Cowboys Week 1 studs and duds: Dak Prescott injured in brutal loss

Stud: Micah Parsons, LB

The reigning DROY respects the GOAT but also wanted to take him down in likely his last opportunity. After just missing out on recording a sack on Tom Brady, Micah Parsons made sure not to miss on the next play. With the Bucs driving and facing a third-and-five from the Dallas eight-yard line, Parsons blew past Donovan Smith to sack Brady.

Instead of going up 13-3, Tampa had to settle for another field goal and the score stayed 6-3 with Ryan Succop missing the short field goal.

Parsons apparently enjoyed sacking Brady on third down so much that he did it again on the very next drive. This time, it was a third-and-three and Parsons forced another field goal to keep the Cowboys in striking distance. Of course, the offense never got back into it, but Parsons did all he could to help in this one.

Dud: CeeDee Lamb, WR

Dallas had a couple of drives in a row ruined by the one offensive player they needed the most in this one. CeeDee Lamb was not only supposed to replace Amari Cooper but also help fill the void left by Michael Gallup and James Washington who were both injured.

The first mistake was on a third-and-four while trailing 6-3. Prescott’s pass was a little behind Lamb but the ball hit him in the hands, and he was still unable to bring it in. Dallas had to punt but a huge sack from Parsons led to a missed field goal and the Cowboys offense had a shot at redemption — as did Lamb.

Prescott went to No. 88 who caught a 20-yard pass, but it was nullified due to him being flagged for a blatant offensive pass interference. That led to a first-and-20 and Prescott ended up throwing a pick on third-down as he was pressing to make something good happen.

Lamb finished with 29 yards on two receptions, which was a huge reason for the offensive struggles. He needed to be a lot better than he was.