The Dallas Cowboys‘ chances of making this winter’s NFL playoffs may still seem slim to none, but they did put together an impressive performance on “Monday Night Football” against the struggling Las Vegas Raiders.
Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 25 of 33 pass attempts for 268 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Nine of his passes were caught by wide receiver George Pickens, who accumulated 144 yards and scored one touchdown. Pickens simply riddled the Raiders’ defense and looked like the best version of himself.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had some massive praise for him afterward, comparing Pickens to seeing someone perform in an opera in a wild comment.
“Pickens was — I’ve never seen a performance like that,” Jones said when asked about the play of Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. “It was poetic the way that he was making those moves out there and doing it. It was like he was in an opera or something going on out there. A ballet.”
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Dallas acquired Pickens in May, along with a 2027 sixth-round draft pick, from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick in the hopes that he would be the WR2 it has needed alongside star wideout CeeDee Lamb.
Through 10 games, he has lived up to the franchise’s hopes by catching 58 passes for 908 yards and seven touchdowns. His 90.8 receiving yards per game rank third in the NFL and are by far a career high for him, and he’s second in the league in total receiving yards.
On Monday, he simply embarrassed Las Vegas by evading tackles on a consistent basis and doing almost anything he wanted to on the field at Allegiant Stadium.
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The Cowboys improved to 4-5-1 with that victory, which means they will have to get scorching hot the rest of the way to have any chance of reaching the playoffs. With games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers coming up in the next five weeks, they will have to overcome a gauntlet.
But the way the Pickens has been playing, as well as the arrival of three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, may give them a flicker of a chance to surprise people.
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