LAS VEGAS – This game was more than just football. We knew it would be.
We knew the emotions the Cowboys have had to endure for the last 10 days would either be too much for them to overcome to play a game, or it would propel them to heights we haven't seen all year.
Well, I think it's safe to say the Cowboys took the latter approach, and they played an inspired four quarters of football, dominating the Raiders on all three sides of the ball.
Sorry, but miss me with all that "It's the Raiders, dude" posts I've seen about 20 times already on my Twitter feed. I'm sure that's the easy response to anything positive we saw Monday night.
Hey, I'm the first one that will say, "Opinions are undefeated," and that no one is really wrong in their takes. But personally, that's pretty dumb and lazy to sit here and downplay what the Cowboys did … simply because it was "the Raiders."
OK, well, it was the Cardinals two games ago. Their record is just about the same. Jacoby Brissett is really no different than Geno Smith, and he looked like a Pro Bowler against the Cowboys. And 14 days later, Smith did not.
And if we're really being honest with ourselves, are we sure Raiders fans wouldn't have said, "It's the Cowboys" had they won the game? It's not like Dallas didn't have just one more win than Las Vegas heading into this game.
But that was the beauty of what transpired Monday night. The combined record for these two teams was a whopping 5-12-1. However, you couldn't have convinced the crowd to care about that. It was likely the most electric crowd the Cowboys have played in front of all season long. It's always hard to tell, but I would say the majority of them were Cowboys fans, and by the end of the game, they obviously had more to cheer about.
But let's not forget, amidst all the emotions and drama of the storylines, this was still the first Cowboys game ever played in Las Vegas. This was history, and if you're a Cowboys fan here in Vegas or really anywhere and just wanted an excuse to get here, then it was a perfect trip to make.
And not only that, but the Cowboys fans got to see their best performance of the year. The defense was inspired, playing without a fallen teammate in Marshawn Kneeland but also with the return of DeMarvion Overshown, Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson. And, of course, with the additions of Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson, it was like a new defense out there.
I've been preaching this for about two months now, but the Cowboys defense doesn't need miracles; they need stops. The first-down tackles for a yard or two, and then a tipped pass here and there on third down. Or maybe a little more rush up the middle that can help the pass rush get him.
You don't need a lot, just get off the field. And the Cowboys were able to do that. The Cowboys were the worst third-down defense in the NFL heading into this game but held Las Vegas to just 3-of-12 for 25 percent. The Raiders were sacked four times and also turned the ball over once by interception and once on downs.
All in all, the Cowboys defense came to play like we haven't seen before. And obviously some of these guys we haven't seen before – like Williams. What a beast he was in his first game. It's amazing how improved other guys around him suddenly became. That's why you get a superstar like him because he should make the others around him better. And that's what happened on this night.
I get it, the Raiders are one of the worst teams on the Cowboys schedule. And when you analyze their 4-5-1 record, it's easy to see Dallas has had success against the bottom of the league and hasn't been able to climb the mountain of the better teams.
Yep, that's a fact.
But then again, if the Cowboys defense can find a way to play even remotely close to this, then maybe this isn't the team we've seen in the first 10 games of the year.
Maybe these final seven games will not only look different but be different.
It was different Monday night. And man, did this team need it.
