By Dwain Price, NDG Sports
FRISCO – Look who somehow discovered a way to methodically claw their way right smack into the middle of the NFC East race.
Down and out and left for dead two weeks ago following a listless loss at home to the Tennessee Titans, the Cowboys breathe new life into their topsy-turvy season by first winning at Philadelphia, and then this past Sunday traveling to Atlanta and edging the Falcons, 22-19, when Brett Maher booted a 42-yard field goal as time expired.
The back-to-back road wins sets up a dramatic showdown on Thanksgiving Day between the Cowboys and the hated Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Redskins (6-4) lead the NFC East and the Cowboys (5-5) are only one game back with six games remaining.
To get to where they’re now nibbling on the Redskins’ heels, the Cowboys held the Falcons to just one touchdown and countered everything Atlanta did with a critical play of their own.
“Our backs were against the wall — they’re still against the wall,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “Just the fact this shows the character of this team of us swinging and fighting and coming out and the ups and downs in this game.”
Maher, who missed an extra point kick following a 4-yard touchdown run by Prescott, certainly redeemed himself with the game and possibly the season on the line.
“That’s a great feeling, especially knowing what those guys go through throughout the week and what they did during the game to be able to put me in this position,” Maher said. “It’s really satisfying for me to be able to do it for them.”
Coupled with the 27-20 victory in Philadelphia on Nov. 11, this is the first time the Cowboys have won consecutive games since last season. And they certainly picked the perfect time to get their groove back.
“It’s all about being resilient,” linebacker Jaylon Smith said. “That’s something that we’ve been able to do.
“But we’re not satisfied. We have to keep it up.”
Perhaps the Cowboys can keep up this formula for success if they just remember to get the ball into the hands of running back Ezekiel Elliott.
In the win over the Eagles, Elliott rushed 19 times for 151 yards and a touchdown, and caught six passes for 36 yards and a touchdown. And in the win over the Falcons, the third-year running back carried the ball 23 times for 122 yards and a TD, and had seven receptions for an additional 79 yards.
“I think we kind of got away from ourselves at the beginning of the year and I think we’ve done a good job these last couple of weeks just kind of getting back to what we’re comfortable doing and what we do best,” Elliott said. “We knew that we were going to have the possibility to eventually maybe get back for first place in this division.
“The good thing is we took care of our business the past two weeks. (Now) we got to get in our books and we got to get in that film room and get ready for this quick turnaround.”
The quick turnaround comes after a second consecutive splendid performance from rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. A week after compiling a team rookie record 19 tackles and an interception against the Eagles while being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week, Vander Esch had an interception against the Falcons that set up the 23-yard touchdown run by Elliott.
“Taking the ball away is big, particularly in a game like this,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Each of those possessions are going to be big in the game.
“And to be able to get one – take one away from them – and then be able to cash it in, that was huge.”
Vander Esch is in the lineup as the replacement to injured linebacker Sean Lee. Last year the Cowboys were 1-4 when Lee was sidelined with an injury, this year they’re 4-1 when Lee’s been sidelined with an injury.
“I want to be that guy that they can trust,” Vander Esch said. “I’m just coming in prepared every single week like it’s the same and know that those chances are going to come and you’ve got to capitalize on everything.”
For now, the tables appear to be set for the Cowboys to capitalize on a lot of things. They have four of their remaining six games at home, where they’re 3-1.
And the Redskins have to travel all the way to Dallas on this short week without their starting quarterback, Alex Smith, who is out for the season after breaking his leg during this past Sunday’s 23-21 loss to the Houston Texans.
“The team is just really picking it up right now,” said Prescott, who was 22-of-32 for 208 yards against the Falcons. “Everybody is buying into their role no matter what it is, no matter how big it is, how small it is on offense, defense and special teams.
“We’re all playing more comfortable.”
That comfort level mostly stems from the fact that the Cowboys’ defense has been solid as a rock all season, while Elliott has accounted for 388 of the team’s 733 total yards – a whopping 52.9 percent – over the past two weeks. In other words, the Cowboys have been feeding Elliott and he’s been chewing up some very expensive real estate.
“I think this is definitely a big game for us,” Elliott said. “It’s really important for us to go out there and do whatever we can to win this game so it can set us up for the rest of the season.”
The Cowboys have faced the Redskins at home on Thanksgiving Day eight times and have produced a 7-1 record. But this one carries even more significance considering what’s at stake.
“We said this a couple of weeks ago, we knew the division and everything was in front of us,” Prescott said. “We know how important this game is.
“Once again this is another must-win for us week-by-week.”
