The Dallas Cowboys are back in the win column after a convincing double-up win over the Washington Commanders. Despite the Commanders being without their top receivers, many expected it to be a close game because of the vulnerability of the Cowboys’ defense. But on Sunday, everyone was showing up for Dallas. It was a strong effort on offense, defense, and special teams. Here are ten thoughts on the Cowboys’ 44-22 win over their divisional rival Commanders on Sunday.

No one is playing better football than Dak Prescott right now. Against the Commanders, Dak Prescott went 21/30 for 264 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. Over his last four games, he has completed over 70% of his passes (95/133) for 1,081 yards with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. He continued his dominance over his NFC East foes, with a combined 35-9 record (.795) within the division. Only Patrick Mahomes has a higher divisional record than Dak. That dominance grows even stronger when at home.

7-1 against the Eagles
8-1 against the Giants
7-0 against the Commanders

Dak is just really hard to defeat at AT&T Stadium for teams in the East.

2. Defense shows up and makes stops

Everyone expected the defense to fall apart because that has been their thing this season, but it didn’t go down like that. The Cowboys’ defense made stops on 75% of the Commanders’ drives, forcing five punts, two takeaways, and twice having them turn the ball over on downs. They held Washington to just 205 passing yards and allowed a measly 2.5 yards a carry to rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt. And while the pressure was absent at times, they did get to the quarterback eventually, racking up four sacks on the day. Sure, the Commanders were without their top two receivers and quarterback Jayden Daniels for half the game, but it was still a good showing for the defense.

Well, guess who is back having 100-yard games? That’s right. CeeDee Lamb returned to action after missing the last three games with an ankle injury, and he wasted no time making his presence felt. Lamb finished with five catches for 110 yards, with most of the damage coming on a 74-yard play late in the first quarter. His “sidekick” George Pickens added 82 yards receiving, wowing fans with a couple of impressive over-the-shoulder catches that we’ve grown accustomed to from him. It was nice to have this dynamic duo back in action together.

4. Ferguson, making up for lost time

While Lamb and Pickens were making the big plays, the Cowboys’ leading receiver kept doing what he’s good at, leading in receiving. Tight end Jake Ferguson finished with seven catches for only 29 yards, but two of them went for touchdowns. It’s so crazy that Ferguson went the whole year last season without a touchdown catch, but suddenly he’s making up for lost time as he has already set a new career-high with six touchdown catches this season.

There were a couple of moments in the game when the Commanders made us a little nervous. First, when they forced a safety and then followed it up with a touchdown to go up 8-7 in the first quarter. And then right before the end of the first half, when they marched down the field 68 yards on seven plays and scored a touchdown to make it a 20-15 game with 45 seconds left. But then, the Cowboys’ offense responded in a huge way with a four-play, 72-yard touchdown drive of their own that took just 35 seconds. After a sack looked to kill a chance to snake a field goal, Schottenheimer wisely called a timeout and gave his offense another chance, and boy did they respond. First, Pickens hauled in a great contested catch for 44 yards. Then, the Cowboys ran a draw with Javonte Williams, who scampered off for 33 yards. Ferguson capped off the drive with a two-yard reception. And just like that, the Cowboys were up 27-15.

6. Bland is back to his old tricks

Remember how fun it was when cornerback DaRon Bland was intercepting passes and returning them for touchdowns? That feels like an eternity ago, and it wouldn’t be something this red carpet defense would be able to pull off these days, amiright? Except it happened! Bland sniffed out an errant pass from backup quarterback Marcus Mariota and took it 68 yards for the touchdown. It was a great game for the recently extended Cowboys corner, who also showed up in this game, tackling everything in his vicinity. Bland is one of the defense’s better tacklers, always squaring up like a wrestler with a double-leg takedown. He finished with seven tackles, five solo, including a nice goal-line stop on a two-point conversion attempt.

7. The greatest kicker in the NFL

The Cowboys have the best kicker in the league. You know it, I know it, and Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt know it. That’s why it was business as usual when Brandon Aubrey just nonchalantly knocked down a 61-yard field goal in the first half. It was the fifth time Aubrey had made a kick of 60 yards or more. No other kicker in NFL history has achieved such a feat.

8. Missed opportunity for the record books

Speaking of NFL history, the Cowboys had the perfect opportunity to allow Aubrey a shot at the NFL record (66 yards by Justin Tucker) when they had fourth down on the 50-yard line. That would have amounted to a 67-yard attempt, breaking the record if he made it. It was the perfect situation. The game was well in hand. It was in front of the home crowd on the kicker-friendly Hellas Matrix artificial turf. Why head coach Brian Schottenheimer didn’t let him have a crack at it is beyond me. I guess Schotty doesn’t like NFL records.

9. Good showing by the rookie defenders

It was nice to see the defense play well as a whole, but it was especially satisfying to see some good plays by a couple of their rookies. Donovan Ezeiruaku continues a solid rookie campaign, making a couple of splash plays. He had a nice sack and tackle for a loss. Rookie linebacker Shemar James also made plays. He forced a fumble on Daniels that, for all intents and purposes put a stamp on the game. The future looks promising for some of these young defenders, but it’s nice to see some of those positive returns happening right now.

With the win, the Cowboys overtake second place in the NFC East as the records go as follows…

Eagles 5-2
Cowboys 3-3-1
Commanders 3-4
Giants 2-5

The Eagles’ win was unfortunate, as we were hoping their two-game losing streak extended to three, but they made some big plays to get a nice road win over the Vikings. The Giants almost beat the Broncos, but Denver kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired in what was a wild fourth quarter at Mile High. The Cowboys remain within striking distance of Philly and right in the thick of the playoff race in the NFC.