If the Dallas Cowboys were blown out 55-0 by the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, they would have had every right.
Just 12 days after losing defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland to a tragic suicide, it would have been completely understandable if the grief and pain of losing a teammate just simply got in the way of performing in a prime-time game.
But it didn’t.
Instead, the Cowboys countered their grief by creating fuel with his memory for a commanding 33-16 victory that, for all intents and purposes, was their most complete effort all season.
“I’m so proud of how these guys grieved, cried, laughed,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “They wanted to honor him, and we’re not done honoring him. He’s a part of our family forever. These past 11 days have been really tough, and I’m proud of how those guys played. They played with Marshawn’s play style.”
Things were different. That was the overarching theme of a lot of the conversations that were had postgame.
Before the game, a moment of silence quieted the loudest crowd the Cowboys have been in all season, as respect took the place of the air in Allegiant Stadium. Raiders players and coaches wore suicide hotline T-shirts in pregame warmups. Cowboys players and coaches wore T-shirts that honored Kneeland with a picture of his face, a shirt that Schottenheimer elected to wear for the entire game.
“I’ll be lying if I said I didn’t have some tears when I first put the shirt on,” he said. “But more than anything, I know Marshawn was looking down on us, and we wanted to make him proud, and I think we did that.”
When the players arrived, a locker was waiting for Kneeland with his No. 94 jersey inside of it. Instead of letting it remain in the tunnels of the stadium, the team brought out the jersey to hang behind the bench for the entirety of the game.
With so many differences, the Cowboys were still able to keep the job’s mission straightforward.
“The energy was good,” Schottenheimer said. “The music was playing. The guys were very focused. I want to say it again, I think playing the game and coaching the game, the distraction is real. You’re allowed to go out there and play a game that’s violent and hit people and things like that. And I think these guys are ready to go do that, and not just to honor Marshawn, but because they love playing together. They love playing the game with one another, and that’s why this is such a special group of young men.”
⚡ Full coverage of Cowboys-Raiders:
→Five takeaways from Monday's dominant victory
→Engel: Do fans want the Cowboys to push for the playoffs?
→Grief over Marshawn Kneeland's death fuels emotional win
→Why were CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens benched?
→'One love': Everything QB Dak Prescott said after the romp
→ESPN crew pays respects to Marshawn Kneeland
Even though the tragedy happened at the beginning of the team’s bye week, the moment that the team took the field without Kneeland was eventually coming, and everyone knew it. The players prepared for it through their two days of grieving and counseling sessions on Monday and Tuesday of last week.
On Thursday, they hit the practice field for the first time without him and took in the associated emotions with that. When Monday night came around, they were emotionally prepared.
“The last six, seven days, being together, working together, having conversations, healing,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “[We were] shining a light on who Marshawn was. Then, obviously coming out here tonight, and playing with the style that he played with, the intensity, the efforts. Super proud of the guys. Whirlwind of a week.”
During the week, Schottenhiemer and the team emphasized how they were planning on carrying Kneeland’s high-motor playing style throughout the season as a way to honor him. In Monday’s game, that rang true.
The offense found a hot streak of consistency in the second quarter, scoring touchdowns on three consecutive drives before adding another to start the second half. Defensively, pressure on Raiders quarterback Geno Smith persisted all night as the unit allowed its fewest total yards (236) and points (16) in a game all season.
“We had a lot of guys playing for the same reason,” linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said. “And that’s keeping the light going for Marshawn. Just being around my brothers, it helped a lot. I was smiling the whole game.”
“It’s been a tough week,” Prescott said. “And to be able to celebrate and smile for a moment, and to know that you went out there made Marshawn proud and honored him the right way. But this is one week. We want to continue to do that.”
A special moment occurred in the third quarter when Prescott found wide receiver Ryan Flournoy on a quick out route for a 2-yard touchdown. Flournoy, who was in the same draft class as Kneeland and had a close relationship with his late teammate, had some emotions after the big play.
“I wish he was here,” Flournoy said. “He definitely would have balled today. He would’ve been smiling the whole game. Just playing for him, for sure.”
Prescott praised Flournoy.
“One of the best teammates I’ve been around,” Prescott said. “Keeps a positive attitude, stays focused, cares a lot about his teammates, and gives it his all each and every day. He’s going to be a big part in carrying Marshawn’s legacy. I know he’s proud and honored to do that, and special for him to get a touchdown.”
When the clock hit triple zeroes and the win was officially in the books, it served as a pivotal moment for a team that refuses to “move on” but is grasping at ways to “move forward,” in Schottenheimer’s words. With all smiles in the locker room after the game, the win in Las Vegas felt like a gargantuan leap forward for the Cowboys to continue on to the rest of their season.
But as they do so, they emphasize that it won’t be without the memory and spirit of No. 94. It’s impossible to ever put to the side the impact his memory will forever have on the 70 players and dozens of staffers in the building.
“It’s very important for us,” defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku said. “He’s with us, he’s in our team meetings, he’s in our defensive line meetings. He’s practicing with us. He’s not going to be forgotten.”
“It’s galvanized us forever,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s made us tight. It brought us together as brothers for life.”