RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. / WR Wan’Dale Robinson
I’m cheating a little by grouping both playmakers together, but given their recent play, it felt appropriate. Tyrone Tracy Jr. rushed for 62 yards on 14 carries last week, good for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. It marked his third consecutive outing with an average yards per carry of 4.4 or more, and his sixth of the season.
Tracy has done a great job of stepping up since Cam Skattebo was lost for the season. In 14 games (10 starts), the second-year running back has totaled 637 yards on the ground and an additional 232 yards through the air. Heading into the season finale, Tracy sits at 869 total yards of offense this season. While 131 yards on Sunday could be a tall task, it would get the young back to 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the second consecutive season to start his NFL career.
Wan’Dale Robinson is coming off yet another dominant performance, something we’ve grown accustomed to seeing this season. The fourth-year wideout matched his career-high with 11 receptions against the Raiders last week. He took those 11 catches for 113 yards, his third game with 100+ receiving yards this year. The strong game also brought Robinson over the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.
In addition to setting a new career-high with his 1,014 receiving yards, Robinson has also set new high marks with his four receiving touchdowns and 11.0 yards per reception. With 92 receptions on the season, he needs just two more on Sunday to set a new personal best in that category, as well.
Star left tackle Andrew Thomas was placed on injured reserve last Saturday, cutting his season two games short due to a hamstring injury. This paved the way for Marcus Mbow to start his second game of his rookie season, and his first at left tackle, this past weekend in Las Vegas. It was far from a perfect performance for the first-year tackle, but Mbow did some show encouraging sigs, especially in the run game. On Tracy’s biggest run of the day, Mbow kicked outside and was out there leading the way for the running back on his 23-yard gain.
“Marcus did some good things,” Kelly said about Mbow’s performance against the Raiders. “There are times where he passed protected well, was solid in the run game. I think as always, when you watch the tape, you’re going to have one or two plays that you’re going to want to have back. Whether it’s technical, finish, whatever it may be. But for the most part, I thought he did a good job. Always areas to improve and I think you could tell having the entire week to prepare and take those reps and really get ready to go start a game showed up and he played well enough for us to win.”
One reason for Dallas’ struggles on defense this season could be due to the pass rush. Through 16 games, the Cowboys have totaled just 31 sacks on the season, tied with the Patriots and Jaguars for 23rd in the league. Mbow is likely to see a combination of Donovan Ezeiruaku, Jadeveon Clowney, Osa Odighizuwa and DeMarvion Overshown on Sunday, with Clowney leading the way at 5.5 sacks.