Ranking the Cowboys top 5 Players of the Week against Falcons

Week 9 was one to forget for the Dallas Cowboys, but they did get some decent individual performances.

Randy Gurzi | Nov 4, 2024

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Another frustrating loss has the Dallas Cowboys at 3-5 on the season. With three-straight losses now, the Cowboys are watching this campaign slip away and might need to consider being sellers at the NFL trade deadline.

While the front office has to consider that, we can continue to look at what happened during their loss on Sunday. It's easy to assume the entire team was awful following another defeat but that's not the case.

MORE: Jerry Jones' Cowboys trade deadline update is a bunch of jibberish

In this one, several players had strong individual performances. Here's who stood out as the top five players of the week for Dallas.

5. Cooper Rush, QB

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Cooper Rush has always performed well when called on and that was the case again in Week 9. Rush was put into a tough spot when he entered the game in the fourth quarter following an injury to Dak Prescott.

He was being asked to take over a stagnant offense trailing by two scores. Throw in the limited time on the clock and everyone knew he would be dropping back to pass. Despite the deck stacked against him, Rush had 115 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-25 passing. It would have been an even better stat line if a couple of drops didn't take place.

One was by CeeDee Lamb, who had dime from Rush go through his hands on third-and-11 from the 31. On the next play, he hit KaVontae Turpin who couldn't hang on, forcing a turnover on downs.

4. Jake Ferguson, TE

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Dak Prescott hardly threw the ball more than five-yards downfield while he was playing, which meant the Cowboys were asking their pass-catchers to break tackles. Jake Ferguson seemed to do that more than anyone, finishing with 71 yards on seven receptions. He continues to be a weapon, but the Cowboys have yet to get him a touchdown pass, which feels criminal at this point.

3. Brandon Aubrey, K

Dallas Cowboys place kicker Brandon Aubrey / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The most consistent player in Dallas this year is Brandon Aubrey. The second-year kicker was 2-for-2 including a 57-yarder. He's now 20-22 on the season and could be the next player to make Jerry Jones cry about the salary cap in the offseason.

2. Carl Lawson, DE

Dallas Cowboys / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Carl Lawson had his best game for the Cowboys on Sunday. One of the few bright spots for a struggling defense, he registered two sacks and forced a turnover on one of those as Kirk Cousins coughed up the ball.

Carl Lawson strip sack! The Cowboys defense recovers.

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1. Rico Dowdle, RB

Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle (23) reacts after making a juggling catch for a touchdown / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Dez Bryant believes the Cowboys are disrespecting Ezekiel Elliott by not giving him the right opportunities. It's hard to believe that's the case when Rico Dowdle continues to outperform him whenever he's given the chance.

On Sunday, Dowdle had 75 yards on 12 rushing attempts and 32 yards on five receptions. He even made a potential play of the year reception when he caught a touchdown pass that he initially bobbled.