ARLINGTON, Texas -- If Jason Garrett chooses to sit some starters Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys coach will feel pretty good about how his offense is playing entering the playoffs.
The Cowboys dismantled the Detroit Lions 42-21 Monday night, showing the offensive diversity that should make them the most feared team in the NFC.
QB Dak Prescott had his fourth game of the season with three touchdown passes and completed 15 of 20 passes for 212 yards. RB Ezekiel Elliott had two touchdown runs and finished with 80 yards on 12 carries. Things went so well he did not get a fourth-quarter carry. WR Dez Bryant matched a season high with two touchdown catches and threw a touchdown pass -- yes, threw a touchdown pass -- to TE Jason Witten.
As a result, the Cowboys have won 13 games in a single season for just the third time in franchise history. In 1992, they won 13 games before winning Super Bowl XXVII, starting a dynasty. In 2007, they won 13 before losing to the New York Giants in the divisional round, missing a potential championship window.
This could be the start of something great, especially if the offense clicks as it did from the middle of the second quarter through the early part of the fourth quarter Monday.
Trailing 21-14 with 7:40 left in the first half, the Cowboys scored on four straight true possessions. The only non-scoring drive was a one-play, end-of-half run by Elliott.
After an early-December hiccup against the Minnesota Vikings (17 points) and New York Giants (7 points), the Cowboys made it look as easy as it looked earlier in the season.
Prescott threw his first touchdown pass to Bryant, who made a difficult catch seem easy while fending off Lions CB Johnson Bademosi to tie the score with 1:04 left in the half.
Prescott threw his second touchdown pass to Bryant on a back-shoulder throw from 19 yards out with 12:12 left in the fourth quarter to give the Cowboys a 42-21 lead.
In between, the Cowboys showed their diversity.
Elliott showed his speed to the corner on a 1-yard run the way he did on a 55-yard scoring run in the first quarter. It was his 15th rushing touchdown of the season. Only Emmitt Smith has had more in a season in team history. (Smith surpassed that mark three times with single-season totals of 18, 21 and 25 touchdowns).
On the next drive, WR Terrance Williams caught three straight passes for 55 yards. He had eight games without that many catches or yards in a game. The drive ended with Bryant taking a flip from Prescott on a reverse and floating a pass to Witten for his 63rd career touchdown catch, fourth-most in NFL history by a tight end.
Bryant became the first Cowboy since Danny White in 1985 to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the same game.
The Cowboys’ fourth straight touchdown drive started with an 18-yard run by Darren McFadden, last year’s leading rusher playing in just his second game of the season, and ended with Prescott’s second TD to Bryant. WR Cole Beasley was the go-to guy on that drive with two first-down catches.
What makes the Cowboys difficult to defend is their multiplicity. If defenses want to stack the line, Prescott can beat a defense deep or with a midrange game. If defenses want to play coverage, the line can dominate with Elliott, the league’s leading rusher.
Whether or not Garrett plays his starters for a full game next week, Monday's win over the Lions was the night they got their groove back.