Hoo boy, what a game on Thursday night! Who knew back-and-forth epic shootouts were allowed on this platform notorious for awful (read: atrocious) NFL matchups? We certainly didn’t!
In an instant classic, the Dallas Cowboys overcame the Seattle Seahawks 41-35. We had terrific quarterback play. We saw a coach trying to ice a pass. We had a certain star receiver taunting Dallas fans with sign language. We even saw Amazon inadvertently troll the New England Patriots with an unfortunate promotional graphic. This game had everything, and I’m almost sad it ended in regulation.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers of an epic nail-biter from Thursday night in Dallas. There’s a lot to unpack from this one.
Winner: Dak Prescott, who looked AND played like an MVP
Entering Thursday night, Dak Prescott already had a quiet MVP case. He was second in the NFL in touchdown passes, had one of the lowest interception rates, and was near the top of efficiency metrics, namely RBDSM.com’s expected points added (EPA) and completion percentage over expected (CPOE). But Prescott needed a signature game to really cement himself as the official best NFL player this season (at least so far).
Against the desperate Seattle Seahawks defense, this Dallas maestro didn’t disappoint.
Prescott was forced to play the hero more than usual, with the Seahawks giving the Cowboys all they could handle. He responded by completing nearly 75 percent of his passes while leading Dallas to a counterpunch score after every Seattle touchdown. And when the Cowboys needed a score and two-point conversion to close the Seahawks out, Prescott marched his team right down the field — capping matters off with a game-winning dime to Jake Ferguson.
This is professional quarterback play in its highest form:
Prescott to Ferguson and the Cowboys take the lead with 4:37 to go!#SEAvsDAL on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/YcXzMZb8jY pic.twitter.com/7kgIjgQ6AN— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2023
We’ve seen a lot of great Prescott performances over the years. Thursday night might have been his picture-perfect magnum opus. Prescott has now thrown 20 touchdown passes to just two picks in his last six games. He is in complete command of the Cowboys’ offense, with no one providing any resistance. In fact, if Prescott didn’t play for Dallas — the team everyone loves to hate — we’d have given him his flowers a long time ago. It’s high time we adjust our perspective for this sublime quarterback.
The Cowboys are now 9-3 and nipping at the heels of the rival Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. It’s largely thanks to Prescott, who deserves MVP honors, regardless of who he plays for.
Loser: The Seahawks, whose playoff hopes are starting to dwindle
A month ago, the Seahawks were flying high. They were 5-2 and sitting in first place in the NFC West. Then the bottom fell out, necessitating what sure seemed like a do-or-die game against the Cowboys in Dallas. And Pete Carroll’s boys still fell short, despite an incredible effort by Geno Smith and DK Metcalf (six catches, 134 yards, three touchdowns).
That’s just the way it goes sometimes, I suppose.
Despite their best efforts, the Seahawks have now lost four of their last five games. They are in an unmitigated tailspin at 6-6, with no real sign they’re about to correct course. (Maybe they shouldn’t have cropped Russell Wilson out of a Thanksgiving picture.) For the time being, Seattle remains the NFC’s seventh seed in the playoff picture. But teams like the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams (who swept their Pacific Northwest rivals this season) are right behind them, coming in hot. In order to hold off the Packers and Rams, the Seahawks have to survive an upcoming schedule that features a road date with the San Francisco 49ers (who just pasted them on Thanksgiving), a home battle with the Eagles, and a matchup with the feisty Pittsburgh Steelers on New Year’s Eve.
It’s not over for this upstart Seattle team yet, but it feels like it.
Winner: Daron Bland, who redeemed himself amid an atrocious start
Daron Bland has had a dream sophomore NFL season, but Thursday night looked pretty rough to start. The pick-six machine found himself on the wrong end of so many Seahawks’ big passing plays that he eventually got the reverse Randy Moss graphic for being torched:
It’s the first half 😂 https://t.co/EFoXfSsYWc pic.twitter.com/4HSny3oxgT
— greek mill 🇬🇷 (@georgeythegreek) December 1, 2023
In a credit to Bland, he didn’t just fold and continue to let DK Metcalf victimize him. When the Cowboys needed a clutch play to shift this TNF shootout in their favor, the NFL interception leader came through in a monster way. A veteran Seahawks captain like Tyler Lockett might as well have never had a chance. This Bland pick below ended a Seattle drive quickly and saw the Cowboys respond with a critical third-quarter touchdown:
What an interception by @DaRon_Bland.#SEAvsDAL on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/YcXzMZb8jY pic.twitter.com/kx6GnViqBg— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2023
Folks, even in challenging circumstances, big-time players make big-time plays. Bland certainly fits the bill of a tough-nosed Cowboys player who fought through adversity and helped shift the tide for a clutch primetime win.
