The Dallas Cowboys got a much-needed win coming out of the bye week as the offense got back on track and the defense played its best game of the season. It was their most complete performance, and it was a contest in which the Cowboys were in control the entire time.
But who were the biggest winners coming out of Week 11? And whose play leaves a lot to be desired? Here are the biggest winners and losers after the 33-16 win over the Raiders for the Dallas Cowboys.
Winners and losers from Cowboys' win over the Raiders
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### Winner: Quinnen Williams
Williams had over 20 days to prepare for Week 11 as he had back-to-back bye weeks after being traded from the Jets. And it was easy to tell that he was well-rested. Against a beat-up offensive line, [Williams was the best player on the field by a wide margin](https://thelandryhat.com/brian-schottenheimer-was-every-cowboys-fan-after-quinnen-williams-monster-debut). He recorded 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hits as he was constantly in the backfield despite playing (only) 33 snaps.
The Cowboys are hopeful that Williams can be a franchise-changing player on defense and help the unit return to an acceptable level of play. And while it was only one game, you can see the type of impact he can create on an every-down basis. Fans should be thrilled with his debut, as that was one of the best performances we’ve seen by a Cowboys defensive tackle in decades.
### Winner: Daron Bland
Bland played one of the worst games of his career in Week 9 as Marvin Harrison Jr. and the Cardinals went after him with great success. But a cornerback has to have a short memory and Bland stepped up against the Raiders in a huge way.
He led the Cowboys in tackles with 10 and had two big pass deflections on third down. He nearly picked off Geno Smith on one throw and did a good job of tackling Brock Bowers short of a first down on another big third down.
Dallas used Bland all over the field on Monday, including lining him up against Bowers, and it was highly successful. This has been a down season overall for Bland, but this was a fantastic performance by him and one that he can hopefully build on moving forward.
### Winner: George Pickens
NFL fans were treated to the full George Pickens experience on _Monday Night Football_. He was [benched for the first drive of the game due to “missing things”](https://thelandryhat.com/brian-schottenheimer-clears-the-air-on-ceedee-lamb-and-george-pickens-kind-of), according to Brian Schottenheimer. He was penalized for a celebration where he straddled the goal post. And yet, he was completely dominant and showed why he’s among the most talented receivers in the league.
Pickens racked up 144 yards and a touchdown and showed that he’s more than just a jump-ball receiver. He was dynamic after the catch and did a great job of making defenders miss in the open field on his touchdown. Pickens has really connected well with Dak Prescott this season and could surpass 1,000 receiving yards as soon as Week 12 against the Eagles.
It's clear that the Cowboys will need to continue to stay on top of Pickens (and CeeDee Lamb for that matter), but the extra attention is worth it because of what he can do for the offense. This might have been the best performance we’ve seen from Pickens in Dallas since joining the team.
### Winner: Dak Prescott
We can talk about the stats for Dak Prescott if you’d like and they were fantastic. He threw four touchdowns and had no interceptions in Week 11, while averaging 8.1 yards per attempt. But that’s not why he’s on the list as a winner.
The Cowboys had a very tough week for obvious reasons, but Prescott showed why he is widely regarded as one of the NFL’s best leaders. He always has the right thing to say, even in the most difficult of times. And he managed to do it again this week after one of the toughest weeks in Dallas Cowboys history after the tragic passing of Marshawn Kneeland.
Prescott had a fantastic game, but that’s just a sidenote here. He’s the unquestioned leader of the Dallas Cowboys and did a great job of representing the franchise all week long with his advocacy of mental health and honoring Kneeland. Cowboys fans should be very proud of their team and their quarterback for how they handled the last 10 days.
### Loser: KaVontae Turpin
The Cowboys were hopeful that Turpin could develop into a dynamic option as a receiver, given how good he is with the football in his hands. There were points earlier in the season where he was operating as the de facto No. 3 receiver, but his development has stalled.
Turpin gets open in the passing game, but there is a lack of consistency to his game that might never get corrected. He dropped a key pass on third down again this week, and he’s just not fundamentally sound at the catch point. Too often, he’s leaping for the football when he doesn’t need to jump, and it throws off the timing of the play.
Turpin still has a role in the offense, and he’s not a player the Cowboys should discard. But with Ryan Flournoy’s development, it might be time to scale back on the number of snaps for Turpin as a pure receiver in the offense.
### Loser: Sam Williams
The defense was much-improved for Dallas as the presence of Quinnen Williams made a huge impact. But one player who still struggled on the defensive line was Sam Williams, who was fooled multiple times on bootlegs. He played a good number of snaps on Monday, but did not record a QB hit and finished the game with just one tackle.
Dallas was hopeful that Williams would take a big step in Year 4 and become a consistent edge rusher. But that hasn’t happened, and it’s fair to wonder if his snaps should be going to other players on the defensive line, including James Houston and Dante Fowler Jr.