Cowboys vs. Titans Stock Report: A bumpy win does not mean everything was bad

It is often said that we should not apologize for winning. The Dallas Cowboys did win on Thursday night and we will, in fact, be offering no apologies on behalf of the hard-fought dub. But the implication associated with that saying is that a team “barely” won so to speak, and should thank their lucky stars for walking away happier than the other squad. If you played the worst game of your life but still won, it is a better day than others where you were great but lost.

Perhaps my belly is still full of Christmas treats and joy, but there is no reason to be upset with how the Cowboys played in Nashville. Obviously there are things that we would all like to see improved, but for the most part they were in control for the duration of the contest and put it away when they had to. Generally speaking, they handled it the way that very good teams do.

We discussed everything from Thursday night’s Cowboys game on the latest episode of The Postgame on the Blogging The Boys podcast network. Make sure to subscribe to our network so you don’t miss any of our shows! Apple devices can subscribe here and Spotify users can subscribe here.

It is worth saying that the Cowboys not only won, but covered and did so as 13-point favorites (some books had them at -13.5 but the point stands), on the road, and on short rest. It is the last part that is a bit interesting in that Thursday night marked the first time literally ever that the Cowboys had to play a road Thursday night game on short rest.

To be clear the Cowboys have played road Thursday night games before, but in the past they have done so only when coming off of a Thanksgiving Day game that was at home. It is not easy to play back-to-back Thursday games, but they have always been afforded the opportunity for a “normal” week in going Thursday to Thursday, which was not the case in this particular instance.

The Cowboys can sit back, relax, enjoy their 12-4 record, and hope for chaos across the rest of the NFL over the weekend.

Here is our stock report from the win in Tennessee.

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Stock Up: Malik Davis

With Tony Pollard inactive for this game, the Cowboys relied on third-string running back Malik Davis and he showed a lot of the pop that led many people to want him on the roster back in the final days of the preseason.

All told Davis finished with 10 carries for 39 yards (23 of which came on a single touch) so not the most impressive stat line of all time; however, this was the most highlighted that he has ever been in the Cowboys offense and in an NFL offense period, so to see him have any success was exciting with regards to the future.

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Stock Up: DeMarcus Lawrence

It remains unbelievable that anybody has ever felt like DeMarcus Lawrence is not one of the highest-level contributors to the Dallas Cowboys as a whole. He was remarkable on Thursday night.

Lawrence does so much dirty work that isn’t seen but it is those kind of performances that help raise the overall floor of the group.

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Stock Up: Dalton Schultz

The Cowboys have played two games on a Thursday this season, Thanksgiving Day and Thursday night in Nashville. Dalton Schultz caught two touchdowns in each of them. Truth be told, it has hardly been the season that many expected from Schultz, but he was a fairly reliable option for the Cowboys in the passing game and deserves some love.

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Stock Up: CeeDee Lamb

It has happened. CeeDee Lamb has arrived.

Ultimately Thursday night was a relatively chill 100-yard game for Lamb, but those are becoming commonplace and more importantly his presence throughout opposing defenses is which is what matters the most. He is a total and complete alpha wide receiver.

Lamb surpassed 100 receptions on the season on Thursday night which makes him only the third player in Dallas Cowboys franchise history to do so (1995 Michael Irvin and 2012 Jason Witten).

The Cowboys are very fortunate to have him. That will be an important point in the offseason when contract negotiations likely open up.

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Stock Up: Dante Fowler

Dante Fowler came close to making a big play on Christmas Eve against the Eagles but he took it all the way against the Titans.

The Cowboys are fortunate to have a number of pass rushing options and if they can all get home consistently then this team very much has a chance.

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Stock Up: T.Y. Hilton

Doesn’t it feel like T.Y. Hilton has been here all along? His acclimation to the offense has seemed so seamless. Hilton is arguably the second-most reliable pass-catching option within the offense right now. That is both a testament to him and an indication of where the team is overall.

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Stock Up: Brett Maher

On Thursday night, Brett Maher set a Dallas Cowboys franchise record for points scored in a season. He has been truly remarkable and deserves all of the credit in the world for turning his career around.

Give me all of the crow.

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Volatile Stock: Dak Prescott

We created this type of stock a few weeks ago and it applies once again to Dak Prescott. While it is obviously true that he is credited for three turnovers in the game, the second interception was hardly on him.

It can be true that Dak is the victim of some awful bounces, and that these turnovers have to stop one way or another. Prescott played incredible football outside of the awful moments but again those moments were real and had an impact.

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Stock Down : Peyton Hendershot

Hendershot was the man responsible for the interception that wasn’t on Dak.

You have to catch the ball.

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Stock Down: Kelvin Joseph

More penalties. Enough is enough.