game recap – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Cowboys carve up Turducken meat, devour Giants 27-20 on Thanksgiving

The Cowboys have taken advantage of familiar foes, winning their second in a row to improve to 5-7. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are back, baby! Okay, not really, but they are still are capable of beating teams playing badly and flat-out bad teams. Just four days after upsetting the Washington Commanders to snap a five-game losing streak the Cowboys returned to the field to take on another division opponent. This time, the New York Giants were up on the schedule and for the first time in seven games, the Cowboys were able to win in Dallas.

A losing streak stretching back to the wild-card game in January, Dallas had also fallen behind by at least 20 points in each contest. But with Drew Lock under center and a clear fixation on the No. 1 draft pick, the Giants offered little resistance, even to a team flying as low as the Cowboys have been.

Dallas extended a three-point halftime lead and turned it into a dominant second half. A late Giants touchdown shrunk the final margin to 27-20, as the Cowboys improve to 5-7 on the season.

The Giants dropped to 2-10 as the Cowboys swept the season series.

QB Cooper Rush turned in another solid, bus-driver performance and was complimented by Rico Dowdle’s first career 100-yard ground game and a second-consecutive strong defensive performance. Edge rusher Micah Parsons chipped in a sack and a half, while LB DeMarvion Overshown continues to develop into a complete weapon.

The second-year Texas product who missed all of his rookie season had a Pick-Six and a fumble recovery, along with seven tackles on the game. Dallas held Lock to a frustrating day after a 70-yard opening touchdown drive.

The Giants managed just 161 yards on offense until their final scoring drive, as they struggled to string together any semblance of rhythm in his first start of the season. The Giants released starting QB Daniel Jones, who cleared waivers and signed with the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday. Last week he was replaced by Tommy DeVito, who was unable to go on Thursday.

The Cowboys are now 2-2 since Dak Prescott was lost for the season with a hamstring injury.

After playing three games in 10 days (Week 11 was a MNF blowout loss to Houston), the Cowboys will now get a mini-bye week before closing out their 2024 schedule. At 5-7 the playoffs isn’t impossible, but it’s an incredibly long shot, as is now the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Dallas’ next opponent will be the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 14.

Raiders vs Broncos week 12 recap, final score: Another Las Vegas collapse puts losing streak at 7

The Raiders held a rare third quarter lead over the Broncos week 12 only to see it slip away and their losing streak reach seven games.

Special teams was special for the Raiders all day against the Broncos. A big kick return by Dylan Laube set up the Raiders touchdown early in the second quarter to jump to a 7-3 lead. Then a fake punt pass from AJ Cole to LB Divine Deablo would set up a field goal to help the Raiders go up 13-9 at the half.

To begin the third quarter, the Raiders defense would stop the Broncos for a three-and-out, making for the first time since week four that they started a drive with a lead in the third quarter.

It would last six plays.

On the fourth play of the Raiders’ possession, Gardner Minshew would get his arm hit as he threw by Broncos edge rusher Nick Bonitto and Brandon Jones would pick it off.

Two plays into the Broncos’ ensuing possession, Nix found Courtland Sutton for the touchdown to take a 16-13 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Broncos would go on another drive into Vegas territory. A tackle for loss by Maxx Crosby followed by a batted pass by Tre’von Moehrig would stall the drive, but the Broncos still added a 45-yard field goal to extend the lead to 19-13.

The Raiders answered back with a drive that ended with a 53-yard Daniel Carlson field goal to bring it back to a three-point game at 19-16.

Again, it didn’t last long as the Broncos marched down the field for a touchdown. The big play was a 37-yard catch and run by Marvin Mims that put the Broncos in first and goal at the two. Next play, Bo Nix made a perfect throw for Courland Sutton in the back of the end zone for the score and a 26-16 Broncos lead.

With the game now a two-score difference, and just over five minutes left, the Raiders would need to work quickly if they hoped to have a chance.

Three straight completions to Bowers, Meyers, and Turner would put the Raiders in first down at the Denver 44. A nice 25-yard pass from Minshew to Meyers put the Raiders inside the 20 and another completion to Meyers for 15 yards put them in first and goal at the four.

From there three straight incompletions brought on the field goal unit to try and make it a one score game. Carlson converted on the chip shot to make it 26-19 with 3:38 remaining.

The Raiders defense got the offense the ball back, but on the first play Gardner Minshew is sacked and left the game injured and headed for the locker room.

Desmond Ridder came in at QB and on his second play, he was hit as he threw, causing a fumble and the Broncos recovered in scoring range.

A field goal by the Broncos off the turnover brought it back to a two-score lead, which sealed the Raiders’ fate, as they would love their seventh straight game.

Chaos: Cowboys, Commanders comedy turns into 40-point 4th quarter, Dallas victory

There have been some insane finishes in the Cowboys-Washington rivalry over the decades, but this one might take the cake. After a sloppy, special-teams-gaffe filled first half, Dallas and the Commanders found themselves tied at halftime 3-3. When QB Cooper Rush found Jalen Tolbert in the end zone, the Cowboys scored their first third-quarter touchdown of the season to take a 10-9 lead into the fourth.

And then the fourth quarter happened and it was pure chaos. The two teams combined for 41 points, including touchdowns that went for 99, 86 and 43 yards. Dallas returned two kickoffs for scores and Washington tried their best to pull off another Hail Mary but Jayden Daniels’ pass was tipped into the waiting arms of Israel Mukuamu to seal the 34-26 victory.

The Cowboys improved to 4-7 on the season, breaking their five-game losing streak and handing Washington their third consecutive loss to drop to 7-5.

The game was full of special teams miscues, with Brandon Aubrey having his first field goal blocked, missing his second. Bryan Anger had a punt blocked as well, but the Commanders Austin Seibert wouldn’t let them suffer alone. He missed his own field goal as well as two extra points that set the Commanders back at every opportunity.

Even the things that went right involved mistakes, including Kavontae Turpin muffing a kickoff before racing 99 yards for a score.

Cooper Rush, starting his third straight game after Dallas lost Dak Prescott to a hamstring injury, finished 24 for 32 for 247 yards and two scores, sporting a 117.6 passer rating. He also found TE Luke Schoonmaker for a score in addition to Tolbert. Dallas’ offense was able to run the ball as well, with Rico Dowdle averaging 4.5 yards a carry on his way to an 86-yard day.

The Cowboys defense intercepted Daniels twice as he continues to struggle after a blazing start to his season and his career.

Dallas will now have a short week to prepare for their next division game, their second of the season against the New York Giants (2-9) who released their starting quarterback Daniel Jones earlier in the week. New York fell 30-7 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after falling behind by 30 through three quarters.

Instant takeaways from Florida’s massive upset win over No. 9 OIe Miss

All aboard the Lane Train… right out of Gainesville. This is Billy Napier’s town, and his Gators delivered a massive upset against Ole Miss Saturday to prove it.

For a second consecutive week, the Florida Gators have upset a ranked opponent in The Swamp. The Orange and Blue took down the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels, 24-17, to improve their record to 6-5 and secure bowl eligibility.

[autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] didn’t need to be the hero, but he still made some incredible throws, including two touchdown passes. The winning score came with senior running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. under center, though. Johnson lined up in the wildcat formation, faked a handoff and ran nine yards to his right into the endzone.

The remaining 7 minutes and 40 seconds of the contest was thrilling and proved that a depleted Gators secondary was still enough to stop one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart threw two interceptions — both secured by safety Bryce Thornton — to squash the Rebels’ chances to make the College Football Playoff.

The victory is, without a doubt, the best win of the [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] era and perhaps the best win since Kyle Trask was leading the glory year under Dan Mullen.

Florida is back!

The Billy Napier era has been filled with disappointment and uneasiness, but no longer is the future dim for the Florida Gators. The emergence of [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] and the miraculous improvement of the defensive, at various levels, over the course of the season provides a path for Napier to not only stay on board for another season but perhaps thrive in Gainesville.

Lagway is a Heisman candidate moving forward, and he hasn’t even played with a fully healthy Eugene Wilson III. Replacing veteran receivers like [autotag]Elijhah Badger[/autotag] and [autotag]Chimere Dike[/autotag] won’t be easy, but there’s going to be a lot of interest from the big names in the transfer portal.

On defense, Gerald Chatman has transformed the line. [autotag]Caleb Banks[/autotag] looks like a future high-round pick, [autotag]Tyreak Sapp[/autotag] is dominating on the edge and [autotag]Cam Jackson[/autotag] is the anchor up front that Florida has needed all year. The pressure created, especially once Ole Miss center Reece McIntyre went down, forced Dart to make mistakes and an underestimated Gators secondary came up big in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

It’s hard not to be excited about what this team can do moving forward, and the dark cloud that’s hung over The Swamp for the past three years seems to be finally fading.

Great day for the RBs

Coming into this matchup, Ole Miss had the second-best run defense in the country. The Rebels allowed just 79.9 rushing yards per game and held opposing running backs to just 2.23 yards per carry.

Napier and his staff didn’t care about any of those numbers, though. The game plan was to run the ball early and often, and it worked like a charm. Florida’s three-headed monster in the backfield totaled a combined 174 yards on 39 carries, averaging 4.46 yards per carry — double the season average allowed by Ole Miss.

Johnson was the primary back in this one, rushing for 107 yards and the wildcat touchdown on 18 attempts, but Baugh flashed his talents with 46 yards on 13 rushes. [autotag]Ja’Kobi Jackson[/autotag], Florida’s JUCO gem, added 21 yards on eight carries.

Baugh and Jackson will be back next year to lead Florida’s running backs room, and Johnson will likely turn to pro now that he’s out of eligibility.

It’s been an injury-riddled year for Johnson, who had minor knee surgery during the preseason and missed a few games as the quarterback transition from Graham Mertz to Lagway took place, but he came back at the perfect time. Florida doesn’t win this game without him.

‘Next man up’ mentality prevails

Florida has dealt with a number of injuries this season and came into this game down its top three cornerbacks, a starting linebacker and safety. But that doesn’t matter when the entire team is repeating the line “next man up” at every opportunity in front of the media.

Banks is the breakout star over the last two weeks. He looks like an NFL-ready defensive lineman at times and racked up 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss against Ole Miss. Sapp is the heart and soul of the front seven, and [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] is another leader at the second level of the defense.

Thornton’s two interceptions were the most timely turnovers of the year for Florida, and the secondary has been held together by Trikweze Bridges’ position versatility as he moves from safety to cornerback.

[autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag] deserves praise for delivering hit after hit, many of which came against runners in the open field, and [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag] is finally playing like he did during his freshman year — talk about a big hit to start the game.

This defense could have folded weeks, if not months, ago, but they didn’t. Austin Armstrong, Napier and Ron Roberts all deserve praise for keeping these guys focused through a tremendous amount of adversity throughout the season.

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Takeaways: Alijah Martin drops 32 as Florida basketball moves to 6-0

Alijah Martin exploded for 32 points and single-handedly cured Florida’s three-point woes in a blowout win over Southern Illinois on Friday.

Things stayed competitive for a bit between Florida and Southern Illinois, but then [autotag]Alijah Martin[/autotag] got hot and led the Gators to a 93-68 victory over the Salukis Friday night.

Martin led all scorers with 32 points and nearly posted a double-double with nine rebounds. [autotag]Thomas Haugh[/autotag] set a new career-high with 19 points, adding seven rebounds and four blocks to his tally. No other Gator finished in double figures, but Martin’s performance was more than enough to carry the team to a sixth-straight win.

Florida lost the rebound battle for the first time this season thanks to 20 offensive boards from SIU, but the Gators ended with single-digit turnovers for the second game in a row.

Once again, the Gators played worse in the second half, marking a third-straight contest with that issue; however, it was a much more dominant win than the past two games against Florida A&M and Florida State.

Career night for Alijah Martin

Martin was the sparkplug in this victory. Point totals aside, he came up big when the team needed him the most. Florida has been atrocious from three-point range all season, so Martin took things into his hands and drained eight of 13 attempts from deep.

It wasn’t the long ball that sparked the big run, though. Martin slammed a dunk home to cap off a two-possession run of explosive finishes, and the floodgates opened up from there on out.

Perhaps even more encouraging is that Martin wasn’t looking to explode in the points column. When he had a chance to tie his career high of 34 from under the rim, he made the extra pass to Haugh to give him a new career high instead. It’s that kind of unselfishness that’s going to win Florida games — of course, dropping 32 points helps too.

Martin also led the team in rebounds (9) and assists (5), so he’s a guy who can do it all for the Gators at the “3” position. Talk about a breakout performance.

Haugh makes a strong argument to start

Taking nothing away from [autotag]Rueben Chinyelu[/autotag], who starts alongside [autotag]Alex Condon[/autotag] in Florida’s frontcourt, [autotag]Thomas Haugh[/autotag] deserves to see the court more often.

He got some extra minutes with [autotag]Sam Alexis[/autotag] out against Florida A&M and led all of Florida’s big men with 25 minutes tonight. [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] does a great job rotating his forward in and out, but Chinyelu doesn’t have the stamina to stay out there long, forcing Haugh into starter minutes.

Perhaps it would be wise to start with Haugh on the court alongside Condon, who is one of his best friends. There’s untapped chemistry there, and Alexis and Chinyelu would remain a formidable duo off the bench. There is an element of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it here, but it’s hard to deny the impact Haugh has made on the court over the past week.

He might be the team’s best defensive big and he routinely fights for boards that Condon isn’t always positioned for.

Great assist-to-turnover ratio

The mark of a good basketball team is the assist-to-turnover ratio, and Florida posted a season-high 25 assists while turning the ball over a season-low six times. That’s 4.67 assists per turnover, which would dwarf Utah State’s NCAA-leading 2.41 ratio coming into tonight’s games.

Florida isn’t going to play FAMU and SIU every week, but it’s a really positive sign to see the Gators clean up the turnover problems after giving the ball away 19 times to Florida State just a week ago.

Clayton (25 assists, 14 turnovers) and Martin (21 and 10) are the two main ball distributors on the roster, but Condon (12 and 5) has some court vision too. [autotag]Alex Klavzar[/autotag] could also help in that statistical category with five assists and just one turnover through three games.

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Overmatched Cowboys add more injuries to insulting play in fifth straight loss, 34-10 to Texans

The Cowboys drop to 3-7 on the season as they lose their fifth-straight contest.

The Dallas Cowboys placed QB Dak Prescott on injured reserve prior to Monday night’s contest against the Houston Texans. The Week 11 move was anticipated for the last several weeks, but the fact it took so long to make was a significant admission. There’s no cavalry coming, so the need for the roster spot wasn’t really a pressing issue for the 3-6 Cowboys.

Make that 3-7, as the club was once again in a street fight without any weapons in falling to the Texans 34-10. The club’s fifth straight defeat came with the required number of head scratches and face palms pretty much from the onset of the game. Dallas gave up big plays, turned the ball over and had a myriad of new injuries to keep piling on the miserable season.

Dallas saw three different starting offensive linemen leave the contest with injuries, along with their starting tight end. Jake Ferguson suffered a concussion early on, and then the second half saw Tyler Guyton, Zack Martin and Tyler Smith all get knocked out; the latter two within three plays of each other.

With Cooper Rush continuing to struggle to push the ball downfield on a regular basis, the Dallas defense was once again asked to do something they were incapable of doing. The Houston offense scored on a 77-yard opening play that was called back, but were undaunted with numerous big plays.

CJ Stroud released the ball quickly, often finding his returning star WR Nico Collins, on the way to 257 passing yards. He didn’t throw for a score, but it wasn’t necessary with RB Joe Mixon adding three touchdowns on 109 rushing yards.

In comparison Rush threw for over 300 yards, but Mike McCarhty’s non-existent commitment to the running game saw Dallas rush just 16 times compared to over 50 passing attempts.

The Cowoys offense remains disfunctional as the team lost their sixth straight home game

Lions blow away the Jaguars and also some franchise records in the process

Last week’s Detroit Lions game went down to the wire, full of drama and suspense. The Lions won in Week 10 in Houston 26-23 on the last play of the game after trailing the Texans almost all night.

There was no such drama with Sunday’s Week 11 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Ford Field. Detroit was in complete control of the visitors from Duval almost from the opening kickoff. The Lions rolled to a 52-6 home win in a game that wasn’t close after the opening possessions.

The Lions scored every time they touched the ball in the first half, going 4-for-4 on touchdown drives. All four gained at least 64 yards, with the Lions outgaining the Jaguars 306-104 at the half.

Halftime was but a delay in the ongoing onslaught. Detroit’s starting offense scored touchdowns on all three possessions it played in the second half, rolling the lead to 49-6 before head coach Dan Campbell inserted the reserves early in the fourth quarter.

Jared Goff completed 24 of his 29 pass attempts, netting 412 yards and four TDs. Three of his five incompletions were intentional throwaways en route to a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Just for good measure, Goff outrushed Jagaurs starting RB Travis Etienne, 21 to 17, while the Lions starters were still playing.

Detroit’s defense also came to play, suffocating a banged-up Jaguars offense missing QB Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars went 3-and-out four times in their first eight possessions, with Kerby Joseph ending another with an interception off Mac Jones. Jacksonville gained just 170 net yards.

In the end, the Lions set a new franchise record for most yards gained in a game with 644. They also picked up a team-best 38 first downs. Both are in the top 10 single-game performances in NFL history.

Instant takeaways from Florida basketball’s win against Florida State

Walter Clayton Jr. takes the Florida State rivalry personally and his 25 points helped the Gators come out on top against the Seminoles on Friday night.

Florida took down rival Florida State on the hardwood Friday night, 87-74, in a game that could have been a 20-point blowout but stayed within range until a pair of dagger threes in the final minutes.

[autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. led all scorers with 25 points, followed by [autotag]Alijah Martin[/autotag] with 17 and [autotag]Sam Alexis[/autotag] with 12 for Florida. Seminoles star Jamir Watkins scored 19, and three other Florida State players reached double figures.

The biggest difference between the two squads was the physicality Florida played with, made evident by an 18-rebound differential at the final buzzer. [autotag]Alex Condon[/autotag] missed his first double-double of the season by three points, but he dominated the boards all night.

Despite the 13-point margin on the scoreboard, Florida did not play its best basketball. The Gators turned the ball over 19 times, giving the Seminoles 16 points off turnovers. [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] set a goal of 12 or fewer ahead of the game, and Florida made this game closer than it needed to be by exceeding that total.

Still, a win is a win, especially when it comes against Florida State — even though the Seminoles haven’t won this matchup since the 2020 season.

The Gators move to 4-0 on the season with a chance to close out the first month of the season undefeated. Florida A&M, Southern Illinois and Wake Forest remain on the schedule.

Walter Clayton Jr. likes playing Florida State

Clayton dropped 19 against Florida State last year and didn’t hold back when discussing his feelings on the Seminoles in the post-game press conference. He followed that performance up with a 25-point outburst, most of which (12) came during the bookends of the game.

A shoot-first guard, Clayton can take over games when he needs to for Florida. The Gators have several scoring options, but Clayton can stroke it from deep and drive the lane when the defense gives it to him. He’s also 12-of-13 this year from the free-throw line, which means there’s no way to stop him from scoring without forcing a turnover.

Against Grambling State and Jacksonville, Clayton seemed more focused on distributing the ball rather than scoring. Tonight, he wanted to outplay Watkins and lead his team to a convincing victory. His team-high plus-minus of 15 confirms he was the X-factor in this win.

Another dominant night on the boards

Florida State has some big bodies down low, and they play defense better than other teams Florida has seen this year. But the Seminoles were no match for the Gators on the boards.

Florida’s 47 rebounds against FSU are the most so far this season, surpassing the 45 grabbed against Grambling State at the beginning of the week. Condon is the biggest contributor, securing 11 defensive rebounds and one offensive. He simply out-physicals the other big bodies in the paint, and those 12 boards came over just 28 minutes.

Not to be forgotten is [autotag]Thomas Haugh[/autotag], who had five defensive rebounds and four offensive for a total of nine over 20 minutes off the bench. It’s a luxury for Todd Golden to be able to rotate these two in and out, and there’s really no need for them to see the floor at the same time except for the fact that they are best friends.

[autotag]Rueben Chinyelu[/autotag] matched his season-high with six rebounds (three defensive, three offensive), and all three starting guards — Clayton, Martin and [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] — added five apiece to the team total. When you get that kind of production on the glass from your starting five, it’s pretty easy to find a path to victory.

Too many turnovers

The scary about wins like this for Florida is that the Gators aren’t playing their best basketball. Clayton, Condon and Chinyelu all turned the ball over four times, and Martin added three more. Urban Klavzar traveled on his first touch of the season, and Denzel Aberdeen threw the ball to waste a possession.

And the Gators still won by 13 points.

There’s no doubt that the turnover margin needs to be cleaned up, but there’s reason to be excited about a team that can overcome a 19-8 differential with relative ease.

Richard was the only starter without a turnover tonight and it’s because he’s not a primary ball handler. Clayton’s trying a little too hard to prove he can dish the rock, and Martin is the second option. With Klavzar in the mix, it might be wise to let him take the ball up more, but he only played five minutes tonight. Aberdeen is another option at the point.

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Lions stun the Texans and a national TV audience with an epic comeback win

The Lions stun the Texans and a national TV audience with an epic comeback win in Week 10

The Detroit Lions are 8-1 and alone in first place atop the entire NFC. For about 58 minutes of Sunday night’s game against the Texans in Houston, it sure looked like the Lions were headed for a second loss.

Not this team. Not Dan Campbell’s gritty Lions.

Despite five interceptions from Jared Goff, some really shaky offensive line play much of the night and falling into a 23-7 halftime hole, the Lions pulled off a comeback for the ages. First-year kicker Jake Bates squeezed a 52-yard field goal about six inches inside the left upright as time expired to lift the Lions to a 26-23 win.

The Lions overcame so much in this one, with many of those obstacles being self-imposed. Goff was uncharacteristically off all night, not just on the interceptions. The run game did nothing for the first three quarters, a combination of poor blocking and designs that the Texans defense was more than ready to defend. There were costly penalties on both sides of the ball.

Aaron Glenn’s undermanned defense played strong enough to keep the struggling offense within striking distance. Carlton Davis intercepted C.J. Stroud twice in the second half, the second one in the end zone with an incredible effort that prevented a sure-fire touchdown.

Detroit’s defense shut out Houston in the second half. The Lions offense got one last chance to win after Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed badly from 58 yards. Bates had just made a close-shave inside the right upright from 56 to tie it up. Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown picked up enough yards to get Bates in range, and the Houston-area native delivered.

It was a thrilling comeback for the Lions, one that left the NBC broadcast crew stunned. The grit to pull this one off, on the road against the AFC South-leading Texans in prime time, is the sort of victory that will earn these Lions more “team of destiny” type of talk.

Abysmal, atrocious Cowboys offense give worst showing since 2002, fall 34-6 to Eagles

The Cowboys turned in their worst offensive performance in over 20 years, signaling they may not have reached rock bottom just yet. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys defense did what they could. For one half, they made efforts to keep the game close. They stopped Eagles RB Saquon Barkley, allowing him just 24 yards through two quarters. They harassed Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts, sacking him five times and forcing him to commit two turnovers, including his first interception since September.

But ineptitude found it’s level for the Cowboys’ offense. Playing in their first of likely nine games without quarterback Dak Prescott, it became immediately apparent just how much suffering he had been masking. The Cowboys’ offense managed just 36 passing yards in 17 attempts in the first half. Along with an egregious fumble into the end zone by Ezekiel Elliott, they were fortunate to be down just 14-6 at the break.

Then the wheels fell off in the second half en route to a 34-6 drubbing. Dallas ended up with just 146 yards on offense, their lowest total since 2002. They gave the ball away five times.

The defeat drops the Cowboys to 3-6 on the year with another home loss at AT&T Stadium.

That’s the scene of next week’s crime, too, when the in-state rival Houston Texans come on the heels of this loss to the Cowboys’ chief division rival.

The Cowboys started Cooper Rush, hoping he’d recapture some of the 2022 magic when the team won his first four starts despite mediocre play. Well, he didn’t even deliver mediocre on Sunday. Rush finished 13 of 23 for a paltry 45 yards, losing two fumbles as well.

He was relieved for a few plays by Trey Lance, and then later for the remainder of the game. Getting the first regular season action of his Cowboys career, Lance was able to show his legs some, rushing for 17 yards, but he didn’t fare much better in the passing game either. The fifth-year pro finished 4 of 6 for 21 yards and an interception where Jalen Tolbert never looked for the pass.

On defense, Dallas got an exceptional performance by first-year linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who had two of the five sacks in the first half. He left for a brief moment with an injury scare, but was able to return. At the time he left midway through the third quarter, he led the team with 11 tackles.

The club also welcomed back Micah Parsons, who hadn’t played since Week 4 against New York thanks to a high ankle sprain. His presence was obvious as the Cowboys had their best pass-rush of the season. Parsons logged two sacks himself.