NFL
ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 Standing in the middle of the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> locker room Sunday night, Brandin Cooks<\/a> quoted a Bible verse.
\u201cDon\u2019t grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you don\u2019t give up,\u201d the Cowboys wide receiver said, referring to Galatians 6:9-10.
\u201cIt\u2019s been a tough couple of years, but my faith and my work ethic and my family, my wife and my kids just continue to push me to keep going,\u201d Cooks said. \u201cThis one is sweet for sure.\u201d
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Through the first eight games of the Cowboys\u2019 season, Cooks had not received the targets most were expecting when they traded for the veteran.
What was expected, was more of what he showcased in Sunday\u2019s 49-17 win over the New York Giants<\/a> at AT&T Stadium. Cooks was targeted seven times in the first half alone. He caught all seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. He finished with a game-high 173 yards on nine receptions.
\u201cLike I tell all the other guys, trust the process,\u201d Cooks said. \u201cWhen your number is called, take advantage of your opportunities. Because when the ball comes your way, just go out there and make a play.\u201d
Cooks entered Sunday averaging 23.5 receiving yards per game. His previous game-high for the season was 49 yards and a touchdown on three receptions against the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> in Week 8. It\u2019s not exactly the production of a player who has six 1,000-yard seasons on his resume. Sunday was the second-highest receiving total of his 10-year career, trailing only his 186-yard, two-touchdown game against the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> in 2016 while playing for the New Orleans Saints<\/a>. Dallas traded fifth- and sixth-round picks to the Houston Texans<\/a> for Cooks in March.
It was clear early against the Giants that getting him involved was part of the game plan. He was targeted on the first offensive play of the game, a 4-yard completion from QB Dak Prescott<\/a>.
\u201cPractice, man,\u201d Prescott responded when asked why the connection with Cooks was working from the start. \u201cI told him, \u2018Let\u2019s put the work in and it\u2019s going to come out.\u2019 He\u2019s been there for us all year when we\u2019ve needed him to.
\u201cThere have been games that we\u2019ve (been asked), \u2018Could you have gotten him more involved?\u2019 And yeah, sure, maybe, he\u2019s that type of player that deserves those questions when he\u2019s not getting those targets or getting those catches.
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\u201cHe had a great week of practice. Some plays were meant to go for him and the others he went and won. When they were doubling CeeDee (Lamb) and they would do this or that, he went and beat his man and made it easy for me to throw.\u201d
CeeDee Lamb<\/a> continued on his historic pace of the last month, hauling in 11 passes for 151 yards and scoring two touchdowns. It was his third consecutive game with 10-plus catches and 150 receiving yards, an NFL<\/a> record. It was his fourth consecutive 100-yard receiving game, the first by a Cowboys wide receiver since Terrell Owens in 2007.
Lamb is the team\u2019s clear No. 1 wide receiver. He\u2019s in such a zone right now that after the game, he said he believes he is the NFL\u2019s best wide receiver.
\u201cI\u2019m more than a one,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cI\u2019m the top receiver in this game and there is no question about it. If there is, I\u2019ll see you all again next week.\u201d
The Cowboys should continue to feed Lamb accordingly. But they also need Cooks, their clear No. 2 wide receiver, to be involved more like he was Sunday.
Will that continue against better competition? Just about everything went right for Dallas on Sunday. The Cowboys improved their league-best home winning streak to 12 games. They have won their four home games this season by a combined score of 160-50. They recorded 640 total yards, the second-most in a single game in franchise history, trailing only a 652-yard outing against Philadelphia<\/a> in 1966.
\u201cHis opportunities came together,\u201d Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said of Cooks. \u201cI think the protection was part of it. And we\u2019re getting to where we need to be. We still have work to do there. Going off last week, we definitely took a step this week. With that, we were able to get into the play types that we want to live in. I think you\u2019re seeing more of that here the last couple weeks.\u201d
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The Cowboys should beat the Giants. They should beat the Carolina Panthers<\/a> next week, too. They have the type of team that should win double-digit games for the third consecutive season. But can they finally put a run together against quality teams in January?
To do that, they\u2019ll need more than just Lamb playing at a high level. It was a good sign to see Cooks have a breakout game. The goal is to have several perimeter weapons clicking with Prescott as they navigate through December. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes they have the passing game to carry the team if opponents are shutting down the run. They\u2019ll need more games like they got from Cooks on Sunday for that to work.
\u201cWe know that he just looks like a rocket coming out of there,\u201d Jones said of Cooks. \u201cYou can see his acceleration, and when you see it with the ball in his hands in real life and in an NFL game, then that gets your attention. The more of that you do, the more it loosens up for more parts of our offense.\u201d
Prescott was asked after the game about opponents doubling Lamb and the result potentially being players like Cooks, Michael Gallup<\/a>, who finished with 70 receiving yards and a touchdown, and TE Jake Ferguson<\/a>, who has three touchdowns in the last three games, being able to make them pay.
\u201cI\u2019m interested in what they\u2019ll do,\u201d Prescott responded. \u201cAre you going to leave CeeDee one-on-one then? In this league, you understand that people are always trying to take away what you do best. But when those guys go out and perform like they did, I don\u2019t know what a defense does.
\u201cYou have to leave one-on-one somewhere. And MG is going to go make those plays. Brandin is going to go make those plays. Ferg is going to go make them. You want to play soft? We\u2019ll get the run game going even more. Sure. Interested to see how it goes.\u201d
(Top photo of Brandin Cooks: Andrew Dieb \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/em>
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