Cowboys Country

5 winners & 2 losers as Cowboys feast against struggling Giants on Thanksgiving Day

These players stood out for the Dallas Cowboys who won on Thanksgiving Day against the New York Giants.

Randy Gurzi

Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown
Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
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The Dallas Cowboys won in Week 12 against the Washington Commanders. They won again in Week 13 against the New York Giants. In the immortal words of Lou Brown, "that's called a winning streak."

Dallas hosted the Giants in the annual Thanksgiving Day game and was able to win, 27-20. They played a complete game on both sides of the ball, helping them improve to a record of 5-7, and they're now 3-1 against NFC East opponents.

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More importantly, they won their first game at AT&T Stadium this season, improving to 1-5. They can now celebrate the win and enjoy a long break before taking on the Cincinnati Bengals at home in Week 14. As for this game, let's see who stood out as winners and losers for America's Team.

Winner: Donovan Wilson, S

Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (13) and safety Donovan Wilson (6)
Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (13) and safety Donovan Wilson (6) / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

This looked like the Donovan Wilson of old.

Wilson was once a premier playmaker for Dallas but this season has been full of struggles for him. That wasn't the case on Thursday as he looked fast and instinctive against New York. He had a pass break-up early in the game and picked up a sack as well.

Winner: Rico Dowdle, RB

The ground game as a whole has struggled this season for Dallas but Rico Dowdle has been their lone bright spot. He had 488 rushing yards on the season while averaging 4.4 per attempt. He had one of the best outings of his career in Week 12 and continued on that pace this week. He even scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, giving the Cowboys a 27-10 lead in the third quarter in the process.

Dowdle topped 100 yards for the first time in his career, finishing with 112 and a touchdown. He added another 11 on three catches.

Loser: Chuma Edoga, LT

Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

With Tyler Guyton suffering an injury early in the game, Dallas turned to Chuma Edoga. The veteran offensive linemen has had his share of ups and downs in his career, with Thursday being one of the lows.

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He was flagged for a 15-yard penalty in the first half, which could have been devastating had it not been for Rico Dowdle busting out a 22-yard run on second-and-21. Later in the first half, he was bullied by Kayvon Thibodeaux, who teed off on Cooper Rush, nearly resulting in a strip sack on their drive with just over a minute to play in the second quarter.

Edoga was in better control in the second half which is encouraging but his first half was one to forget.

Winner: Mazi Smith, DT

As a rookie, Mazi Smith struggled to make an impact for the Cowboys. In year two, he was on an even worse pace under new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

For the first 10 games of the season, Smith was hardly a factor and was headed for the dreaded "bust" label. He finally seemed to have the light bulb switched on in Week 12, putting up his best performance of the season against the Commanders. He continued on that path in Week 13, even recording a half-sack in the second half.

He still has some developing to do but the 2023 first-round pick has put together back-to-back games where his talent was on full display.

Winner: Micah Parsons, EDGE

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

Last week, Micah Parsons became just the fifth player in NFL history to record at least 13 games with 2-plus sacks, putting him in some elite company. On Thursday, he again had more than one sack, recording 1.5 on Drew Lock.

Parsons impacts the game beyond his numbers, which are always impressive. He was constantly generating pressure on Lock, forcing him to get rid of the ball much quicker than he would like on several passing attempts.

Loser: CeeDee Lamb, WR

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

CeeDee Lamb entered Week 13 as the NFL leader in receptions with 77. He's been able to step up and carry the offense, even with Dak Prescott out.

This week, however, he didn't have his best outing. Lamb was targeted six times in the first half but caught only two of those passes, with three drops. One of those was on third-and-one, which should have been an easy first down. Instead, it was a turnover of downs when Hunter Luepke was stuffed on fourth down.

Lamb finished with two receptions after suffering an injury in the second half.

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He said before this game that he was banged up more than he had been in the past but would keep pushing through. One issue he's had is a shoulder injury, which might have played a factor in his struggles this week.

Winner: DeMarvion Overshown, LB

Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown
Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

The Cowboys were devastated to lose DeMarvion Overshwon to a torn ACL during his rookie campaign in 2023. It's easy to see why now that he's been healthy and putting his athleticism on display.

Overshown has proven to be a building block and had another day to remember on Thanksgiving. He was again flying all over the field and recorded his first career interception on a pass from Drew Lock. For good measure, he took that one to the house and gave Dallas the lead 10-7.

He wasn't done with the interception either. On the first drive of the second half, Overshwon recovered a fumble which was forced by Eric Kendricks and Carl Lawson.

The Cowboys ended that drive with a touchdown from Brandin Cooks, making it a 20-10 lead. New York hung around but the defense held on time and again with Overshown standing out as the primary reason.

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Randy Gurzi
RANDY GURZI

Arizona State grad

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