Thursday night looked similar to what the Cowboys have put on display since Thanksgiving. They played well enough to win, yet nothing close to what they showed against the Vikings on Nov. 20. That 40-3 beatdown at Minnesota was a message to the rest of the NFL that Dallas is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
The visiting Cowboys were two-touchdown favorites entering Thursday night’s game against the Tennessee Titans. Dallas took care of business, winning 27-13 and improving to 12-4. This is the first Cowboys team since 1995 to win 12 or more games in back-to-back seasons.
But like the previous five games, it was nowhere near the complete performance the team showed it was capable of against the Vikings.
“This was a game we needed to get and we got it done,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “So, whether we don’t get any style points, that’s OK. But we’re still at 12 wins.”
On paper, Tennessee was no match for Dallas. The Titans, who have now lost six in a row, elected to give journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs his first career start after signing him from Detroit’s practice squad just eight days ago. Tennessee also did not have standout RB Derrick Henry, DT Jeffery Simmons, LB Bud Dupree and LB Zach Cunningham.
However, the Titans found themselves down only 17-13 entering the fourth quarter.
