Not every win on the season is going to be pretty. With starting quarterback Dak Prescott out, Dallas has needed to rely on great defense and special teams play in order to win games. That allows the offense to make a couple plays here and there and focus on just not losing the game with egregious mistakes.
The Alabama boys, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, made it tough on the Cowboys offense all game long in Week 4, causing havoc throughout. The Washington Commanders defensive linemen combined for 13 tackles, a sack, two pass breakups, and five tackles for loss. They helped force two interceptions as well, but both were called back by penalties. If the Washington Commanders have three stars, they were the top two. But still, they were no match for the celestials Dallas brought to the fight.
The Cowboys’ defense had much more collective success, once again holding their opponent to under 200 yards passing and allowing only one touchdown. Kicker Brett Maher had an extra point blocked, but went 4-for-4 on field goal tries including a 53-yard attempt. Bryan Anger had his first shanked punt of the season, but overall did a great job flipping field position with two punts inside the 20.
Ugly wins count the exact same as pretty ones do. Dallas needing to grind games out to survive tough battles for wins brings out the rigidity necessary to win in the playoffs and the stars of the game aren’t always flashy, but they found a way to impact another game to lead their team to victory.