On the TD, the 30-year-old showed he still has the speed to run away from DBs. This was the game the Cowboys offense missed in the red zone this season.
“It was a great throw and it was a throw [Prescott] Trust me, go out there and create,” Cooks said. “I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to show that he can continue to trust me and come up with a big play.”
With the Cowboys’ passing game refusing to stretch the field vertically, Cooks has been an afterthought. While his pitching numbers may have been average on Monday, their late going at him could eventually break the door on more usage.
“That was part of the plan,” Prescott said when asked about Cooks and Lamb. “I talked about what part of the plan was going into this game, knowing we’d get some matchups with those guys and understanding how they were going to play CeeDee. [Lamb], his page is cloudy, when they are going to give some one-on-one out to the chefs, and we take advantage of them. The chefs did a great job. Tonight was going to happen — the player he was, the person he was, everything he brings to this team, the touchdown, the big third-down catches, the plays he made all over the field. He was about to have a night like this. He is happy. It will grow only for him.”
Outside of CeeDee Lamb, no other Cowboys WR or TE had more than 36 yards on Monday. Michael Gallup continues to struggle with his preparation. Against the Chargers, he had a team-high 10 targets, but only caught three passes for 24 yards. It might be time for Cooks to see more of those goals.
