NewsBot
New Member
- Messages
- 111,281
- Reaction score
- 2,947
After having their weaknesses exploited on Sunday Night Football last week against the New York Giants in their second loss of the season, the Dallas Cowboys needed to rebound in a big way in Week 15. The problem is that the Cowboys needed this rebound victory against one of the hottest teams in football in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Cowboys opened the game with a nice drive. Dak Prescott looked more comfortable after a difficult game last week. Ezekiel Elliott got off to his typical play, picking up yardage with ease. However, as the Cowboys got deep in Tampa Bay territory, mental mistakes and penalties led to a halt to their drive. Dan Bailey was brought in to connect on a 56-yard field goal. However, his kick was short and, that gave the Buccaneers great territory.
Jameis Winston and company got into Dallas territory after a big pass interference penalty on Brandon Carr. After Byron Jones made a big pass breakup on third down, the Bucs were forced to kick a short field goal and Roberto Aguayo connected, putting Tampa Bay up three.
Dallas responded with an 11-play, 65-yard drive that, again, brought the offense deep inside Tampa Bay territory. However, a penalty on Doug Free stalled the drive, and the Cowboys were forced to settle for three points. On the first play of the following drive for the Buccaneers, Terrell McClain got pressure on Winston and forced a strip-sack that was recovered by rookie Maliek Collins deep inside Tampa Bay territory. Five plays later, the Cowboys took the lead with a two-yard touchdown run from Elliott.
Tampa Bay's drive in response to the Cowboys' touchdown was a quick drive that went for just four yards on three plays. Dallas capitalized on the field possession and scored yet another touchdown after Prescott's two-yard touchdown rush. The Bucs trimmed the deficit in the next possession when they scored a field goal to make the score 17-6.
Near the end of the first half, the Cowboys were given the chance to put up more points. But questionable play-calling paired with penalties stalled the drive and forced the Cowboys to settle for a 52-yard field-goal attempt. The kick had the distance, but it sailed just to the left of the upright. In response to the short field, the Bucs were able to heave a Hail Mary, but it was instead intercepted by Jones, giving him his first interception of his career.
In the second half, the Buccaneers came out strong. They switched up their offensive style to a no-huddle, which tired out the Cowboys' defensive front that was already thin due to injuries to starters Tyrone Crawford and DeMarcus Lawrence. The Bucs capped off the drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Winston to Adam Humphries.
After a quick drive that resulted in a punt after four plays, the Buccaneers took the lead off a 10-play, 81-yard drive that took just five minutes. At the point, despite the massive difference in yardage, the mental mistakes caught up to a Cowboys team that could've put this game away in the first half.
Nevertheless, the Cowboys tied up the score with a field goal after a 10-play, 58-yard drive. In response to Dallas' field goal, Winston's pass on third down sailed high, and it landed in the arms of Jeff Heath, marking the third time Heath has intercepted Winston in the past two seasons. Dallas was only able to get a field goal out of the short field, but it still gave the Cowboys the lead and a much-needed momentum boost.
Tampa Bay responded with a quick three-play drive that went for just eight yards. Dallas got the ball back and instead of handing it off to Elliott to milk the clock, Prescott found Jason Witten for a big pass. But after Witten caught the pass, a big hit from Kwon Alexander forced a fumble, and the Bucs were able to recover.
Despite the short field, the Cowboys tightened up on defense, and it led to another three-and-out possession for the Bucs, forcing them to punt the ball away with about seven minutes left to play. Dallas responded with an eight-play, 81-yard drive. However, on 4th-and-short, the Cowboys decided to opt to take the field goal rather than scoring the kill shot. Bailey connected on another field goal that gave the Cowboys a six-point lead.
In response to that, the Buccaneers couldn't get anything in large part due to the presence of David Irving and his impact off the edge. Tampa Bay's drive lasted just three plays, and that gave the Cowboys the ball back with a chance to close it out. In that drive, despite a long run from Elliott, the Buccaneers had three timeouts and the two-minute warning to stop the clock. The Buccaneers forced the stop and were given the ball back.
But despite getting the ball back, Irving kept getting pressure off the edge, and that led to Winston sailing passes high. On fourth down, Winston rolled out right and looked deep, looking for Russell Shepard. Orlando Scandrick came up with the interception, and the Cowboys were able to seal their 12th victory after Prescott and company ended the game on offense in victory formation.
Read on for full grades and analysis from the Cowboys' 12th win of the season.
Begin Slideshow
Continue reading...
The Cowboys opened the game with a nice drive. Dak Prescott looked more comfortable after a difficult game last week. Ezekiel Elliott got off to his typical play, picking up yardage with ease. However, as the Cowboys got deep in Tampa Bay territory, mental mistakes and penalties led to a halt to their drive. Dan Bailey was brought in to connect on a 56-yard field goal. However, his kick was short and, that gave the Buccaneers great territory.
Jameis Winston and company got into Dallas territory after a big pass interference penalty on Brandon Carr. After Byron Jones made a big pass breakup on third down, the Bucs were forced to kick a short field goal and Roberto Aguayo connected, putting Tampa Bay up three.
Dallas responded with an 11-play, 65-yard drive that, again, brought the offense deep inside Tampa Bay territory. However, a penalty on Doug Free stalled the drive, and the Cowboys were forced to settle for three points. On the first play of the following drive for the Buccaneers, Terrell McClain got pressure on Winston and forced a strip-sack that was recovered by rookie Maliek Collins deep inside Tampa Bay territory. Five plays later, the Cowboys took the lead with a two-yard touchdown run from Elliott.
Tampa Bay's drive in response to the Cowboys' touchdown was a quick drive that went for just four yards on three plays. Dallas capitalized on the field possession and scored yet another touchdown after Prescott's two-yard touchdown rush. The Bucs trimmed the deficit in the next possession when they scored a field goal to make the score 17-6.
Near the end of the first half, the Cowboys were given the chance to put up more points. But questionable play-calling paired with penalties stalled the drive and forced the Cowboys to settle for a 52-yard field-goal attempt. The kick had the distance, but it sailed just to the left of the upright. In response to the short field, the Bucs were able to heave a Hail Mary, but it was instead intercepted by Jones, giving him his first interception of his career.
In the second half, the Buccaneers came out strong. They switched up their offensive style to a no-huddle, which tired out the Cowboys' defensive front that was already thin due to injuries to starters Tyrone Crawford and DeMarcus Lawrence. The Bucs capped off the drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Winston to Adam Humphries.
After a quick drive that resulted in a punt after four plays, the Buccaneers took the lead off a 10-play, 81-yard drive that took just five minutes. At the point, despite the massive difference in yardage, the mental mistakes caught up to a Cowboys team that could've put this game away in the first half.
Nevertheless, the Cowboys tied up the score with a field goal after a 10-play, 58-yard drive. In response to Dallas' field goal, Winston's pass on third down sailed high, and it landed in the arms of Jeff Heath, marking the third time Heath has intercepted Winston in the past two seasons. Dallas was only able to get a field goal out of the short field, but it still gave the Cowboys the lead and a much-needed momentum boost.
Tampa Bay responded with a quick three-play drive that went for just eight yards. Dallas got the ball back and instead of handing it off to Elliott to milk the clock, Prescott found Jason Witten for a big pass. But after Witten caught the pass, a big hit from Kwon Alexander forced a fumble, and the Bucs were able to recover.
Despite the short field, the Cowboys tightened up on defense, and it led to another three-and-out possession for the Bucs, forcing them to punt the ball away with about seven minutes left to play. Dallas responded with an eight-play, 81-yard drive. However, on 4th-and-short, the Cowboys decided to opt to take the field goal rather than scoring the kill shot. Bailey connected on another field goal that gave the Cowboys a six-point lead.
In response to that, the Buccaneers couldn't get anything in large part due to the presence of David Irving and his impact off the edge. Tampa Bay's drive lasted just three plays, and that gave the Cowboys the ball back with a chance to close it out. In that drive, despite a long run from Elliott, the Buccaneers had three timeouts and the two-minute warning to stop the clock. The Buccaneers forced the stop and were given the ball back.
But despite getting the ball back, Irving kept getting pressure off the edge, and that led to Winston sailing passes high. On fourth down, Winston rolled out right and looked deep, looking for Russell Shepard. Orlando Scandrick came up with the interception, and the Cowboys were able to seal their 12th victory after Prescott and company ended the game on offense in victory formation.
Read on for full grades and analysis from the Cowboys' 12th win of the season.
Begin Slideshow
Continue reading...