Todd Archer and Kris Rhim Oct 16, 2023, 11:41pm ET6 minutes read
Cowboys seal win after sacking Parsons, Gilmore INT
Micah Parsons sacked Justin Herbert in the second, then Stephon Gilmore picked him off on the next play to seal the victory for the Cowboys.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – After a game full of missed throws and penalty flags, the Dallas Cowboys defense came up big in the final two minutes to secure a 20-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football.”
With quarterback Justin Herbert suffering a broken middle finger on his non-throwing hand, the Chargers fell to 2-3 on the season while the Cowboys moved to 4-2.
Dallas Cowboys
After what happened last week against the San Francisco 49ers, a win of any kind was needed for the Cowboys.
Monday’s win certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Cowboys enter the bye week with a 4-2 record and are still within striking distance of the Philadelphia Eagles and 49ers, who suffered surprising losses on Sunday.
After last week everything was in question. Mike McCarthy’s style of play, Dak Prescott’s skills, the toughness of the defense. Nothing was perfect — too many penalties, too many big plays allowed, not enough big plays, high special teams turnovers — but when it mattered most, they made the plays they needed to.
Starting with three key third-down conversions on a game-winning drive that ended with a field goal by Brandon Aubrey, a sack – the first of the game for the Cowboys – by Micah Parsons and a sealing interception by Stephon Gilmore.
The Cowboys are now 10-1 after losing the last two seasons.
Maybe they aren’t dead after all.
QB breakdown: Let’s forget about Prescott’s passing numbers. Let’s talk about his noise. He had the longest touchdown run of his career (18 yards) in the first quarter and the longest by a Cowboys QB since 2010. Prescott hasn’t used his feet as much in recent years. He had 18 rushing touchdowns in his first three years and nine in his last five years. He rushed for 45 yards in the first five games and 33 in the first half against the Chargers. He’s not a running quarterback, but he can be effective with his feet and may need to do more of that.
Promising trend: Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had 84 receiving yards in the first half, more than he had in four of the first five games. He admitted during the week that his body language needed improvement after being salty in the San Francisco game. All five of his catches in the first two quarters included 10 or more air yards. In the game against New England, he had eight completions with air yards of 10 or more.
Silver lining: Maybe it’s not a trend since it’s only one game, but the Cowboys were solid in their first game without linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. Markquese Bell moved from safety to linebacker late in training camp after DeMarvion Overshown was out for the year with a torn ACL. When the Cowboys had two linebackers on their personnel group, he managed to record a tackle for loss and a pass breakup in 17 snaps in the first half. When the Cowboys lost Vander Esch late last season, the run defense suffered. On Monday, the Chargers had just 50 yards on 22 carries in Austin Ekeler’s return from injury.
Next game: vs. Rams (October 29, 1 p.m. ET)
Dak Prescott: The Cowboys showed resilience in the win over the Chargers
Dak Prescott reflects on the Cowboys’ thrilling win over the Chargers on Monday Night Football.
Los Angeles Chargers
Monday night’s game between the Chargers and Cowboys appeared to have all the elements needed to be a high-scoring, touchdown-filled affair: two of the league’s best offenses, a former coordinator running against his old team and a struggling secondary the Chargers. Instead, it was another Chargers loss that didn’t end until the final moments. All games this season were decided by 7 points or less.
Stunning NextGen Stats: Herbert was pressured on 42% of his dropbacks, the highest in any game this season (he had the fifth-lowest pressure rate at 25% entering the game). Runs and takes a lot of hard hits from defenders while playing with a broken finger on his left hand.
Decisive game The Chargers’ pass rush gave Herbert trouble all game and they forced the game-winning mistake in the fourth quarter. With the Chargers down by three with just under two minutes left, the rush caused a bad pass from Herbert that ended up in the hands of Gilmore, effectively ending the game.
Worrying trend: The Chargers still have trouble running the ball. Even though Ekeler returned from a high right ankle sprain he suffered in Week 1, the Chargers’ running backs struggled to have any success, amassing just 35 total yards. Aside from a 233-yard rushing performance in Week 1, the Chargers have only rushed for over 100 yards once this year and managed just 91 total yards in Weeks 2 and 3.
Next game: at the Chiefs (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)