A game that was winnable was squandered away and now the season is definitely

Cowboys vs. Texans game ball: Yes Authentic Leighton Vander Esch Jersey , there was shining light for Dallas in the game The Dallas Cowboys loss in overtime to the Houston Texans certainly seems like a wasted opportunity for the team. teetering on the cliff with the Jacksonville Jaguars headed to town this Sunday. There was a lot to look back on in the game, and most of it was bad for the Cowboys. An anemic offense, a very questionable call by the head coach, it all added up to disappointment. Still, as always, there is some good in a game. And that good this week comes courtesy of Jaylon Smith. His play in the loss was a redemption for him personally, and for the team for taking a chance on him. He was sublime. Every Cowboys fan knows the story. Smith was the Godbacker at Notre Dame, a supernatural force that seemed to be everywhere at once. He was headed toward being a Top 10 pick in the draft Youth Deonte Thompson Jersey , then disaster struck in his bowl game. A torn up knee with a tattered nerve would slow him down for two years. The first year was purely spent rehabbing the injury, the second year was spent on the field, but not really resembling the player he was in college. This year, Smith is finally returning to form, and Sunday night was the final piece of proof. On the evening he had 12 total tackles (six solo), managed to get the team’s only sack, had three tackles for loss and forced two quarterback hurries. One of those hurries resulted in a wildly off-target throw from DeShaun Watson that was picked off by Xavier Woods.That stat line is the essence of Smith this year, he’s doing it all. He is a force in the running game and is a man with bad intentions when he blitzes. He’s a complete player. While the stat line is a textual representation of his play Womens Zack Martin Jersey , the play below is a visual reminder of how far he has come.That play is the prefect representation of an elite NFL linebacker. Smith seems to be on his way to claiming that title.Let’s not short his running mate while we’re here. Leighton Vander Esch led the team with 14 tackles (11 solo). In his short time in the NFL, LVE is proving to be more than worthy of his 19th overall draft position. He is becoming a tackling machine. His presence, along with Smith, means the Cowboys can not only live without Sean Lee on the field, they can prosper. The idea of Smith and LVE as a duo leading the Cowboys defense into the future is a very enticing thought. There is plenty wrong with the Cowboys right now. One thing that is not wrong is the linebacking corps. Jaylon Smith gets the game ball this night for his play not only in the running game and directing the defense, but for his prowess as a pass rusher and spying on DeShaun Watson.Brett Maher is making the decision to release Dan Bailey a non-factor It was, and remains to be, very difficult to understand completely why the Dallas Cowboys wanted to move on from the second-most accurate kicker of all time in Dan Bailey. Bailey has moved on Womens Cole Beasley Jersey , coming off of a three field goal performance for the Minnesota Vikings in a Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Cowboys find themselves 2-2 with a brand new kicker who is sort of, kind of, actually is definitely on fire. His name is Brett Maher. Maher missed his first career kick during the season opener in Carolina, but since then he has absolutely been en fuego. In fact, since that miss we’ve seen Maher connected on eight consecutive field goals, including the game-winner against Detroit. When the Cowboys scored their second touchdown of the game in the third quarter (Dak Prescott to Geoff Swaim) the world saw Maher kick his extra point from the left hash. Kickers actually have the option to choose where they want to kick XPs from, and seeing as that was the side Maher kicked the game-winning field goal from I found it interesting so I asked him about it after the game.Listen to more sounds from the locker room in the BTB Podcast feed below. When the Cowboys elected to go with Maher people looked to find a reason for it; we talked about how the move was hard to understand up at the top of this. People have proposed salary, Maher’s big leg Womens Tyron Smith Jersey , and all sorts of reasons, but perhaps the ultimate reason is that he’s just the best kicker they feel like they’ve seen as far as everything goes for this season. This isn’t an indictment or knock of any kind against Dan Bailey, but Brett Maher is proving why the Cowboys believed in him. With the exception of a rainy day in Carolina he is literally perfect on the season. That’s impressive no matter who the kicker is; it’s time to celebrate Maher. The Cowboys might just have an eye for kickers, they seem to have found something special in Maher. Here’s to what is hopefully the first of many game-winning kicks.