Dallas Cowboys media responds to win over Atlanta Falcons

Leave it to the Dallas Cowboys to engage in a defensive battle with the Atlanta Falcons. Practically every game the Falcons have played this season has been a shootout. They have one of the NFL's most explosive offenses, but with star defenders like Keanu Neal and Deion Jones out, they typically aren't able to slow down anyone. This game therefore seemed like a perfect opportunity for the Cowboys to get their offense going and build momentum after a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles, but it took them over a half to get their offense going. They scored only three points in the first half. They followed that up with 19 in the second, and they needed every one of them to secure a victory.

The Cowboys are now back to .500. With the injury suffered by Alex Smith and the Eagles playing in New Orleans against the Saints, they now seem to control the NFC East. Things are looking up for the Cowboys, and the media covering the game gave them credit for that. Here is what they had to say following the big win.

Prescott did not play well in this game. Let's get that out of the way. But he was clearly injured, and he kept fighting. Quarterbacks with ankle issues generally don't make big plays with their legs, but in addition to his touchdown, Prescott earned a big first down on a read-option run as well. He may not be a star, but he is a fighter.

The Cowboys are missing practically an entire starting lineup today. No Sean Lee. No David Irving. No Taco Charlton. They are not remotely at full strength. If they win today, it will be a sign that their depth has improved significantly over the course of the season.

The Cowboys nearly stole a possession and some points on the first play of the game. Pressure and a bad decision by Matt Ryan led to a throw right into the hands of Maliek Collins for an interception that would have set the Cowboys up with great field position. But Collins dropped the ball, and the Falcons kept their drive going after that. You can't give away opportunities like that and expect to win on the road.

The Cowboys are so thin on the defensive line that they might have to use linebackers there moving forward. They have four inactive linemen in this game, but as long as they have DeMarcus Lawrence, they can still generate pressure. He ended Atlanta's first drive with an incredible sack.

It turns out that when the best running back in football takes on a bad defense that is without its best linebacker in Deion Jones, the team with that great running back is going to be at an advantage. Ezekiel Elliott has absolutely gashed the Falcons so far.

Drives that go for over 80 yards on 14 plays are rare. They need to be taken advantage of. The Cowboys don't have that many opportunities to score touchdowns. They missed a big one when Cole Beasley dropped an easy touchdown catch. That not only cost the Cowboys four points, but quite a bit of momentum as well.

Even the best players on defense can only tackle one player at a time. But watch Leighton Vander Esch on this one. He not only takes down the ball-carrier, but his blocker as well, who he completely shrugs off on the play. Get this man his Defensive Rookie of the Year Trophy.

The blocking is partially responsible for this, but Dak Prescott has not been able to set his feet and make basic throws so far in this game. Ezekiel Elliott has been the basis of the offense as Prescott continues to make some questionable throws, including a floater that was nearly intercepted to Beasley.

DeMarcus Lawrence may have two sacks, but he is responsible for pretty much every positive play that the Cowboys have produced so far defensively. His pressure is causing major problems for Matt Ryan. He is essentially trying to win this game for the Cowboys on his own. And it might be working.

Prescott is trying to play hero ball in a game in which his defense has starred. He is trying to turn plays that should be throwaways into too much and it is resulting in big risks and, at the end of one Dallas drive, a sack. Elliott is playing very well. The Cowboys need to lean on him, not try to win through the air. Prescott needs to know that.

Julio Jones is a star wide receiver. Apparently, he's a star cornerback as well. Once it became apparent that Ryan had overthrown him on a big second down and Jeff Heath would intercept the pass, Jones turned into a defender and hit Heath so hard that he not only dropped the ball, but had to be evaluated afterward. It was the biggest play of the half.

There's bad coaching, and then there's lazy coaching. The former is forgivable. The latter is not. Jason Garrett could have let the Cowboys throw a hail mary on their final play of the half, and they were in conceivabledistance to do it. But he chose to just let the half end. It's not as though the Cowboys were likely to score, but not even trying is downright lazy.

If nothing else, the Cowboys can leave this game feeling good about their kicking situation. Brett Maher has faltered in recent weeks, but he was strong in this game, showing that his excellent start to the season was sustainable and the last few weeks have been the fluke.

Prescott is obviously physically compromised. He was taped up in the second half, and Dallas' play-calling show that he was not at 100 percent. But that doesn't excuse his poor decision-making in this game. The Cowboys are operating under a "three yards and a cloud of dust" philosophy today.

The Cowboys experimented with Jourdan Lewis on offense earlier in the season, and with Prescott looking hobbled, they got creative once again. Lewis is a cornerback first, but running jet sweeps is not a particularly difficult thing to do. Lewis gained a few yards and kept the ball moving on this play.

As a general rule, good things happen for the Cowboys when Dak Prescottruns the ball. When his ankle got taped up earlier in the game, it looked like that wasn't going to be a real option for the Cowboys. But Prescott gave the Cowboys the lead on a run, setting up one of the most predictive stats for the Cowboys possible.

Vander Esch just gets better and better with each passing play. His latest trick? An interception on a dropped pass that positioned the Cowboys to score once again. If there were any questions about drafting him instead of Calvin Ridley, they were answered today.

Players like Lance Lenoir exist on this roster for special teams purposes. The most important thing a special teams player can do is not screw up. Lenoir screwed up with one of the worst penalties you will ever see in that area of the game. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him lose his job over that late hit.

Julio Jones is the sort of No. 1 receiver that the Cowboys don't have right now. Even with excellent coverage from Chidobe Awuzie, he still managed to haul in a game-tying touchdown. There's just nothing you can do about a player that good.

The Cowboys cannot afford to lose Tyron Smith as they push for the postseason. He went down late in this game, and the Cowboys turned to Cameron Fleming to replace him. He is better than previous backups, but this is a story to watch with the Cowboys playing on Thursday.

Maher didn't make it look easy, but he made the game-winning field goal to send Dallas home with a win. They have now won two consecutive games on the road, and with a three-game homestand coming up, they can now take control of the NFC East.