The Cowboys were playing on a short week and trying to earn the first playoff victory in the Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott era Womens Taco Charlton Jersey , and the second in Jason Garrett’s tenure as head coach. Against the Seahawks, who have a seasoned head coach and a dangerous quarterback, it was always going to be tough. But the Cowboys pulled out a gutsy 24-22 win and will advance to the divisional round. Here are the five plays that shaped the game. Tavon Austin returns a punt to the house, but a penalty brings it backThere was a good chance that Tavon Austin was going to have at least one impact play in this game, and it was almost a touchdown-scoring one. After the Dallas defense forced the Seahawks to their third consecutive three and out, Michael Dickson came on to punt. Austin fielded the ball at the Dallas 20-yard line and made a couple of quick moves before his blazing speed took off down the field 80 yards for a touchdown that would’ve given the Cowboys a 10-0 lead and swung momentum in a massive way. But there was a penalty flag on the field and CJ Goodwin was called for a hold. Instead of a huge special teams play that gave Dallas a 10-point lead, the Cowboys would start their drive at their own 14.Sebastian Janikowski gets injured on long field goal missSebastian Janikowski had long been one of the NFL’s premier kickers, and even at 40-years-old he’s still reliable. But when the Seahawks opted to attempt a 57-yard field goal with three seconds left in the first half, chances of making it were low. However, if Janikowski did put it through the upright, Seattle would make it a 10-9 game at halftime. The kick ended up wide right, but the most important part of this play was that immediately after kicking the ball Janikowski started grabbing at his hamstring as if something was seriously pulled. He would end up sitting out the rest of the game, and with punter Michael Dickson having little to no experience kicking field goals, Seattle wound up going for it on fourth down whenever in scoring range and going for two points after each score, and it drastically altered the way that Pete Carroll had to manage this game. KJ Wright gets away with interference on Noah Brown and snags endzone interceptionWith a narrow 17-14 lead, the Cowboys had the ball and were trying to score a touchdown that, with about 10 minutes left, would significantly increase the pressure on Seattle. Austin set the offense up perfectly with a big 51-yard punt return that set Dak and Co. up at the Seattle 38. One big Amari Cooper catch and a holding penalty later, and the Cowboys were at the Seattle 16. They ran a play action bootleg that had Noah Brown in a favorable matchup on linebacker KJ Wright in the endzone and Dak threw the pass. However, Wright was draped all over Brown before the ball arrived and the linebacker tipped the ball a couple of times while Brown fell to the ground. By the time Wright also went down, he had intercepted the pass. No flags were thrown, and the Seahawks were gifted the ball. Wright reportedly even admitted to early contact after the game, too.Dak uses his clutch gene again and picks up a first down on 3rd and 14The Dallas defense managed to get the ball back after Seattle’s interception, and the Cowboys knew that a touchdown here, with under seven minutes in the game, would likely put it out of reach. The offense began a long, methodical drive that was, poetically so, helped out by some good pass interference calls against Seattle. Nevertheless, the drive stalled once inside the red zone as is customary this year, and the Cowboys were facing a third and 14 at the Seattle 17. Dallas needed a touchdown to really put the game away. Dak Prescott took the shotgun snap and ran a designed draw up the middle, and the third-year signal caller came up clutch once again:The ball was marked down inside the one-yard line, giving the Cowboys a first down in the most entertaining of ways. On the next play, Dak scored on a QB sneak play that made the score 24-14 with just over two minutes left in the game and, as Seattle had no remaining timeouts, made a Seahawks comeback incredibly unlikely. Michael Dickson’s botched onside kick seals the dealDespite an unlikely comeback, the Seahawks at least did their best. A huge Tyler Lockett pickup led to a touchdown pass on fourth down that, after a two-point conversion, cut the Cowboys’ lead to just two points. It was now all up to punter Michael Dickson to make a successful onside kick and then hope Russell Wilson had something left in him. Dickson Taco Charlton Jersey , an Australian born punter, was unable to kick off from a tee like normal and thus had been using the dropkick method. In his onside kick attempt, it seemed as if he got too much of the ball, as it skied upwards and farther back than it should have gone. Cole Beasley made a clean catch at the Dallas 32 and went down right away. Dak came out to kneel down twice and secure the playoff victory. Here’s a look at the Cowboys free agent acquisitions in the eyes of Pro Football Focus."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Dallas Cowboys NewsDallas Cowboys 2019 Free AgencyWhat PFF grades say about the Cowboys additions in free agency?New,69commentsHere’s a look at the Cowboys free agent acquisitions in the eyes of Pro Football Focus.CDTShareTweetShareShareWhat PFF grades say about the Cowboys additions in free agency?Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsThe Cowboys really got active over the last several weeks in free agency. Their approach was slightly altered to peruse the market for better talent than in year’s past but somehow the expenditures were very similar to the low-cost style the Cowboys have become known for.The front office made a few more publicized acquisitions like the trade for Robert Quinn as well as reaching a one-year deal with Randall Cobb. The Cowboys also made a few low-key signings such as Kerry Hyder, George Iloka and Christian Covington. Every offseason, the Cowboys have a goal of filling their roster needs with low-risk free agents in hopes to draft more purely. This difference here is that the Cowboys actually acquired players that have a shot to make strong impacts this season.Tons of football publications have their own methods for grading players and Pro Football Focus is one of the more mainstream platforms for such formulas. We thought it would be worth a look to see how the newest faces on the Cowboys were graded out in comparison with their peers on the roster.Let’s start by looking at the defensive line, the Cowboys still have an extension to hammer out with DeMarcus Lawrence but even with him, there was still plenty of work to be done. Factoring in Randy Gregory’s indefinite suspension, Tyrone Crawford’s off-field incident, and also just a need for more production made this a position of importance. First up, here are 2018 PFF’s grades for Christian Covington, Kerry Hyder, and Robert Quinn:PlayerOverallRun DEFPass RushCoverageTotal SnapsAt first-glance, Christian Covington received some high markings on few snap counts. A scheme like Rod Marinelli’s will fit well for Covington, who can give the Cowboys a nice rotational piece with high production value. Kerry Hyder may not look great on PFF’s grading scale but keep in mind he was out of place in a 3-4 scheme change in Detroit. Robert Quinn is the big get for the Cowboys, he will be penciled in at right end, giving the Cowboys a nice tandem of Quinn and Lawrence. Now, for comparisons, a look at how the incumbents on the Cowboys roster did last season:PlayerOverallRun DEFPass RushCoverageTotal Snaps Let’s continue by looking at the statistical production and why Robert Quinn was a really valuable piece to add on defense. The Cowboys have said that Quinn is a replacement for Randy Gregory but he’s also a replacement at right end for Tyrone Crawford, who was slated to slide back over in the interim. This move could mean that Tyrone Crawford will be spending more time inside, which is where he has been most successful for Marinelli.Here is a three-season look at the production for Quinn, Crawford, and Gregory:PlayerGamesTacklesTFLSacksFFIf Quinn remains healthy, he’s without a doubt the best option at right end in terms of production value. With all the question marks on the availability of certain guys, the Cowboys deserve credit for the efforts made in shoring up this unit.Now, we move over to the safety position and George Iloka. On a limited snap count, here are his PFF grades:PlayerOverallCoverageRun DEFPass RushTotal SnapsPFF agrees with the Cowboys assessment that Iloka is a better fit at strong safety and though his snap count was limited, he would be an upgrade for the run defense:PlayerOverallCoverageRun DEFPass RushTotal SnapsJeff Heath struggled quite a bit last season stopping the run and the signing of Iloka is proof that the Cowboys want a better option. Heath and Iloka have very similar production over the last three seasons and that’s why it seems like Heath just had a really down year:PlayerGamesTacklesSoloFFINTPairing Xavier Woods’ coverage abilities with Iloka’s knack for run defense could give the Cowboys quality safety play. Jeff Heath and Kavon Frazier will be your sub-package guys with a heavy special teams load. Let’s not write Jeff Heath off just yet because he always seems to be around when a play is needed to be made. Grabbing Iloka on a friendly deal is just one part on the checklist as the Cowboys very interested in drafting a safety with several on their 30 visits list.Moving on to receiver, the Cowboys will be looking to replace Cole Beasley with Randall Cobb. PlayerOverallReceivingRun BlockTotal SnapsCobb is the biggest health question mark of all the recent signings, he played a little over half of the snaps that Cole Beasley did. However, a healthy Randall Cobb gives the Cowboys a much more dynamic threat in the passing game. That health is quite the caveat to overcome for Cobb but the Cowboys seem to be confident that he’ll be a big contributor this season. Here are the three-year production statistics for both Cobb and Beasley:PlayerGamesRec.Rec. YdsYds/Rec.TDLongNo offense intended for Cole Beasley, who will be harder to replace than most believe, but now you have more potential for explosive playmaking. The Cowboys really want that explosiveness on offense with Amari Cooper, Ezekiel Elliott, Tavon Austin, and Randall Cobb all possessing outstanding abilities in that area.Overall the Cowboys did a nice job of supplementing talent in free agency which hasn’t been their strong suit of late. The talent levels of the players they gained far outweighs that of what they lost.
