The Dallas Cowboys decided on a bold strategy over the bye week. They could have done nothing like most years Youth Robert Newhouse Jersey , or just made a few subtle tweaks here and there. Instead, they made two major moves. One, they traded a 2019 first-round pick to acquire wide receiver Amari Cooper. Second, they fired offensive line coach Paul Alexander after serving just seven games and elevated inexperienced Marc Colombo into the position. Additionally, they went out and hired Hudson Houck to be Colombo’s adviser/mentor. This was a bold bet from the Cowboys front office, especially spending a first-round pick on Cooper. Jerry and Stephen Jones could have sat back, kept that first-round pick in their pocket and basically asked Jason Garrett to save himself. At 3-4 on the year and trailing Washington by two games in the division at the time, as well as being far down the pecking order for a wild card berth in the NFC, trying to salvage the 2018 season was a risky proposition. The product on the field offensively didn’t scream “we can do it” so it would have been excusable to think more about 2019 than 2018.The Cowboys didn’t do that. They decided the NFC East was still winnable. Then Sunday happened and they got a big break. When Washington was completely dominated at home by Atlanta, the Cowboys front office likely breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was the first step on the way to vindicating their decisions. It got even worse for Washington on Monday. Not only did they lose on Sunday, but they lost two starting offensive linemen and a wide receiver for the year.Now, the Cowboys didn’t make their moves just for 2018. Amari Cooper will be on the roster in 2019 and the Cowboys could look to extend him beyond that. In fact, that is already on their mind.There is also the idea that the wide receiver class for the 2019 draft is sub-par, so essentially the first-round pick traded for Cooper was the equivalent to drafting a wide receiver, a move looking forward for the franchise instead of 2018. This wasn’t a half-year rental like some other trades that were made.Still, it’s pretty obvious the Cowboys made the trade and the change on their coaching staff in an effort to win this year. They looked at the NFC East landscape and rightly judged that no team was a runaway juggernaut. They looked at their own team and saw a defense that is playing among the elites. They know they have a powerful running game. They were not that far way from being a contending team if they could just solve their passing game woes. Enter Amari Cooper, exit Paul Alexander. The Cowboys made targeted moves aimed squarely at solving their passing game issues, and by extension their offensive issues. It’s been argued that it’s a little too late. But the Washington loss shows that it’s still viable to win the NFC East. There is even hope at a wild card. The Cowboys can join three teams that are currently sitting with four wins in the NFC, just outside of the last playoff spot being held by the 5-3-1 Vikings.The front office got the break they wanted on Sunday. Now the team has to take advantage on Monday Night Football and stay in contention. Dak Prescott saw single coverage by a linebacker on Ezekiel Elliott with the Dallas Cowboys trying to get in position for a winning field goal against the Detroit Lions.So did the 2016 NFL rushing leader."I lined up in the slot. I was excited," said Elliott, who was face-to-face with leading Detroit tackler Jarrad Davis. "I was excited. I got them one-on-one with me. He made a perfect throw. One pass, we won the game."Prescott's 34-yard toss on a deep throw to his star running back set up Brett Maher's 38-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Cowboys to a 26-24 victory Sunday and once again spoiling Matthew Stafford's homecoming.Maher's fourth field goal came after Elliott got a step or so behind Davis and made an over-the-shoulder catch on his way to a career-best 240 all-purpose yards. Elliott had 152 yards rushing and 88 receiving, also highlighted by a 38-yard touchdown on a screen in the second quarter."Anywhere you got him the ball, anywhere he had the ball in his hands Ezekiel Elliott Jersey 2019 , he was dominating the game and setting the tone, from the screens to the check-downs to that last play right there," Prescott said. "It was just a dominating performance for him."The winning play came after Stafford had put the Lions (1-3) in front with 2:17 remaining on a 38-yard touchdown to Golden Tate , their second TD connection of the day.The best day of the season for a previously struggling Dallas offense — 414 yards — handed Stafford his third straight loss at the home of the Cowboys (2-2), seven years after his only win in his first trip to AT&T Stadium. The former Dallas-area high school star threw for 307 yards."I would much rather be the guy with the ball last," said Stafford, who lost a playoff game in his hometown almost four years ago. "But I think all of our players on defense are probably sitting out there going, 'I want to be out there to make the stop.' That's just what we do."Trailing 20-10, Stafford led the Lions 75 yards to rookie Kerryon Johnson's first career touchdown , an 8-yard run that started a back-and-fourth final quarter. Johnson ran 32 yards on the first play of the game and finished with 55 yards.After the Cowboys settled for Maher's third field goal on an 85-yard drive, Stafford found Tate for 35 yards into Dallas territory before Tate easily beat zone coverage down the sideline and strutted toward the end zone, just as he had on a 45-yard score in the first quarter.Prescott had an answer while throwing for at least 200 yards for the first time this season. The Dallas quarterback saved the final drive by picking up his fumble when he was hit on the arm and scrambling before throwing the ball out of bounds.Prescott then converted a third down and two plays later hit Elliott in stride on the decisive play. The Cowboys killed the clock to set up Maher, the kicker they chose over Dan Bailey — the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history — at the end of the preseason in a cost-cutting move."My craft is same every time I step on the field, no matter what," said Maher, who has made all eight kicks since missing the first of his NFL career in an opening loss at Carolina. "I was going out there trying to be 1 for 1 again."Elliott had a season-high 25 carries for his 152 yards, and Prescott was 17 of 27 for 255 yards with two touchdowns, including tight end Geoff Swaim's first career score .Stafford was 24 of 30 with the two scores to Tate, who had eight catches for 132 yards.ROUGHING THE PASSERThe touchdown screen to Elliott was set up by a roughing-the-passer penalty against Romeo Okwara. The question was whether the whistle had blown when he hit Prescott, who was trying to escape pressure when he stumbled out of an attempted tackle and went to a knee. Prescott popped up but had stopped moving, anticipating that he was down, when Okwara knocked him to the ground.CAREER FIRSTDallas receiver Terrance Williams was a healthy scratch for the first time in his six-year career. The Cowboys have struggled for consistency with their pass catchers in the first season without Jason Witten and Dez Bryant. They have seven receivers on the 53-man roster. Williams was the odd man out this week, and was a no-show at practice Friday.SACK MASTERDeMarcus Lawrence matched his career high with three sacks after Stafford came in having been brought down just three times combined in the first three games. Those were all three Dallas sacks. Lawrence has at least half a sack in all four games and 5陆 for the season.INJURIESLions: RG T.J. Lang didn't return after sustaining a concussion in the first quarter.Cowboys: DT Antwaun Woods left in the first half with a calf injury. Woods was questionable before the game because of a groin injury.UP NEXTLions: Green Bay at home next Sunday.Cowboys: At Houston next Sunday.