The Dallas Cowboys found a way to keep their season alive in Week 7 with a resounding 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders. With that win, the Cowboys not only got back to the .500 mark but surpassed the Commanders in the NFC East standings. Dallas moved to second place behind the Philadelphia Eagles.

After struggling to an abysmal 31 total rushing yards in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers, the Cowboys reestablished the run game to the tune of 152 yards on the ground, led by Javonte Williams’ 116 yards on 19 carries. In fact, Williams had a 33-yard carry that eclipsed last week’s total on one play.

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Not to be outdone, CeeDee Lamb was resplendent in his return from injury, reeling in fives catches on eight targets for 110 yards and a touchdown, including a 74-yarder. In an encouraging sign, George Pickens was still effective as well.

While his five game touchdown streak ended, Pickens brought in four catches on six targets for 82 yards, with each receptions being more spectacular than the rest. While many, including myself, expected there to be some sort of adjustment period with Lamb returning, those concerns were put to rest early.

The story of course though is a resurgent defense. For the second time in three weeks, that side of the ball stepped up for Dallas, not only limiting the Commanders’ offense to it’s second lowest point total of the season, but contributing eight points of their own courtesy of a safety in the first quarter and a DaRon Bland pick six in the third.

The encouraging signs continued thanks to a beleaguered pass rush that produced four sacks, including the first career quarterback takedown from rookie second rounder Donovan Ezeiruaku and the first such play from Jadeveon Clowney as a Cowboy. Forcing two turnovers, including the aforementioned pick six, only added to the excitement.

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It should be noted of course that not only was Washington without Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin at wide receiver, but Jayden Daniels was knocked out for the game in the third quarter on a strip sack by rookie linebacker Shemar James.

There will of course be the pundits and naysayers that point to these injuries as proof that this defensive performance was an anomaly, similar to the Cowboy’s Week 5 performance against the New York Jets. Those claims do have some merit, and they do warrant acknowledgment.

But, at the end of the day, you can only play the teams in front of you and, if a team is perceived as lower quality than your own, you should dominate them just as Dallas did today. So while taking this performance with a grain of salt would be a valid approach, the Cowboys will surely take having to prove their dominant performance wasn’t a fluke over having to pick over another disappointing loss every time.