LAS VEGAS — Eleven days after Dallas defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died during the team’s bye week, the Cowboys returned to the field and emerged victorious, decisively beating the Las Vegas Raiders 33-16 on Monday.
Dak Prescott completed 25 of 33 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. Three of Prescott’s passing TDs came during a 21-3 onslaught in the second quarter.
George Pickens finished with nine catches for 144 yards and a score for Dallas (4-5-1). Cowboys running back Javonte Williams gained 93 yards on 22 carries.
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith threw for 238 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 27-of-42 passing. Brock Bowers logged seven receptions for 72 yards.
Despite trailing 6-3 after the first period, the Cowboys broke through in the second, as Prescott’s trifecta of touchdowns gave the Cowboys a comfortable 24-9 lead at halftime.
The first of those three touchdown passes came just nine seconds into the second quarter, when Prescott found a wide-open CeeDee Lamb from 18 yards out to give the Cowboys a 10-6 lead. Lamb’s touchdown was the culmination of a six-play, 68-yard drive.
Dallas’ next possession resulted in a 12-play, 79-yard touchdown drive that ate 6:33 of the game clock. Prescott found paydirt through tight end Jake Ferguson, who caught his seventh touchdown of the season from 5 yards out to put the Cowboys up 17-6 with 5:16 remaining in the half.
The third touchdown was the most impressive of the bunch, a 37-yard connection from Prescott to Pickens that saw the wide receiver spin away from Raiders cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly before evading two more defenders on his way to the end zone.
Brandon Aubrey’s third extra point of the quarter gave Dallas a 24-6 lead with 1:20 remaining in the half, though the Raiders cut the deficit to 15 points at halftime on Daniel Carlson’s third field goal of the game, from 38 yards out.
The Raiders opened the scoring on a 35-yard field goal from Carlson with 7:55 remaining in the first quarter, capitalizing on a Maxx Crosby strip sack of Prescott deep in Cowboys territory. After Aubrey booted a field goal from 50 yards out to tie the game 3-3 in the first quarter, Carlson made his second attempt of the night, from 45 yards, to put the Raiders ahead 6-3 after one.
Kneeland reportedly killed himself on Nov. 6 in Frisco, Texas, following a police car chase.
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
