phones were popular, ran 12 times for 35 yards. Over the last four games, Peterson has 56 carries for 171 yards.
He also told a reporter last week that he still uses a belt to discipline his kids, despite being indicted in 2014 for felony child abuse and being suspended by the NFL. The commissioner needs to end this guy’s career.
In rehashing Washington’s woes, I’m only seeking to provide a sober perspective. The postgame radio shows were flush with callers predicting clear sailing to Super Bowl 53. The 10 o’clock TV news shows were downright giddy.
True, the NFC East offers a path of little resistance. All I’m saying is let’s just see how Garrett’s Goliaths do next week when the New Orleans Saints come to town.
The kettle antics, though. The passes to Cooper, a true and precise deep threat. Prescott’s clear surge in confidence.
That all happened Thursday. It’s a different Cowboys team from the one in September and October.
Prescott had nothing but praise for his new pass target, Cooper.
“He is a premier receiver,” the quarterback said. “He does it all – his route-running, his creating space, his strength when we see him making contested catches and breaking tackles.
“And as you saw, his speed in the open field to run away from people makes him dangerous. He’s going to help this offense grow all the way around.”
Suddenly, scoring 20 points in one day doesn’t seem all that daunting for Prescott, coordinator Scott Linehan and the Cowboys offense. Prescott’s 289 passing yards and 121.6 QB rating were his best in 14 games, dating back to last season.
The kettle deposit was Elliott’s spur-of-the-moment idea, not his, Prescott said. But that’s what kind of day it was.
Spontaneous. Happy. Swagger-rejuvenating. Fun.
They hadn’t had much of it over the past two seasons.
Pie, anyone?