5 thoughts on a Cowboys-less Sunday of NFL action

The Cowboys got a little bit of help in Week 6

With the Dallas Cowboys playing on Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers, we got to sit back and enjoy a stress-free day of NFL action on Sunday. There were a lot of things going on and there was no shortage of excitement. And a couple of upsets went in the Cowboys’ favor. Here are five thoughts on what went down on Sunday.

1. WHAT GIVES, 49ERS?

A week after dismantling the Cowboys, the San Francisco 49ers decided to have themselves a bad game and lose to the Cleveland Browns, 19-17. A lot of things didn’t go right for the 49ers on this day. They suffered in-game injuries to several of their offensive stars, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and Trent Williams. All of them are All-Pros. They also were without one of their stud linebackers, Dre Greenlaw, who missed the game with an injured hamstring.

Things came undone for San Francisco in this one. They were on the wrong end of some questionable penalties, Brock Purdy had himself an off game, and their ultra-reliable rookie kicker missed a field goal late in the game that would’ve won it for them. It just goes to show you that the NFL is a fickle beast and things can change considerably from one week to the next.

2. WHAT GIVES, EAGLES?

Not only did the 49ers lose, but the New York Jets pulled off the upset against the hated Philadelphia Eagles. With the 49ers and Eagles losing, there are no more undefeated teams left in the NFL. Congrats to the ‘72 Miami Dolphins. Who would’ve thought the Browns and Jets, two of the worst teams over the last 10 years, would be the ones delivering the blow?

The Eagles and Jets game was crazy close. Early in the game, the Eagles attempted to go for it on fourth down when Jalen Hurts took a quarterback draw near the goal line. Initially, they called him short, but after reviewing the play, they overturned the call and awarded the Eagles the touchdown. The odd thing was that we weren’t shown any views that showed conclusively that Hurts did in fact cross the goal line before he was down, yet that didn’t stop them from reversing the call. As the kids these days say, that seems sus.

Hey, we’re not saying Hurts didn’t score there. Maybe he did. And maybe they have cameras that have those special angles and can piece everything together to make the right call, but it would’ve been nice if they could’ve done that in another game Philly was involved in.

Oh well, in the end, justice was served.

3. GOOD DAY FOR SOME FORMER COWBOYS

Not only did the 49ers lose, but they lost at the hands of a P.J. Walker-led Browns team as Cleveland’s regular starter, Deshaun Watson, missed the game with a shoulder injury. Walker only had 192 yards passing, and 108 were to our old friend Amari Cooper. It’s painful to watch Cooper have big games with another team, especially considering the recent struggles of the Cowboys offense. Cooper now has three games this year with at least 90 yards receiving, which is more than all of the Cowboys receivers have this year combined.

It was a good game for Cooper, but it was also a good game for some other former Cowboys players. Randy Gregory made his 49ers debut in that game and wasted no time recording his first sack with his new team. Dalton Schultz caught a touchdown pass for the Texans, and even Ezekiel Elliott scored his first-ever touchdown since joining the Patriots. While there was no Cowboys football on Sunday, we still got to watch some good plays from some of our old favorites.

4. THE LIONS ARE ALSO GOOD

The 49ers and Eagles might be the cream of the crop in the NFC but don’t forget about another division leader who is running hot right now. The Detroit Lions won their fourth straight to go to 5-1 on the year beating the NFC South division leader, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 20-6. The Lions looked impressive. Jared Goff had over 350 yards passing with two touchdowns and no picks. Amon-Ra St. Brown was fantastic with 124 yards receiving. And the Lions’ defense held the Bucs to 251 yards of total offense.

The Lions may not be in the same tier as those other guys, but they are definitely a team that can make some noise and will be a tough out come playoff time. They are playing well as an entire unit. Props to head coach Dan Campbell for turning this team around. Come for a taste of those creamsicle uniforms, but stay for the block by Josh Reynolds.

5. GOOD PLAY-CALLING MAKES ME JEALOUS

The Cowboys got worked over really well by one of the game’s best play-callers in Kyle Shahanan. That’s a bitter pill to swallow considering how bad the Cowboys’ offensive play-calling has been as of late. The Cowboys had a young offensive mind in Kellen Moore, but they moved on from him in favor of Mike McCarthy and now we will see what kind of wrath he has in store for us.

Another fun play-caller to watch in action is Miami’s Mike McDaniels. There are just so many ways he schemes his players open and we’d be lying if we said we weren’t just a tad bit jealous. Look at the simplicity, yet brilliance of this simple play that enabled running back Raheem Mostert to have an easy walk-in touchdown.

What caught your attention the most on Sunday?