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LANDOVER, MD. - With a steady rain pouring throughout, the Cowboys took advantage of a great opportunity Sunday afternoon at FedEx Field.
Here are my thoughts on how the Cowboys earned their fourth win of the season, 33-19 over the Washington Redskins.
1) The injury bug
Although the Cowboys were playing on the road, they had a significant advantage Sunday. They were much healthier than the Redskins, who were coming off a short week having played on Monday Night Football. Washington was without the majority of its starting offensive linemen, most importantly All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams. Aside from Dan Bailey and Chidobe Awuzie, the Cowboys are as healthy as they've been in a while. Importantly, they took advantage against a division opponent, especially after a slow start.
2) Biggest play
Tyrone Crawford's blocked field goal and Orlando Scandrick's near touchdown return late in the second quarter. Scandrick, who had one of his best games, could have easily gone out of bounds near the Redskins sideline after a roughly 30-yard return. Instead, he cut back and darted toward the opposite sideline. He found a hole and nearly took it the distance. The play set up Ezekiel Elliott's second touchdown, which gave Dallas a 14-13 lead in a game that felt like they should be trailing by two touchdowns. It might have been a different outcome without that key play.
3) Feed Zeke
Ezekiel Elliott started out with his third fumble in five quarters at FedEx Field. It was no reflection on how he played the rest of the day. Elliott carried a career-high 33 times for 150 yards and scored two touchdowns. It was Elliott's seventh two-touchdown rushing game of his career. The Cowboys improved to 7-0 in those contests. Elliott has a hearing Monday in New York City that will determine whether he has to start serving his six-game suspension or can continue to play while his legal team fights the NFL's decision. Losing Zeke would be a huge blow at any time, but especially when it appears he's starting to take his game to another level this season.
4) Tank Lawrence, double-digit sacks
The talk entering the season was DeMarcus Lawrence could be ready to have his first double-digit sack year of his career. Well, that's done. Lawrence recorded his 10th sack Sunday. But who expected the Cowboys to have two players in double digits? David Irving looks like he's on his way. Irving had two more sacks Sunday to go along with a big tipped pass in the fourth-quarter, setting up Byron Jones' pick-six. This is clearly the best group of rushmen Rod Marinelli has had since becoming Cowboys defensive coordinator. It'll be interesting to see if they'll continue to produce the way they have so far this season.
5) No Dan Bailey, no problem
He's not Dan Bailey, but Mike Nugent proved to be reliable. He missed his first field goal, a 49-yard attempt, opening the door for several predictable tweets about how much the Cowboys miss Bailey. But Nugent quickly recovered, finishing 4 of 5 kicking field goals with his longest coming from 48 yards. He also made all of his extra points. Considering the conditions, it was a pretty impressive debut. Things should be much easier inside AT&T Stadium next Sunday against Kansas City.