On a big college football weekend, a Texas school managed to use AT&T Stadium's infamous sun/glare problem to their own advantage on Saturday. In today's news roundup, learn how brilliantly the Baylor Bears upset an opposing kicker by bringing a stunning piece of JerryWorld to Waco. We'll also rewind to Thanksgiving Day to show you how Tom Brady got busted on camera for a major screw-up during his Turducken moment, and we'll shine a spotlight on some of the heroes of the Cowboys' holiday win, including defensive lineman Ein Day for the record books and the teammate who turns his reputation on its head in a hurry. And Mike McCarthy reaches a major milestone by joining another coaching legend with a connection to the Cowboys.
Meanwhile, one of the franchise's all-time greats of the last decade-plus may have just reached the end of his game with his current team, a division rival is being heavily fined for a major hit, and a current first-round draft pick is on the cards open market at a position Dallas may have a need for. All that and the Cowboys' stars shining at the box office in merchandise sales in the most recent tracking period.
Don't look now, but Mazi Smith is becoming a force. The first-rounder's PFF grades have risen steadily and significantly over the last three games, from 55.9 in Week 11 to 69.6 in the Week 12 win at Washington and finally to 79.9 against New York on Thursday.
No one was happier to have Cooks back in the lineup than the veteran receiver himself. “It's always frustrating when you're not playing the game you love,” he said after Thursday's game. And despite missing seven weeks, Cooks immediately found his place in the Cowboys' offense despite a new quarterback throwing the ball to him. “I think trusting myself in a situation like this is huge,” Cooks said of his late third-down grab that moved the sticks and put the game on the ice. “Coop trusts me and Coach trusts me to direct the game.”
Not only did Overshown have a great outing on Thursday, he had one that put him in a rarefied air. He became the first Cowboys player with a pick-six and a fumble recovery in the same game since 2002, back when safety Roy Williams did so in a Week 17 game at Washington. Overshown is now just the fifth player in Cowboys history to achieve this feat in a single game.
Overshown was clearly the biggest winner, thanks to his all-around pick-six play that will be on the highlight reels for years to come. Rico Dowdle, Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker and Carl Lawson also delivered outstanding performances. Cornerback Josh Butler lost out after his unfortunate injury, and we all lost when it was revealed that a mysterious part of the team had planned a star-shaped chicken nugget celebration with the big red cauldrons in the end zone… only it didn't happen .
Sideline reporter Kristi Scales notes that with Thursday's win, McCarthy tied Bill Parcells for 14th all-time regular-season wins. McCarthy's next win will be his 173rd, tying him with Jeff Fisher for 13th place. That's the most the Cowboys head coach can achieve this season; Mike Tomlin is next on the list, but he has nine wins ahead of McCarthy.
The Fox show made a point of including a shot of Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady in the booth on Thanksgiving so Brady could get his first official taste of “Turducken,” the holiday mashup popularized by the late John Madden. Taking advantage of the moment, Brady mimicked taking a big bite out of the leg (although he actually only took one bite) and then exclaimed, “That's good.” That's really good,” to show what kind a normal, normal guy he is. Only problem? None of the pieces of duck meat or chicken that actually make it a turducken are stuffed into the leg; Brady's baby bite was just turkey.
AT&T Stadium is one of only two NFL venues built on a northeast-southwest axis, and the only one with a transparent end zone to the southwest, which for several months led to much-discussed solar issues during certain portions of late afternoon games led every season. It's also a familiar problem for other teams, who spend time scouting the exact location of the sun long before they arrive in Dallas. It matters a lot which direction smart teams that lose the coin toss choose. However, the data shows that this knowledge doesn't necessarily help anyone; Neither the Cowboys nor their visiting opponents are worse at AT&T when it comes to dropped passes or fumbled punts.
During the sales period, which essentially spanned the 2024 offseason, three Cowboys ranked in the top 50 player-branded items, and all three were in the top half of the list. Micah Parsons came in 9th, CeeDee Lamb came in 15th and Dak Prescott took 25th. That's saying something considering Lamb and Prescott both had uncertain futures with the club, having been in contract negotiations during the same period.
The former Cowboy was placed on the injured list due to an apparent neck problem that has not been resolved by the Jets. He's technically eligible to play again for the final two games of the season, but with the team all but officially eliminated from the playoffs, that's unlikely. Smith went to eight Pro Bowls as one of the Cowboys' all-time greats, but didn't have a strong 2024 season while guarding Aaron Rodgers in New York. He's a candidate for Canton one day, but that's how Smith's 14-year NFL career could end.
The veteran linebacker was fined $16,883 for throwing a punch at Cooper Rush in the Cowboys' Week 12 win at Washington. On one play early in the fourth quarter, Wagner went deep on Rush and touched him below the knees. He was cited for roughing the passer and turning a seven-yard Dallas lead into an automatic first down.
Dan Quinn's Commanders released the 16th overall pick from last year's draft. Forbes was a healthy scratch twice this season (including Week 12 against Dallas) and did not get on the field in two other games. The Mississippi State product was also benched last season by then-head coach Ron Rivera. However, given his high draft status, it is likely that a DB-needy team will give him another chance. He has two interceptions and 12 passes defended in 20 games.
