Cowboys Week 16 studs and duds: DaRon Bland rips victory away from Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles still need just one win to secure the NFC East title, but they won’t be celebrating that victory at AT&T Stadium. The Dallas Cowboys, who could still find a way to win the division if the Eagles lose out, made sure that didn’t happen as they knocked off their rivals 40-34 on Christmas Eve.

There were several big plays, including T.Y. Hilton converting on third-and-30, that helped lead to the win. Here, we look back at some of the biggest moments and select a few studs and duds from Week 16.

Cowboys Week 16 studs and duds

Stud: Jayron Kearse, Safety

The Eagles had an early 10-7 but Dallas was able to slow their offense down and take the lead early in the second quarter — thanks to Jayron Kearse. On the very first snap of the second, Kearse leaped around Quez Watkins and made a remarkable interception.

His play gave the offense the ball at the Philly 47 and allowed them to take a 14-10 lead on a CeeDee Lamb touchdown reception.

Kearse wasn’t done there as he also had a fumble recovery in the second half. This time, a botched handoff left the ball on the ground and Kearse picked it up, nearly taking off for a touchdown. He was tripped up by Gardner Minshew, which was the only reason he didn’t score.

Still, the turnover led to another touchdown as the Cowboys tied it up at 27 when Prescott hit Michael Gallup for six. In all, 14 points came courtesy of Kearse taking the ball away.

Dud: Nahshon Wright, Cornerback

Overall, Nahshon Wright wasn’t awful. He recorded eight tackles, including one for a loss. He did give up a couple of third-down receptions but was an improvement over Kelvin Joseph who was recently benched.

Even with the ups and downs, he really only makes this list as a dud for one play — which was on the kickoff to begin the third quarter. KaVontae Turpin brought the ball to midfield and nearly broke it for a touchdown as he ran 56 yards on the kickoff.

Sadly, that play didn’t count thanks to a holding penalty on Wright. Dallas instead had to start at their own 14, and it was a three-and-out leading to a punt.

Stud: CeeDee Lamb, Wide Receiver

Before this game, CeeDee Lamb opened up about how much attention he gets from the opposing defenses and how he needed to still find a way to make plays even with the extra attention. On Saturday, he again had defenders all over him but still put up some monster numbers.

Lamb finished with 10 receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns. His first was a 36-yarder that gave Dallas the lead 14-10 in the second quarter.

He scored again in the fourth, on a seven-yard touchdown that tied the game up at 34. Lamb has been pressed into the No. 1 wide receiver role and is really starting to come into his own.

Dud: Trevon Diggs, Cornerback

On the first drive of the game, Trevon Diggs was guilty of trying to cheat on a pass as he expected an inside route from A.J. Brown. That wasn’t the case as Brown actually took it deep and was able to haul in a 49-yard reception to give Philadelphia the ball at the Dallas 11. They kept the Eagles out of the end zone but these three points were there thanks to Diggs going for the home run.

That wasn’t the only play where his aggressiveness hurt him either. On fourth-and-three in the third quarter, Diggs peeled off DeVonta Smith and went after Dallas Goedert, thinking he read the play. The ball, however, never went toward Goedert as Minshew instead found Smith wide-open for a touchdown, putting the Eagles up 27-17.

Diggs is one of the more talented cornerbacks in the NFL but at times, he can be burnt for going for the big play. That happened twice in this one and it led to points on each occasion.

Stud: Daron Bland, Cornerback

Daron Bland is having a rookie season to remember.

Drafted in the fifth round out of Fresno State, Bland entered this contest with four interceptions on the season already. He was also set to get more playing time with Kelvin Joseph being demoted. Like Nahshon Wright, he too had some highs and lows in this one but he made arguably the play of the game in the fourth quarter.

With the score tied at 34, Dallas needed a stop on third-and-four — something they had struggled with all night. This time, they not only kept the Eagles from converting but got the ball back as Bland wrestled a pass away from Quez Watkins.

For Bland, that’s now five picks on the season. He’s also had at least one in three of the past four games — and had two against Indianapolis.

Dud: Dak Prescott’s decision making

Dak Prescott deserves a lot of credit for making the plays he did. There was the aforementioned third-and-30 conversion where he hit T.Y. Hilton for a 52-yard gain. He also finished with 347 yards and three touchdowns. Throw in his 41 yards on the ground and it seems as though he had a sensational day — which he did.

The problem is, he continues to make it harder on himself and his offense than it needs to be.

For example, the first drive of the game ended with Prescott throwing a terrible pass right to Josh Sweat, who ran it back for a touchdown. That put Dallas in an early 10-0 hole they had to fight their way out of.

Then, on the very last drive, he had two huge gaffes that allowed the Eagles to try and claw their way back. First, on a 16-yard run, Prescott ran out of bounds with 2:01 left, allowing the Eagles to conserve a timeout. On the following play, he held onto the ball and was sacked for a nine-yard loss. This time, with it being at the two-minute warning, throwing it away would have saved the nine yards and had no effect on the clock.

Prescott now has 12 picks in just nine games — one away from his career high of 13 which he had in 16 games back in 2017. As the playoffs approach, he has to be smarter with the ball and needs to understand situational football.

A team with a better quarterback than Gardner Minshew might have made them pay, but instead, the Cowboys snuck out with a six-point win.

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