ARLINGTON — The Cowboys didn’t need to play a perfect game against the Commanders on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium. What they needed was to make plays when necessary.

The offense did enough to put pressure on the Commanders’ defense. The Cowboys’ defense got a key turnover to force the momentum of the game to change.

Dallas’ home opener ended with a 37-20 victory over Washington. It meant the Cowboys avoided an 0-2 start and two losses within the NFC East in the first two weeks of the season.

The Cowboys (1-1) will now depart for Rio de Janeiro to face the Baltimore Ravens with the feeling there’s improvement to be had in several areas of this team, particularly with the defense.

Here’s five takeaways from Cowboys-Commanders:

As the Cowboys’ defense continues to search for what’s acceptable to the fanbase and the coaches, the offense is doing its thing. Sort of. Quarterback Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and tight end Jake Ferguson each caught two touchdown passes. Prescott’s fourth-quarter TD pass to Lamb gave him 249 passing touchdowns in his 11-year career, most in franchise history. Prescott surpassed Tony Romo. Lamb had a fantastic day with eight catches for 153 yards. Now, the Cowboys struggled to run the ball, as Prescott and Javonte Williams battled for who would lead the team in rushing. Williams finished with 30 yards rushing while Prescott had 26. But overall, Prescott, who avoided pressure most of the day on passing plays, pushed the offense to scores on its first three possessions. The Cowboys scored on seven of their first eight drives. 

The Cowboys’ defense still has just one sack (Caleb Downs in Week 1) and none from its pass rushers or the front seven. Linebacker Dee Winters had what would have been a sack on backup quarterback Marcus Mariota but a penalty on safety Markquese Bell wiped it out. The Cowboys struggled to stop Daniels before he went down with an elbow injury at the end of the first half, as Dallas gave up scores on consecutive drives. When Daniels went down, the game changed. With Daniels out, the second half got a boost thanks to middle linebacker Jaishawn Barham forcing a fumble that led to a touchdown.

Downs broke up a pass to veteran receiver Terry McLaurin and finished the game with seven tackles. Barham forced a fumble — the first turnover of the game — that led to a Ferguson touchdown reception. The Cowboys’ rookies — Downs a first-round pick and Barham a third-rounder — played prominent roles Sunday. Barham also finished with seven tackles in his first NFL start with DeMarvion Overshown out with a hamstring injury.  

Before he was injured at the end of the first half, Daniels rushed for 69 yards. When you include Jaxson Dart of the Giants in Week 1, the Cowboys have allowed 123 rushing yards to starting quarterbacks. Now comes Lamar Jackson of the Ravens in Week 3. Jackson rushed for 34 yards in the Ravens’ loss to the Saints on Sunday. The Cowboys have to find ways to stop quarterbacks from getting down field on scrambles as the season progresses. You can argue the quarterbacks are scrambling because of good coverage, but the Cowboys also need the edge rushers to take them down.

The Cowboys started the game with the rookie Barham at middle linebacker, and they lost starting corner Cobie Durant (hamstring) and backup safety P.J. Locke (foot) to injury in the first half. With Durant out, second-year corner Shavon Revel took over; Markquese Bell replaced Locke. The Cowboys called up linebackers Curtis Robinson and Justin Barron from the practice squad for depth at the position.