Winning is the worst possible thing for the Cowboys now. Thanksgiving NFL takeaways

See, not every NFL football game is going to be a 54-51 affair. The “defense is dead and will never be back” crowd had to pipe down a bit on Thursday as we saw plenty of defense and turnovers yesterday on Turkey Day. Let’s break it all down.

Lots of punts and lots of defense. Not terribly surprising. We know the Bears have an excellent defense and they were starting Chase Daniel, a backup quarterback making his first start since 2014, on the road and on a short week. The Lions offensive line has struggled this season against good defenses. Detroit was without Kerryon Johnson this week too. It was Bears 9-7 at half time. It was 16-16 late in the 4th quarter before another pick six for Bears safety Eddie Jackson helped them win the game 23-16.

A couple of takeaways from this game. First, I’ve been reluctant to jump on the Bears bandwagon as there’s just something I can’t buy about Mitch Trubisky. The Bears are the best team in the first half of games, even better in the first quarter. They have been leading at the half in every game they’ve played before they slow down in the second half. Is that because Trubisky is off his opening script and/or Matt Nagy is off his script so they aren’t as efficient? I tend to side with Trubisky being off as he’s shown at times that he’ll miss easy throws. As good as the Bears defense has been, in 2018, your quarterback and offense must be playing at a high level to win in the playoffs.

That said, I think it’s time to buy into the Bears, who are still a year away from real Super Bowl contention. The Lions might be lifeless right now, but Chicago went on the road to a division rival with a backup QB on a short week and won. That’s huge. Washington couldn’t do it.

Yesterday, Chase Daniel showed why he routinely gets paid big money to be a backup. He was 27-37 for 230 yards and two touchdowns. That game showed that Matt Nagy is a legit coach. Not that he wasn’t beforehand, but the Bears offense was able to be efficient under those circumstances. They didn’t have much of a run game and still had guys open all day.

Nagy made some subtle adjustments in the game that I think were important and easily overlooked. In the first half, they attempted a few deeper passes, but Chase was just a bit off. That’s not surprising considering he’s barely worked with these wide receivers in practice at full speed. In the second half, those went away. Shorter throws and easier completions. Good adjustments.

The Bears defense entered the game as the number one defense in the NFL because they can do it all. They have 34 sacks, and are only allowing 3.6 yards per carry, tied with the Saints for best in the NFL. What takes their defense from good to great are the turnovers. They have forced 29 turnovers including 20 interceptions with scores on six of those.

While this league is an offensive league, the Bears are most likely the only defense that could hang with the Saints in the playoffs and that gives them a chance.

They are winning. Why is that bad? Because Jason Garrett might keep his job if they win the NFC East, and Garrett should not keep his job. I’ve written about it before.

The offense is bland. It’s gotten better with the addition of Amari Cooper, but it’s not that different. It’s just Amari Cooper making plays. Thursday, was a great example.

The first touchdown was a short catch and long run. The second was a good catch into triple coverage, and Cooper somehow broke free and used his speed to take it home. He’s been worth the first-round draft pick so far, and people like me who said he wasn’t will have to eat our words. So while Cooper has made the offense better, I’m not sure he’s made Dak Prescott any better.

What Cooper has done is open up the run game a bit. The patchwork Cowboys offensive line ran the ball well yesterday. That used to be their formula for success, and they are getting back to it. But again, they have one formula for success. That’s not a recipe that will keep them winning in the long run though.

The best thing the Cowboys have going for them is easily their defense. It’s fast. It’s physical, and they can rush the passer. It’s the defense that gives them a chance to win each and every week. I enjoy watching this defense play. They play the Saints this upcoming Thursday, so they will get a huge test. We will be able to judge them more clearly after that game.

The Falcons do things that bad football teams do. They fumbled inside the 5-yard line twice and another time inside the 20. Matt Ryan threw a tipped pass interception for their fourth turnover.

Ryan was 35-for-47 for 377 yards. He should have had 60 pass attempts. The Saints entered the night as one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL, and the Falcons had just about a yard per rush in the first half. They ended the game with 16 attempts for 26 yards. Just brutal.

I would consider myself to be mostly a converted old school NFL thinker. I always thought things like “you have to run to set the tone” and “you have to run to set up play action,” and so on. It’s proven now that those things just aren’t true. The goal of an offense is scoring touchdowns, getting yards, moving the ball. If passing the ball is the best option that week, then pass the ball every rep. Of course, there are still times when being balanced is important. It eats up the clock. It can physically wear down opponent. Some defenses can’t defend the run. There are run actions that can set up passes or other plays later. So yes, there are reasons to still run the ball. Just not last night.

And lastly, the Saints are the best team in the NFL. End of story.