5 Cowboys who helped save Mike McCarthy's job in win vs Chargers

4. DaRon Bland

Bland overcame a couple missed tackles early in the game and delivered another stellar performance stepping in for Trevon Diggs as Dallas' CB1. Once again, Bland made arguably the play of the night for the Cowboys.

Trailing 10-7 in the third quarter, the Chargers went for a 4th and 1 deep in the red zone. Justin Herbert must have thought he threw the go-ahead touchdown to Josh Palmer. Bland, though, had sticky coverage on the play and executed a diving pass break up to turn LA over on downs and keep Dallas' lead in tact.

Plays don't get more clutch than that. Bland will be kicking himself for dropping a surefire pick-six that would have put the game on ice for the Cowboys, but he saved his team's bacon with this highlight reel breakup.

3. Markquese Bell

Was Markquese Bell the Cowboys top player on defense? If not, he was no worse than second. Either way, the safety-turned-linebacker saw an uptick in snaps after Leighton Vander Esch landed on injured reserve with a neck strain and he was up to the challenge.

Bell finished second on the team with seven tackles and recorded a clutch pass break up on third down.

The statistics don't encapsulate just how immense Bell was to Dallas' victory. He played a pivotal role in limiting Austin Ekeler to 27 yards on 14 carries and brought a physicality in the second level of the defense fans have been clamoring for.

With Bell and Damone Clark flying sideline to sideline, the Cowboys linebacker room might not skip a beat without Vander Esch.