Cowboys studs and duds Week 15: Potential win falls through Noah Brown’s hands

Another week and another lackluster showing from the Dallas Cowboys against the AFC South.

After escaping with a win against the Houston Texans at home, Dallas headed to Jacksonville this weekend and looked poised to take it out on the Jaguars. That didn’t happen, as they blew a 27-10 third-quarter lead, falling to 10-4 on the season.

Here we look back at the game and identify a few studs and duds from Week 15.

Cowboys studs and duds Week 15

Stud: Jayron Kearse, Safety

Jayron Kearse was one of the best free-agent acquisitions Dallas has made in recent memory — and no one really noticed when he was added in 2021. Kearse quickly became a leader on this defense due to his ability to deliver hard hits, and he made several in this game, but it was his tackle on Trevor Lawrence in the fourth quarter that lands him on the stud list.

Lawrence and the Jags were down 34-31 and driving for the tie. The Jaguars quarterback escaped a sack and ran it 11 yards, and was nearing field goal range. However, they didn’t get to kick it, as Kearse hit the ball out of Lawrence’s hand to give his offense the ball.

Sadly for Kearse, this doesn’t go down as a winning play, since the offense was unable to get a first down, and the Jags still wound up winning.

Dud: Dan Quinn, Defensive Coordinator

Since Dan Quinn joined the Cowboys, he’s done a great job of rehabbing his image — which was torn down at the tail end of his career with the Atlanta Falcons. He’s turned one of the worst defenses in the NFL into one of the best, but over the past couple of weeks, they haven’t lived up to expectations.

They made the stops when they counted against the Houston Texans, but still struggled with Davis Mills and Jeff Driskell.

This weekend, they were picked apart by Jacksonville giving up 21 unanswered points in the second half to go from holding a 27-10 lead to facing a 31-27 deficit.

Stud: Micah Parsons, EDGE

After being held without a sack in Week 14, Micah Parsons wasted no time against the Jags in getting on the board.

On the second defensive series, Parsons blew past the line on first down to sack Trevor Lawrence for a seven-yard loss.

Parsons made another play in the first half that won’t show in the stat sheet, but was big nonetheless. With Jacksonville trying to score before the half, Parsons got pressure on Trevor Lawrence, forcing him to throw an incompletion. The play led to the Jags electing to go into the half without trying to score, which was important since Jacksonville got the ball to start the third quarter.

Near the end of the game, Parsons recovered the fumble that Kearse caused but, as noted, that wasn’t enough for the win.

Dud: Mike McCarthy, Head Coach

Overall, Mike McCarthy has been solid this season and deserves a ton of credit. Having said that, there’s one area where he continues to make questionable decisions — the coin toss.

It might seem minuscule, but McCarthy has routinely asked to start with the ball when winning the toss, which he did on Sunday. The result was an early punt — and that’s typically been the case.

Dallas has started with the ball in 11 of their games now. They have scored a touchdown three (27 percent), a field goal twice (18 percent), and punted it six times (55 percent). They’ve gone three and out four of the six times they punted, which means they’re not setting the tone as desired.

As for the three times the defense started on the field, they have two turnovers and a forced punt. Against the Rams, DeMarcus Lawrence scored on a fumble recovery. Dorance Armstrong then recovered a fumble against the Vikings in Week 11, and the Giants gained 27 yards and had to punt on Thanksgiving Day.

The Cowboys were able to keep the Jags from taking advantage, but they did put up three points on the opening drive in the third quarter. A better team could make them pay for this decision, and the real question is why McCarthy keeps making such a call when the numbers show it’s not working in their favor.

Stud: Da’Ron Bland, Cornerback

On a third and seven play, Da’Ron Bland drew coverage on Christian Kirk and he had a shot at hauling in the first down pass from Trevor Lawrence. Bland made sure that didn’t happen, as he got his hand in front of Kirk and broke up the pass, forcing a punt.

Bland later found himself on Kirk on third-and-nine with roughly 1:30 to play in the first half. Again, Lawrence put the ball on the money and Bland was a step behind Kirk. He then sold out as he dove to break up the pass, and did just enough to force another incompletion and a punt.

In the second half, he kept proving to be a playmaker, as he picked off a pass from Lawrence intended for Kirk, giving the Cowboys the ball back after they just went up 24-10.

Things fell apart after this, but it wasn’t on Bland.

Dud: Kelvin Joseph, Cornerback

Brett Maher had just hit a 53-yarder to go up 27-10, and the Jaguars needed something big to happen to get back into the game. That’s exactly what they got, as Kelvin Joseph bit hard on a double move from Zay Jones. That allowed Jones to get deep on him, and he hauled in a 59-yard touchdown pass, making it 27-17.

Dak Prescott then threw an interception, something that has been a major issue for him this season, and Joseph again let his team down. On third-and-goal, he was beaten by Marvin Jones for a touchdown to make it 27-24.

Dallas surrendered two touchdowns in 2:34, and both were on Joseph. Jacksonville should never had been able to get back into this game, but Joseph was a huge reason that happened.

Stud: CeeDee Lamb, Wide Receiver

CeeDee Lamb had an 18-yard reception on third-and-long during the first drive, and he showed off his athleticism on the play. The pass was underthrown — a common theme on the day for Dak Prescott — and the coverage was solid from Tre Herndon, but Lamb adjusted and made the contested grab to keep the chains moving.

When Jacksonville took the lead, Dallas needed something to happen on offense, after their last two drives had gone for an interception and a punt. Lamb rose to the challenge, as he took a short pass on first down and took off running, taking it to the 50-yard line for a 25-yard gain.

He finished with 126 yards on seven receptions and probably should have been the man Prescott was throwing to late in the fourth and overtime.

Dud: Noah Brown, Wide Receiver

After adding T.Y. Hilton, the Cowboys have continued to say they’re going to target Odell Beckham, Jr. With all this talk about wide receivers, Noah Brown has been stepping up.

He’s been great at making catches on third down plays, and will throw a block as well as any tight end — despite being a wideout. On Sunday, he was asked to do more, as he had six receptions for 49 yards and two touchdowns.

The first score was just after the two-minute warning, as he lined up near the line of scrimmage in an H-back set. Dallas faked the run, but then Dak Prescott flipped it forward to Brown, who took it in for a one-yard score.

Later, Brown hauled in his second touchdown of the game — and just the third of his career — when Prescott scrambled and he found an opening in the end zone. The touchdown put them up 34-31, and would have made him a stud had it been the game-winner. But all that changed in the final minutes.

First, Brown was unable to come down with a deep pass from Prescott in the fourth that would have iced the game. It would have been a sensational catch, but still, he had a shot at it.

Then in overtime, Prescott threw it to him on third down, and while the pass was low (again), Brown had it in his hands but couldn’t haul it in. Making things worse, the ball then flew in the air and landed in the arms of Rayshawn Jenkins, who ran it back 51 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

No drops are ever good, but this one might have given the Eagles the NFC East title. Dallas will now need to beat the Eagles next week and hope their rivals lose out from that point.

With that being said, it’s probably best to start thinking about who they will face as a Wild Card entrant.

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