Dallas Cowboys 'Good, Bad & Ugly' In 'Escape From L.A.': Why Didn't Kellen Moore 'Score 100 Points!'?
FRISCO - The word "ugly'' is overused and trite. So, to his credit, Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy came up with another way to describe his team's "Monday Night Football'' success in NFL Week 6, a last-minute 20-17 "must-win'' outcome.
"Bumpy,'' McCarthy called it.
Meaning, we review "The Good, The Bad & The Bumpy''? So be it.
THE GOOD Dak Prescott as a leader? Wonderful. Dak Prescott as a playmaker? That matters, too. This was one of those "big players make big plays in big moments'' settings, and the Dallas QB - with his arm, his legs and his improv - did all of that.
There were also star turns from CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons and Stephon Gilmore. But there is particular heat on Dak, so often accused by Dallas critics of being this roster's "weak spot,'' and of course so often catching blame because of the contract situation as well.
Watching Dallas close this out, one almost sensed relief from Dak as he looked to the heavens and mouthed the words, "Thank you!'' And after the game, when asked about a "must-win'' having been achieved?
"(Shoot), yeah,'' he said, ID'ing the vast difference between strutting into the bye at 4-2 vs. stumbling into the bye at 3-3.
Dak at Chargers
THE BAD This Cowboys offensive line isn't presently dominating. And this Cowboys team, as a whole, isn't presently disciplined enough to avoid costly penalties that, as McCarthy said, "are holding us back.''
If those are the only two "bads'' coming from a good win, it probably means your team is a contender. And Dallas is that. But these are two areas that the Cowboys pride themselves on ... and to be "held back'' by them long-term would be bothersome at the highest level.
THE UGLY We're struck by something Simi Fehoko, the former Cowboys receiver now with the Chargers, said in the build-up. Simi, referencing the "revenge'' factor as L.A. coordinator Kellen Moore was facing the Dallas employer that ousted him, said "Kellen wants to put up 100 points if he can. And he's going to keep scoring if he can."
We rarely put much stock in "bulletin-board material'' and "personal grudges'' and the like; indeed, there was a pregame fight at SoFi between the two teams that fueled ... nothing. And now we've got more evidence of the "sound and the fury'' of junk like this.
Kellen Moore wanted to "score 100 points''? If not for a fluky (bad) call of a late-game Cowboys muffed punt that gave Moore a field-position freebie, the Chargers would've ended up scoring 10 points. Not 100. Just 10.
