Dallascowboys.com
The Dallas Cowboys lost another close game on Sunday.They were defeated at home by the score of 28-24 to the Minnesota Vikings.
Recap
The Cowboys were forced to being a one dimensional team as the Vikings shut down Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott but they were able to move the ball easily with their passing game. What got them in the end was the defense's inability to stop the 2019 NFL leading rusher Dalvin Cook and bad play calling late in the game. They stopped themselves from scoring the winning touchdown with two horrible running plays on 2nd and 3rd down at the Vikings 11 yard line instead of keeping the ball in the air where they had been successful all game long.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was 28/46 for 397 yards, 3 touchdowns, and one interception. He connected with six different receivers, which included big days for both Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb. Cooper had 11 catches for 147 yards and 1 touchdown. Cobb had his best day as a Cowboy with 6 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. 2nd year receiver Michael Gallup only also had a solid receiving day with 4 catches for 76 yards and a touchdown as well.
Superstar Ezekiel Elliott had one of his worst games of the year. The Vikings defense locked in on him and did not allow him to get free. He carried the ball 20 times for 47 yards and only caught 2 balls for 16 yards. The Cowboys only had 50 rushing yards total for the game that does not correlate to wins.
Dallas falls to (5-4) and is now tied with the Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) atop the NFC East but edge them in a tiebreaker due to their (4-0) divisional record.
3 Things to Watch For
1.Ezekiel Elliott (Running Back): Needs to have a better game.He averaged 2.4 yards a carry last week. Luckily, he will be going against the Detroit Lions and the 6th worst defense in the league this week. Zeke should have himself a big day this Sunday.
2.Amari Cooper (Wide Receiver): Was questionable with a knee injury most of the week but came up big last week.He made two amazing catches on the sideline and was able to keep his toes inbounds on both of them.Let's see if he can follow up on one of his best games of the year.
3.Dallas Defense (All): The Cowboy defense should be primed for a big game.The Lions will most likely be starting a 2nd string quarterback and a 3rd string running back.I can see big plays being made by the front 7.
Coming Up
The Cowboys (5-4) will be on the road taking on the Detroit Lions (3-5) in the Motor City at Ford Field. Kickoff is set for 12:00 pm Central Time. The Cowboys are in dire need of a win to try and stay ahead of their division rivals. They should be able to control the game with Zeke and come away with an easy victory.
If you have any fantasy players, the only must start players are:
Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Amari Cooper (WR), Dak Prescott (QB), Michael Gallup (WR)
Lions: Kenny Golladay (WR), Marvin Jones, Jr. (WR)
For you gamblers out there, the Cowboys are currently -3 and the over/under is 51. I think the Cowboys are the right side in the game at 3 or less. If you want to bet the total, I would lean under because I don't think Detroit can score enough to help hit the over even though the over hit again last week.
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No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.
For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.
“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”
Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”
Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.
“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”
Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.
“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”
The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.
Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.
Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”
Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.
“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”
Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.
Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.
Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.
“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.
Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.
Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.
“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.
For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.
“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”
Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”
Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.
“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”
Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.
“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”
The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.
Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.
Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”
Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.
“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”
Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.
Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.
Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.
“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.
Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.
Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.
“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”