Dallas Cowboys, Mike McCarthy play fantasy football and win

Dallas Cowboys get a win after making a change fans have been begging for

After losing four-straight games, and six out of their past seven, the Dallas Cowboys were able to pull out a victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, 31-28. The win pushes Dallas to 3-7, the same record as both the Washington Football Team and New York Giants in the NFC East. The 3-6-1 Philadelphia Eagles still hold a slight lead in the division.

The Cowboys’ offense was able to post their most points since losing their starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, to a season-ending ankle injury in Week Five. Against the Vikings’ defense, Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott was able to record his first 100-yard rushing game of the season.  Backup quarterback Andy Dalton also had a stellar day, completing 22 of his 32 passes for 203 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

Prior to Sunday’s matchup, the Cowboys’ offense had sputtered, averaging a mere 10.2 points per contest over their past four games. The fact Dallas was forced to start three different quarterbacks during that same span was certainly a factor.

But following their bye in Week 10, the Cowboys were able to make some meaningful changes. The biggest being the decision to finally move All-Pro right guard Zack Martin over to the right tackle position, replacing rookie Terence Steele.

Despite his poor play, the Cowboys have remained enamored with Steele. The undrafted offensive tackle out of Texas Tech started every single game prior to Sunday’s matchup in Minnesota. That’s despite sporting a depressing 46.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, allowing a league-high seven sacks, and committing five penalties.

Elliott credited Martin’s play at right tackle as the reason the Cowboys’ running game was able to find success against the Vikings. Zeke was able to rush for 103 yards on 21 rushing attempts. That 4.9 per carry average was a considerable improvement over the 3.8 rushing yards per carry average he posted over his previous nine games.

Martin’s move to right tackle is something fans have been clamoring for for weeks. Unfortunately, head coach Mike McCarthy dismissed the notion of shifting the six-time Pro Bowler from guard to tackle during a presser earlier this month. He actually called the idea fantasy football nonsense.

Yet, following this unexpected victory, the wisdom of the crowd prevailed. And Mike McCarthy and his Dallas Cowboys finally posted their first win since early October. And they did so by playing a little fantasy football, making a logical move their fans recognized needed to be made weeks ago.