After a wild week 6 Sunday slate ending with the Buffalo Bills edging out the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers primetime matchup was expected to be a shootout. This game had some action early as each team found the endzone in the first quarter. Star Chargers wideout Keenan Allen opened up the scoring with his fifth touchdown pass of the season to take an early 7-0 lead. The Cowboys answered right away on their next drive, executing 9 plays for 75 yards and a 18 yard touchdown run from quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott would finish the game 21-30 for 272 yards and 2 total touchdowns. Prescott was able to carve through LA’s defense finding WR1 CeeDee Lamb seven times for 117 yards on 7 targets. Prescott also found Tony Pollard six times for 80 yards as well as accumulating 30 rushing yards to garnish Brandin Cooks getting his first touchdown as a Cowboy. The Cowboys were able to get the ball into their playmakers hands tonight which was one of two major reasons the Cowboys came away with the 20-17 win on MNF.
CEEDEE LAMB.
— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2023
7 catches on 7 targets for 117 yards 🔥 pic.twitter.com/V5pWxhSeb0
The second major reason why the Cowboys were able to come into Sofi Stadium and edge out a gritty Chargers team was due to their stellar defense. Dallas’s defense was able to keep the Chargers star players relatively in check this evening, keeping Keenan Allen under 100 yards and limiting Austin Ekeler’s impact on the ground and in the air. Micah Parsons was able to sack Justin Herbert and then later found help from the rest of his defense after picking off Herbert with 1:22 left to ice the game. Dallas should feel good about this win after getting blown out in the Bay area on SNF in week 5 by the 49ers. The Cowboy’s defense continues to be a top five defense in the NFL but the Cowboys are still hindered on one key factor. Quarterback play has been the bane of the Cowboys existence since their last Super Bowl win in 1996. Dak Prescott has been known to struggle when it comes to consistency week in and week out but if he can efficiently manage games like he did tonight the Cowboys might finally find some postseason success. The Cowboys will need to get ready for another test next week as they welcome Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and the Los Angeles Rams to continue building on their 4-2 start.
STEPHON GILMORE SEALS THE WIN WITH A PICK#DALvsLAC pic.twitter.com/32L5CtBPde
— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2023
The Los Angeles Chargers continue to struggle in late game situations after Herbert and the Chargers come up short at home again falling to 2-3 and 1-2 at home this season. Herbert seemed to be having trouble early finding the right touch on passes which resulted in him going; 23/37, for 227 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. The Chargers seem to have trouble finding ways to win football games even when Austin Ekeler is healthy. Ekeler had a modest return after not playing since week 1 due to an ankle injury; 14 carries, 27 yards, 4 receptions for 35 yards. It was not expected for Ekeler to immediately return to form after his injury but it is a bright spot for the Chargers as Ekeler was looking somewhat explosive for missing the past four games. You would think the Chargers’ offense would come out flying after a bye week, but in this 20-17 loss, Herbert and the offense seemed to struggle with timing after the extended break. Brandon Staley will need to figure out these timing issues as they travel to Arrowhead Field to face the division leading and AFC leading Kansas City Chiefs.