Dallas Cowboys CRUSH Raiders, George Pickens & Quinnen Williams EXPLODE in Win!!!

Summary

Locked On Cowboys Podcast Summary

Episode: Dallas Cowboys CRUSH Raiders, George Pickens & Quinnen Williams EXPLODE in Win!!!
Date: November 18, 2025
Hosts: Marcus Mosher & Landon McCool

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Episode Overview

This episode provides an in-depth breakdown and analysis of the Dallas Cowboys' emphatic Monday Night Football victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. The hosts discuss not only the game’s key performances—particularly by new addition Quinnen Williams and wide receiver George Pickens—but also analyze what this win means for the development of the team after an emotionally charged and difficult week. The conversation covers roster decisions, player development, the defense’s transformation, and the benching of CeeDee Lamb and Pickens for the opening drive.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

A Meaningful Win After a Difficult Week

• Emotional Return: The Cowboys returned to football after a prolonged and emotionally taxing absence due to tragic circumstances (referencing Marshawn Nealon).
• The team’s pregame tributes and a sense of relief were clear, but the main takeaway: “It was also especially nice for them to kind of shake off some of the early jitters and get into this football game and… get to see what this new look Cowboys team looked like.” —Landon (02:55)
• Early gameplay jitters gave way to control and efficiency as the game progressed.

Offensive Evolution and Game Flow

• Slow Start: Cowboys went 3-and-out on their first drive and struggled early offensively.
• Offensive Adjustment: With time, the offense found its stride—especially as the run game forced the Raiders to adjust, opening up play-action.
• Landon notes Dak Prescott’s improvement after a jittery start:
  “Once [the Cowboys] both sides settled in … you could easily tell who the better team was on both sides of the ball.” (04:28)
• Complementary Football: The team finally executed all phases together, hinting at potential for future success.

Dak Prescott’s Command Performance

• Dak delivered near-flawless play, missing just a handful of throws:
  “He knew where he was going with the ball on every single snap. The offensive line held up for the most part. Thought he played one of the better games of the season …” —Marcus (05:31)
• Could have had five touchdown passes if not for a stumble/drop by CeeDee Lamb at the goal line.

The George Pickens Effect

• Dominant: Pickens was peppered with throws and unguardable—his physicality dissuaded tackles and demoralized Raiders defenders.
• Opened up room for CeeDee Lamb as the defense adjusted.
• Insightful observation: “At a certain point, the Raiders kind of quit on certain snaps when Pickens had the ball. They just didn’t want to tackle him.” —Landon (05:59)

Running Game & Clock Control

• Javonte Williams: Rushed for 91 yards, most gained when the Raiders knew the run was coming—demonstrating the Cowboys’ will and efficiency (07:49).
• The win felt bigger than the score: “They won by 17 points and it felt like it should have been 40.” —Marcus (08:23)

Reality Check: The State of the Team

• Acknowledgment that the Raiders were not a strong opponent, but neither are the Cowboys based on record (now 4-5-1).
• Important context: Cowboys’ losses to Chicago and Carolina look more respectable given those teams’ improved play.
• “There’s levels of suck in the NFL … maybe they’re not quite as bad as what their record indicates.” —Marcus (09:39)

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Defensive Transformation: The Quinnen Williams Debut

Quinnen Williams—Immediate and Massive Impact

• Williams’ first game set a new standard for Dallas’ defensive line:
  “That might have been the best defensive tackle game I’ve seen by a Cowboy in the last 10, 20 years.” —Marcus (13:21)
• Provided opportunities for other linemen, e.g., Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa, and elevated the play of edge defenders like Ezra Raku and Jadeveon Clowney.
• Landon:
  “It was crazy to watch him open things up for everybody else inside too…You saw guys like Kalyn Carson…play fantastically … Duron Bland, without as much pressure on him, played absolutely out of his mind.” (13:55)

Defensive Unit: New Rotations and Upside

• Deep defensive line rotations observed, possibly to conserve veterans’ energy ahead of a short week before the Eagles game.
• Marcus highlights run defense improvement by rookie Ezra Raku:
  “He can still find a way to make an impact…an above average run defender and that would be a home run in round two.” (19:59)
• Landon adds context on Raku’s development:
  “He doesn’t have to be Micah Parsons to be a first-round defensive end…he’s having an incredible season.” (20:40)
• Return from injury: Young players (Rebel, Overshown) are ramping up, hinting at more upside.

Notable Defensive Stats & Notes

• Cowboys’ D utilized five-man fronts, creative alignments, and blitzes more similar to the style Matt Eberflus employed in previous successful stops (16:33).
• Rotational depth across DL and LB positions, keeping the defense fresh.

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Accountability: Benchings of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens

Disciplinary Benchings

• Both receivers benched for the opening drive due to a coach’s decision for missing team obligations, likely curfew or meetings.
• Landon on the decision:
  “If you want to build a culture of accountability, you discipline your most visible players like that when they make mistakes.” (24:28)
• Marcus:
  “I applaud Brian Schottenheimer for doing this. You can’t let things snowball.” (26:21)
• The discipline carried no lasting effect as both receivers rebounded with productive games.

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Receiving Corps DOMINATES

Pickens and Lamb Stat Line

• Combined for 18 targets, 14 catches, 210 yards, and 2 touchdowns (26:21)
• Lamb drew a key PI penalty, setting up another TD—and still left points on the board with a near-miss at the goal line.
• The verdict: “Those guys are dominant. I mean, the Raiders could not cover them.” —Marcus (26:56)

Strategic Impact

• Raiders’ defense forced to pick their poison—help on one receiver opened up the other.
• Landon describes a beautifully schemed TD:
  “That touchdown was so beautiful, seeing that safety drop down and just no one even saw CD just running, streaking … for a wide open touchdown.” (27:00)
• Marcus: “It’s just a cheat code to have two awesome receivers … Dallas has it.” (28:37)

Supporting Cast

• Hunter Lipke (FB) utilized more—a sign of a healthy, unselfish offense integrating diverse personnel.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On returning to football after tragedy:
  “It’s just good to kind of get back into the normal thing. And for them, it's playing football.” —Landon (02:55)

• On Dak’s control and offense’s improvement:
  “He played one of the better games of the season that he’s had so far.” —Marcus (05:31)

• On Quinnen Williams’ debut:
  “That might have been the best defensive tackle game I’ve seen by a Cowboy in the last 10 years. 20 years.” —Marcus (13:21)

• On the team’s accountability:
  “You discipline your most visible players like that when they make mistakes.” —Landon (24:28)

• On Lamb & Pickens' performance:
  “Those guys are dominant. I mean, the Raiders could not cover them.” —Marcus (26:56)
  “It’s just a cheat code to have two awesome receivers … Dallas has it.” —Marcus (28:37)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Emotional return, early jitters: 02:55–04:28
• Dak’s strong performance, offensive balance: 05:31–07:49
• The run game and controlling the clock: 07:49–09:39
• Team state and context among NFL peers: 09:39–10:43
• Quinnen Williams impact and defense upgrade: 13:21–16:33
• Ezra Raku’s run defense and rookie progression: 19:59–21:27
• Lamb & Pickens benching, accountability: 24:28–26:21
• Lamb & Pickens’ on-field dominance: 26:21–28:37
• Wide receiver trio depth and supporting cast: 29:08–29:33

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Tone & Style

The episode combines earnest reflection (post-tragedy), analytical breakdown, excitement about young talent, and a casual, tongue-in-cheek camaraderie between the hosts. The show is engaging for die-hard Cowboys fans and anyone interested in behind-the-scenes NFL team building, player development, and the delicate balance between results today and hope for tomorrow.

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Summary compiled by an expert podcast summarizer. Listen to the full episode for further insights into this promising evolution for the Dallas Cowboys.

Transcript

[Landon]

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[Marcus Mosher]

The Dallas Cowboys got a big win over the Raiders on Monday Night Football in their most impressive showing of the season. We'll break it down next.

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[Marcus Mosher]

Dallas Cowboys podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast network.

[Landon]

Your team every day.

[Marcus Mosher]

Welcome back to the Lockdown Cowboys podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day. We are now the number one sports podcast network and today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Welcome back. I am your host, Marcus mosher. He is La McCool and on today's show. We're breaking down the Cowboys Monday Night Football win over the Las Vegas Raiders. We're going to talk about CD Lamb and George Pickens and why they weren't on the field on that first drive. We'll talk about the impact of Quinn and Williams. But just as a whole, Landon, it was really nice to see this team get a win after a very emotional week.

[Landon]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I, it's been a very long time since the Cowboys have played football, you know, and a lot of that has been because of the circumstances, obviously the horrible circumstances. And, and I think for the Cowboys, it's like, it's just good to kind of get back into the normal thing. And for them, it's, it's playing football. And it was nice to, it was nice to see all the, the special stuff they did for Marshawn Nealon, but it was also especially nice for them to kind of shake off some of the early jitters and get into this football game and, and just kind of, you know, get to see kind of what this new look Cowboys team looked like instead of just kind of having to constantly talk about it and, and not actually see the results.

[Marcus Mosher]

And it took a little bit for this team to get going. They went 39 on the first drive of the game. The offense just, it was. Second drive, they, they, they had to punt as well. But I think overall what was exciting is it got better as the game went on, you know, especially on the defensive side of the ball. We'll talk, you know, as the week goes on, about the Cowboys playoff odds and what this win means and all of that kind of stuff. I think everybody who's listening to this podcast know their, their chances of making the playoffs, especially after Philadelphia won on Sunday. It's extremely low.

[Landon]

Yeah.

[Marcus Mosher]

What you and I wanted to see was a team that was trending in the right direction start playing better football, complementary football start, you know, actually having a foundation of a team that might be able to do something in future years. I think this is a good step forward.

[Landon]

Yeah, I think you could see the bones of a good team, right? Like they went out there and they took care of business against a lesser opponent on the road. And, and when, you know, they, when they were playing, you know, with, with, with good efficiency, they, they were in control of this game, you know, and so I, I, I think that Dak Prescott obviously struggled a little bit early on, it felt like, and, and I think part of it was some personnel issues, specifically the first drive, which we'll talk about later. But I, I, I think once they both sides kind of settled in and frankly, I mean, you called it, it just felt like the energy of the, of the whole situation and what happened with Marshawn and just everyone's grief and, and everything may have just kind of been a lot to deal with early on. And it took, you know, it took them a couple of hits and, and just to kind of get into the game a little bit. But once they did, you could easily tell who the better team was on both sides of the ball. And the Cowboys took command of this game in a way that we haven't really seen them do on both sides of the ball, I think at all this season.

[Marcus Mosher]

We should talk about Doc Prescott because he was really good in this game. There were a couple throws I think he would like to have back, but outside of that, almost flawless. Could have had five touchdowns if CD Lamb didn't tumble and drop a pass rate at the goal line, but in complete command. It seemed like from the second quarter until basically the end of the game, I mean, he knew where he was going with the ball on every single snap. The offensive line held up for the most part. Thought he played one of the better games of the season that he's had so far.

[Landon]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I, I think, you know, he, he's, he, it went back once he was able to get the, the, the defense to kind of bite to on the, on the run a little bit. Once the safeties dropped down a little bit because the Cowboys were, were able to gash them, that you started to see Williams get kind of 7, 9 yard, 11 yard runs. It was over like at that point, like because they opened everything up behind them. And that's when you started to see him take advantage with Pickens. At first it was, first it was Pickens who was just, they were, you know, peppering Pickens and they just could not stop him. At a certain point, you know, it felt like the Raiders kind of quit on certain snaps when Pickens had the ball. They just didn't want to tackle him. That, specifically that. I think it was that, the touchdown, but I can't remember. Yeah, yeah, it was, it was his only touchdown this right. So he just like he cuts back up field and the Raiders safety and the corner basically just throw their hands up, you know, and so yeah, I just think that the Cowboys played with such efficiency once they kind of got into it and then once Pickens was able to go, you saw Lamb start to go a little bit more as well. And then they were just Rocking and rolling the defense that had them guessing, they were still able to continue to run the ball effectively as well, which I think, you know, kind of kept Dak Prescott able to throw in windows behind them and play action. So, yeah, it was exactly how you draw it up. They even got Lipke involved in both the run and the passing game. And I think that that's, you know, the sign of a healthy offense, right, where they had everybody involved, they had touches schemed up for everybody, you know, every. Not exactly the same kind of success across the board. Obviously, we can have a conversation about Turpin at some point, but I think, you know, even Floy at the end of. In the red zone, they had rules for everybody. And everybody seemed to be, you know, playing very efficiently, except for some few exceptions.

[Marcus Mosher]

Just in general, we talked about on Monday's show that we wanted to see the Cowboys have a better game script, right? Like, get out to an early lead, let your pass rushers get up the field, run the ball, and they accomplished all that. Right. Javonte Williams had, I think, was 91 yards rushing. A lot of them were late in the game where the Raiders knew the Cowboys were running. Dak was able to win off play action. Your pass rushers were able to, you know, not have to worry about the run, partly because Chip Kelly refused to run the ball, which was fascinating.

[Landon]

Really crazy. I just can't believe that this is.

[Marcus Mosher]

What we wanted to see in terms of how this game was going to play out for the Cowboys. I mean, they won by 17 points and it felt like it should have been 40. Like, I mean, like, that game was way. It was a way bigger win than what the score indicates.

[Landon]

Yeah, I mean, because at a certain point, they were dominating them so. So kind of thoroughly short of that fourth down, like, you know, turnover on downs in the, you know, basically on the goal line by CD Lamb, they were able to move the ball and drain the clock. They were possessing the ball and, and moving it effectively, like completely. I mean, basically the Raiders had quit on the game defensively, and so you were just basically draining them of blood on the, on the floor of the mat, of the. Of the. Of the boxing ring. So, yeah, it was. It was a thorough domination. And because they were able to stay balanced, it gave them the capability to just continuously convert and can move the ball down the field. And while also staying in bounds and getting down and draining the clock, they easily could have scored, I think, think, you know, 40, 45, 45 points, you know, at some point, like if they had just kind of kept the, their foot on the gas a little bit and been just a little bit more effective on some key plays.

[Marcus Mosher]

Last thing before we start talking about Quinn and Williams. I know the Raiders aren't a very good team, but honestly, the Cowboys might not be a very good team. They're 4, 5 and 1. They were 3, 5 and 1 coming into this game. But there's levels of suck in the NFL. Right. And I think the Cowboys are, they're not a good team based on the record, but they've played in some good games. They played some good teams. They, you know, they, they tied to Green Bay, they lost to Carolina. All of a sudden that Carolina loss isn't looking as bad. They lost to Chicago and Chicago, all of a sudden we were making a big deal about them losing in Chicago. The Chicago Bears are but seven and three atop the NFC North. That's not to say the Cowboys are a good team, but maybe they're not quite as bad as what their record indicates.

[Landon]

Yeah, I don't think we need to second guess this offensive performance because we've seen this offense perform well against, against good defenses, against, you know, the Eagles, you know, early in the season and in certain other areas. So I, I do think that, that, you know, seeing them perform like this and look, we talked about it. This isn't a terrible Raiders defense. It's, it's, it's middle of the road. Right. It's NFL average probably.

[Marcus Mosher]

So I, I think the best way to look at is. Was it last Thursday the BR Broncos and Raiders played in Denver and that Raiders defense held Denver to I think six points on offense like they, that's a team that Denver might be the 1 seed in the AFC and they've been able to hold up, but the Cowboys present a lot more challenges than what Denver can.

[Landon]

Yeah, and they certainly do on defense now that they've upgraded their personnel as well.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah. Well, how about that? That's a, that's a teaser. Let's talk about Quin Williams and his impact next. This episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA is back and there's not a better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or if you just want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team's making that late game push in the fourth quarter. And right now FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So head over to FanDuel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel I it's so much fun. It's so easy. We've got football all week long. We've got basketball. There's so much to bet on right now. Go check it out. FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA this episode of your favorite.

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[Marcus Mosher]

Welcome back to the Lockdown Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen of the day. We also like to thank you for making us the number one sports podcast network. Later, let's talk about Quinn and Williams. We we kind of had a feeling that Williams is going to have a big debut. He had 23 days to get ready for this game. It was a Raiders offensive line that had a lot of injuries. I I don't want to be, I don't want to exaggerate, but that might have been the best defensive tackle game I've seen by a cowboy in the last 10 years. 20 years.

[Landon]

Yeah. I mean it was a dumb and and to be honest, like in number two, I won't say number two but number three or four on that list may include another defensive tackle also on in this game. You know, playing in the same game. It was crazy to watch him open things up for everybody else inside too, because ultimately at first what you saw, at least what I saw was Kenny Clark dominating the game, right? Because Kenny Clark was getting a lot more single blocks inside and suddenly you're seeing him do an arm over, he looks a little bit healthier, right? He's, he's making a stop behind the line of scrimmage and now you're seeing Quinn and Williams get after the quarterback. He's, he's helping Clark get a sack and then it's like they can't stop him. And the Cowboys did do a lot of what we kind of were talking about. We saw a lot of the five man rushes, five man surfaces specifically, but also four man down men, and then just sending a guy so that, that none of the offensive linemen could help get any help. So, you know, look, we talked about, we've given the caveats here. This Raiders offensive line is, is, is beat up. They're not very good to begin with. But, but that also hasn't stopped the Cowboys from playing bad football before and not do, taking advantage of, of that situation. We've given that same sort of caveat to teams that the Cowboys ended up losing to at times. So, so and they, they took advantage of this situation the way that they were supposed to. And, and, and again, like you talked about in the, in the opening segment, it wasn't necessarily about winning the game, although obviously the Cowboys did and they played winning football on both sides of the ball. It was about seeing the bones of something that you can build on for the future. And I think what we saw tonight was that, right, like you saw Quinn and Williams creating for the other guys on the outside, including Ezra Rocku and Clowney on the ends as well. You saw guys like Kalyn Carson, who we talked about as being not necessarily one of these guys who's coming back, but who has been back just recently gonna start getting more snaps. He, I thought he played fantastically and then, and then the kind of casual effect that spreads out to everybody else. Duron Bland, without as much pressure on him, played absolutely out of his mind. Back to playing like he had the week before, he had the bad week. Right. And so it just felt like, and because of that, you saw Eber flu calling the game in a much more sane way. You know, you're seeing more blitz, you're seeing stuff that actually makes sense and guys not making, you know, stupid kind of one class, 101 mistakes in the defense. It looked like a right, proper defense. It looked like a professional NFL defense. It was. It was fun to watch.

[Marcus Mosher]

I. I actually tweeted about it and people got very mad. I think maybe I need to qualify this a little bit. But I said that you don't make. The Cowboys aren't probably going to make the playoffs this year, but you don't trade for Quinn and Williams. But the idea that you're going to try to go make a run for the playoffs in 2025, you do it so you can start building your defense and having a functional unit that keeps you competitive. Right. And just on one game. That's why Williams. That's why they traded for Williams. You can see that this is just a much more talented unit because of one guy. This is the best I've seen Oso Digi Zua play in two years. The Edge rushers played pretty well. I thought. I thought Cloudy made some big plays as a raku who we're going to talk about a little bit. Played really well. And honestly, Landon, I think the defensive line can still improve. There was no Solomon Thomas in this game, and we've talked about how Solomon Thomas has been maybe their most consistent defensive tackle. JJ. Toya played 13 snaps in this game, which is really interesting because they were playing him as a nose tackle and then like Quinn Williams and Kenny Clark as like five techniques. So they were using a lot of different formations. But I think if you get Solomon Thomas in there, you know, maybe he starts taking some of the tous snaps. Quinn and Williams only played 33 snaps. Maybe that goes up to where Kenny Clark and Osa were at. Were like in the low 40s. I. It just looked so much more functional.

[Landon]

Yeah. And I think beyond that too, like some guys who played but maybe are still kind of getting. Getting used to the speed of things where you're two ACL guys, right. You saw Rebel out there. You saw overshot out there. They didn't necessarily make their presence felt hugely in the game, but I think you saw Rebel functioning as an NFL cornerback. He looked good. He's. His speed is. Is where it needs to be. He's moving and. And athletically it looks like he's a guy that's belongs in the NFL, which is great to see. And overshone, I think is still kind of figuring out. He looks confused a little bit. It's still kind of getting his first few snaps. I saw one. Yeah, he'll be fine. He's gonna figure he's gonna get used to things and he's going to pick it right back up where he left off. So I think those two guys are. Are guys that are going to improve as well. So, you know, there's areas where this defense can even improve on where it was tonight. And I think, you know, those are two specific areas maybe where you can get a little bit better play as the weeks go on this season.

[Marcus Mosher]

There's still one or two players out there that make most of the mental mistakes and I wonder if those guys will either get phased out as the season goes on. It was also interesting how they were using some of the rotations, like Dante Fowler only played 11 snaps. I think Jadevian Clowney was in like the mid-20s. I wonder if they were trying to save those guys, especially once we got to the second half because you're going to play a game here in six days against Philadelphia. Maybe we see the veterans play more snaps in that game.

[Landon]

Well, they were running up in the linebackers too. The linebackers were rotating like crazy as well. So yeah, I wouldn't be shocked if that's just their general plan for the defense for the next, you know, 20 days. Right. Just because you have so many games and a condensed area, you don't want people to get overworked. You've got a lot of bodies in the position and, and you know, look you. The good thing, I guess about not having necessarily a ton of superstars there is that it's okay that you're not. There's not a ton of drop off when you rotate guys in and out. So you've got a couple guys that you wanted specifically obviously to feature Quinn and Williams as a. Raku, I think is, is getting into that area as well.

[Marcus Mosher]

Can we talk about him really quick?

[Landon]

Yeah, please, please.

[Marcus Mosher]

Because this, this was not his best game as a pass rusher. I honestly, I don't remember seeing him have a press pressure, but what I liked about Ezra Raku is that he can still find a way to make an impact, you know, even if he's not having success getting to the quarterback. He had an early tackle for a loss, I think in the first half and then he had the safety where he kind of shot the gap, made the play on Ash and Genti. He's really come a long way in three months as run defender and I think it just makes you feel really excited about the, the long term outlook. Maybe he's not Michael Parson Parsons as a pass rusher, but he could be somebody who's an above Average pass rusher, an above average run defender and that would be a home run in round two. And that's what you got.

[Landon]

Yeah, I mean if the, if he's continuing on the trajectories that he's got, it's a home run where we got him. Right. Like it's cra. Yeah, you're right. He doesn't have to be Micah Parsons to be a first round defensive end. There's lots of first round defensive ends who never like looked as good as. As, as rock as. I mean I think people don't realize Esraku, I'm pretty sure still at this point and we have to check the numbers. Leads all rookies in. In pressures if I'm not mistaken. Oh no, I'm sorry. Andre Carter may be first but I think he's second in in pressures for, for all rookies.

[Marcus Mosher]

Like he's the highest graded. He's the highest graded rookie edge defender.

[Landon]

So yeah, I mean he just having an incredible season. I think he's going to build on that. And now that you've added Quinn and Williams in there as well, I, I can't wait to see with a little bit even less attention inside what he's gonna do with that.

[Marcus Mosher]

Real quick, Logan Wilson, did you see anything in this game that you like, didn't like?

[Landon]

I thought he looked, you know, fine. I didn't notice him in a negative manner. And I think the presence of him, you talked about it like the guys, the same guys that are making the mistakes. The presence of him and other. These other guys just allows you to not have to rely on those guys as much. So you're limiting your, your blast exposure from guys like that. So I think that's where you're getting the benefit of a Logan Muson.

[Marcus Mosher]

All right, let's talk about the Cowboys. Two receivers who did not start this game because of a coach's decision. We'll get into that and their performance next.

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[Landon]

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[Marcus Mosher]

Welcome back to the Lockdown Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen of the day. For your second listen, check out the Locked On NFL podcast. Two shows every single day. One in the Morning with Tyler Roland, one in the Afternoon with Tony Wiggins. Available wherever you get your podcast. All right, let's talk about George Pickens and CD Lamb. We'll get to their performance in just a second. Landon. Yeah, neither player played in the first drive of the game. They were both on the sideline with what we've been told is a coach's decision disciplinary action because they missed some stuff. I saw a lot of people on Twitter complaining about Shot Nimer's benching of those two. What'd you think?

[Landon]

Absolutely not. Absolutely no. I mean, look, if you want to build a culture that you want to build the culture of accountability, like you discipline your most visible players like that when they make mistakes. I don't know what, what they did. I'm assuming that whatever they did, they're aware of what they did. But like, I, I think, you know, you've got to do this other. Otherwise you're just allowing anyone to get away with anything. And, and, and I think for, for, for Shotti, you know, he's got to. I like doing it this way. I like, you know, taking them out for a short amount of time in the game, a drive like this, it ultimately didn't affect the outcome of the game. But what it does is it puts the onus of them of. Of what went on back on. The players now they have to face the media and deal with whatever went on, and then they can be, you know, responsible. So look, whenever it's stuff like this and it's not like a fine or whatever, it's. It's. It's missed stuff, it's usually like, you know, they missed a meeting or whatever. They violated a team rule where they were supposed to be somewhere where they were and they weren't.

[Marcus Mosher]

They weren't in bed at the right time. When you're on the road in Vegas.

[Landon]

Vegas.

[Marcus Mosher]

I can't believe that anybody would ever miss curfew in Las Vegas. That's. I'm not saying that's what happened, but I'm also.

[Landon]

George Pickett is 24 years old. Guys like, I mean, come on. Yeah. In a Millionaire. So I, I wouldn't be shocked if, you know, you know, something happens. Yeah.

[Marcus Mosher]

Well, let's just say I don't think it's anything that it's. I don't think it was like conduct detrimental to the team. Right. Like, it's not quite like, it's just.

[Landon]

That's not a. That's not like a drive worthy. You know, like, if it was like more serious, you're. They're. They're covering it up and they're not talking about it. You know, they're not drawing attention to it by not putting CD and pickets out there. And they're talking about it after the game. Right. Yeah.

[Marcus Mosher]

And I understand the argument well, you're just hurting your team by doing this. But hey, I mean this, this part of the gig. So I applaud Brian Schottenheimer for doing this. You can't let things snowball. That's all we're gonna say about it. Let's talk about the performance together between the two players. 18 targets, 14 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns. CD also drew a pass interference call that set up a touchdown. It could have been an even bigger day to see the drop kind of a pass at the goal line. He was stumbling a little bit, so I'm gonna give him a little bit of.

[Landon]

We'll give him a benefit of a doubt there, but he probably should. Could have caught that.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah, those guys are dominant. I mean, they, The Raiders could not cover them.

[Landon]

Yeah, they had no answers there. Like again, once they started to get wary and realize they had to be wary of the, of the run. The game was over because the, the Raiders just didn't have anything in man coverage or zone coverage that they could do to slow down specifically Pickens. Early in the game, like we mentioned, whenever they got him the ball, like he was just running through arm tackles. He was, he was just finding ways to create small separation. Even on the, the broken plays where he dax like rolling to his left and Pickens just kind of like clueless, like steps over here and creates like one yard of separation, gets the ball and then fights through, you know, for two and a half yards to pick up a first down. It was like he was doing the small stuff, he was picking up the first downs on the slants, he was doing the big stuff, he was catching the ball down the field. They just didn't have any answers. And then eventually once they started limiting all their focus on, on Pickens, it opened things up for CD and then you start seeing him get the big yards, especially you on that touchdown, it was so beautiful seeing that safety drop down and just no one even saw CD just running right streaking down, up the, the seam of the field for a wide open touchdown. So. And Dak was, was, was incredible. You just saw him layering throws to everybody over the linebackers into guys arms as they're in the middle of the run. That throw to CD on that like 18 yard was an over route. I think it was, man, was just one of the best throws I think has seen Dak throw this year. Yeah, both of them. You know, there was some time there was a little bit of struggle, a little bit of CD at times, obviously, but overall they were both fantastic and so effective and, and the most dominant.

[Marcus Mosher]

Aspect of this game, it's just a cheat code to have two awesome receivers. And even if your offense isn't clicking and if you have a quarterback who's struggling like the Eagles do sometimes, when you have guys that can just win one on one coverage whenever you want and you can just throw them, throw them up the ball or they make plays after the catch. There's just very few teams in the league that have that luxury and Dallas has it. We're going to spend all off season talking about what the Cowboys should do here, but keeping those two guys together for the foreseeable future seems pretty smart.

[Landon]

Yeah. And obviously now that you have a wide receiver, three that's emerged on this team, you know that that also helps kind of frame things because Hunter Lipke has been just fantastic with three catches at 36 yards.

[Marcus Mosher]

He had as many touches today as he had the entire season one up to this point.

[Landon]

It was beautiful. It was gorgeous. I love it. It's a sign of a healthy office that when you can include your fullback like that and still pick up chunk yards. I'd love to see it.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah, this is a really good cd. Lamb George Pickens game. I'm just ignoring all that Hunter Lipke talk and this is what they should be able to do there. Every week they're going to have big time matchups. Some weeks it's going to be cd. This week it was Pickens because Caillou Blue Kelly just doesn't have the quickness to hold up with him and that's how you get the game that he had. All right, that is it for today's show. We'd like to thank you for making Lockdown Cowboys your first listen every single day. Go download the podcast wherever you get your podcast. We are free and available on all platforms. Make sure you check us out here on Wednesday as we get you ready for Cowboys Eagles Week 12. We'll see you guys then.

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[Landon]

The who's down and who.

[Marcus Mosher]

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[Landon]

What about toys? Do they have brands kids have been wanting all year?

[Marcus Mosher]

Yep. Barbie, Tonys and Lego gifts that will.

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[Landon]

What about so the who answered questions from friends till they were blue.

[Marcus Mosher]

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[Landon]

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[Marcus Mosher]

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