Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions stock report: Sam Williams steals the show as Dallas wins again

Our stock report for Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys game.

The Dallas Cowboys got back to their winning ways on Sunday and now have more victories since the 2021 season began than the Green Bay Packers do. Shout out to Mike McCarthy.

What makes that particularly impressive for the good guys is that five of those victories came with a backup quarterback under center in Cooper Rush. That was not the case this week though as Dak Prescott was back and for the first time this season played a game from start to finish.

It was not a bump-less ride for the Cowboys as their offense still looked a bit suspect at times throughout the game. Anybody that expected a flawless performance was probably setting their standards a bit too high, returning from a thumb injury at the quarterback position is not an easy thing.

We discussed everything that happened during Sunday’s Cowboys win over the Lions on the latest episode of The Postgame on the Blogging The Boys podcast network. Make sure to subscribe to our network so you don’t miss any of our shows! Apple devices can subscribe here and Spotify users can subscribe here.

They say a win is a win is a win and the Cowboys are not going to apologize to anybody for getting their fifth victory in seven tries this season. Looking at the box score may not necessarily be truly representative of how close this game was (24-6 is definitely unfair in that sense) but again no apologies are being issued on behalf of that.

The Cowboys won which is something that they are showing us that they are quite good at doing regardless of the circumstances. As usual we have compiled our stock report from Sunday’s outing. There are mostly ups with a couple of downs, let us go ahead and begin.

Stock Up: Sam Williams

It has felt like every week a new defender has popped up and impressed for the Dallas Cowboys. While he was not absent of moments prior to Sunday there was no question that the Lions game belonged to him (all due respect to the other defenders).

We are starting to become numb to elite defensive performances so a rookie notching two sacks (not to mention a forced fumble plus a recovery) feels pretty boring by our suddenly-elevated standards. But Sam Williams was all over the place against Detroit and has given Dan Quinn yet another new weapon to work with.

Stock Up: Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard

Many people have noted how the Cowboys need to continue focusing on running the ball even with Dak Prescott under center again and it is difficult to disagree with that assertion. They are having great success there.

Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard together had 27 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns. There is no need to sit here and bicker about who deserves to be involved more than the other. Ultimately the reality is that the Cowboys have found the right way to balance out their workload. In that sense they are living up to their word.

For what it’s worth there was a scary moment when Zeke Elliott went down with an apparent injury and had to be tended to by trainers. You can count on one hand how many times that has happened throughout his career, but thankfully he wound up being alright.

Stock Up: Micah Parsons

Perhaps we should just build a permanent spot for Micah Parsons on the stock up side of things. He was incredible once again.

While Parsons had another sack and another forced fumble there was a moment where he suddenly dropped back in coverage for a great defensive stop.

Simply put he is one of the best defensive players in the NFL on a weekly basis.

Stock Up: DeMarcus Lawrence

A pivotal moment in this game landed when the Detroit Lions were knocking on the door at the goal line (after Jim Nantz and Tony Romo lamented the non-challenge by Lions coach Dan Campbell). It felt like the Lions were going to put the Cowboys in a more difficult spot… until DeMarcus Lawrence showed up.

There were no sacks to be found by Tank against the Lions but this was an incredible moment and the type that we know he is capable of making almost at will. He saved the team a bit which was nice to see.

Stock Up: Dak Prescott

As noted, this was a very bumpy first half for the Dallas Cowboys offense and obviously that includes quarterback Dak Prescott. If you were expecting some sort of record-breaking performance then you were not being fair to anybody involved.

All told Dak showed some of his normal characteristics. That is not to say he was perfect, in fact he got away with potentially two interceptions.

The rust had to be knocked off. That the Cowboys did it while winning is a very good thing.

Stock Up: Dalton Schultz and Peyton Hendershot

It made a lot of sense that the return of Dak Prescott would mean good things for Dalton Schultz’s involvement in the offense. 5 catches for 49 yards, and an admitted scary moment that thankfully turned out alright, certainly lines up with that thought.

It was Peyton Hendershot though who caught the lone Dak touchdown. Tight ends have become so valuable and versatile in this offense post-Jason Witten (that is not said with any disrespect) and it is very cool to see a number of them mixed in and out.

Stock Up: Trevon Diggs

In case you did not know, Tony Romo really did not think that Trevon Diggs caught his interception.

Officials on the field did not review it and New York did not feel the need to intervene, but it wasn’t just the pick that Diggs had going for him. So far this season Diggs has three takeaways through the air but has had some impressive PBUs along the way as well (including one against Detroit). He is very much the real deal.

Stock Up: Jourdan Lewis

His interception was incredible. Hopefully he is alright. He is so underrated.

Stock Down: Noah Brown

There was a little bit of redemption throughout this game, but if you turn the ball over, especially down near the goal line, then you automatically make the stock down list. Those are the rules.

Stock Down: Kellen Moore

While it is fair to criticize some of what Dak Prescott did and did not do on Sunday against the Lions there is one common denominator as far as the Cowboys offense this season and that is its offensive coordinator.

Kellen Moore again tried to get a little too cute in this game what with the way how he handled the end of this game. It seems as if he is hellbent on over-complicating things no matter what the cost when such obvious solutions like running the ball are lying right in front of him

To Moore’s credit he is having to adjust and adapt to all of the injuries that have happened this season as well, but he is in his fourth season as OC at this point.

We need to see more consistency.