3 takeaways from the Cowboys Thanksgiving win over the Giants

Another Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game in the books and they came out as winners, 27-20, over the New York Giants. That win ties the Cowboys’ longest winning streak of the season at two games The running game looks like it’s had some life pumped into it, although it could have just been the Giants.

Either way, a win is a win. Here are a few takeaways from this game.

1. Dallas can run the ball

Based on Thursday’s win over the Giants, it would seem that way. Rico Dowdle rushed for a career-high 112 yards and a touchdown on turkey day. For an offensive line that has struggled all season, this was a win within the win for them. Much of that might be because they played the Giants, but a two-game winning streak sounds especially great after losing five in a row. The offensive line deserves their flowers for this game along for opening up holes for Dowdle and for not giving up a sack. Again, it certainly helps that they played the Giants.

Cincinnati is in town next week, but the Cowboys get a 10-day break until that game, so that’s always a plus. Both teams could be 5-7 heading into that game, so it’ll be a must-win for both franchises. A win against the Bengals would put the Cowboys back in serious playoff contention at 6-7. If Dallas can continue to run the ball well, they could conceivably turn their season around.

2. KaVontae Turpin needs a bigger role offensively

This has been apparent for some time now. When you have a player with the type of speed KaVontae Turpin possesses, you’ve got to find ways to get the ball in his hands. That’s where creativity from the head coach and offensive staff becomes critical. Already considered the best return man in the league by many, Turpin should have been seeing more reps within the offense.

The type of speed Turpin has is a lethal weapon. This is one place where it feels like time has passed Mike McCarthy. If you can’t find a way to get Turpin more involved in the offense every week then it’s time to move on. They’ve begun to use him more but it’s not enough. Turpin can equalize things in the return game like he did against Washington last week (179 kick return yards + TD) and get it done as a receiver as we saw on Turkey Day.

Turpin led Dallas with 53 yards receiving Thursday and caught four of his five targets. That won’t happen every game, putting him at different spots on the field to utilize his speed and shiftiness adds a whole other dynamic to this offense. All CeeDee Lamb, all the time hasn’t exactly worked out as planned.

3. The Cowboys are not tanking

For those fans looking ahead to the NFL Draft, you can forget about a top-five pick, most likely. These Cowboys are probably going to win at least another game or two, which means they could finish the season somewhere around 7-10. With Cincinnati, Carolina, and Tampa Bay coming up, it’s very possible Dallas could still flirt with a playoff berth.

Of course, that means no Shedeur Sanders and probably no Deion Sanders making his return to Big D. They’d likely be a package deal regardless of what team lands the former. And according to Jerry Jones, McCarthy could still wind up with a contract extension after the season. This would be the most Jerry Jones move possible.

“Listen, Mike McCarthy is an outstanding coach…” Jones explained, h/t NFL.com. “This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there, done that, he's got great ideas. Bottom line is, there's no place in my body language or anything else that you've seen indications about what we're going to be doing relative to this staff at the end of this year. And we shouldn't. We've got a lot of football left."

Jones did the same thing with Jason Garrett. The Cowboys had pretty much peaked under Garrett’s leadership following his sixth full season as head coach. That was the 2016 season and Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott’s rookie campaigns. It was already past time to move on from Garrett but he stuck around another three years after that. Jerry clearly struggles with knowing when enough is enough.