Thank Lucky, he got us out of the mess at Lambeau

Right now, we all seem pretty delighted with the 30–16 win over the Green Bay Packers? And why not? Dak Prescott had his first 3TD game, Ezekiel Elliott continued to break more records and our defence are miraculously good for who they are. It seems like another perfect day for the Dallas Cowboys.

Let, you should remember that towards the end of the first half, we were all in a bit of a mood. While we were winning 10–6, we had made a lot of mistakes, most of them by Dak. Fumbles, missed throws, Prescott was actually looking like a rookie which shocked us all. And as we all thought Aaron Rodgers would eventually come good, we thought we missed a big chance to pad a lead in the first half.

Yet with less than a minute left on the clock, everything changed. The Cowboys simply wanted to run out the clock and end the half, so ran Ezekiel Elliott twice. However it was still 3rd and 1, and the Packers were using their time outs so they could use Rodgers at least once more in this half and try to shift momentum in their favour. After all, they would get the ball back at the start of the second and they could really have this game in their favour if they got some points on the board.

Let instead of running it again, Scott Linehan decided that he was going to do a jet sweep with Lucky Whitehead, a play that comes out every so often. And this time it really worked as Whitehead ran for 26 yards and then got out of play, stopping the clock. Then the Cowboys realised they could do something and after Terrance Williams got free after some great moves, he posted a 42-yard catch before Dak threw a perfect ball for Brice Butler for the touchdown.

This was a mood changer, for the team and the fans. Before, it was a half of mistakes and missed chances with that feeling the Packers were going to come back and beat us was gone. And it was down to the drive starter that was Whitehead’s run, which changed the thinking on the sideline from get into the dressing room to get into the end zone.

And this wasn’t an isolated zone. When the game was 20–9 and the Packers had got it into their head that they might go and win this game, we once again needed something big to put them back in their place. And there was Lucky again. On a play action pass where pretty much everyone was blocking, Lucky went free and Dak found him for a 35-yard gain. This was a drive that ending in a touchdown to Cole Beasley.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that Lucky Whitehead is the next best thing and that he’s going to be one of our star men because no, he isn’t. He is a gadget player, someone you can do some cool plays with and keep a defence on his toes. A fun thing to have but if you ever have cap issues, he’s one of the first players to go because there are more important roles to prioritise. But as we saw on Sunday, they can be crucial.

In essence, american football is a glorified version of rock, paper, scissors where the play callers on each side try to guess what the other is doing. And that’s hard enough when the other guy can call upon a great quarterback, running back and wide receivers. But when the other guy has a player who could be doing pretty much anything on the field, that’s a headache you have to account for. And that can just give the other guys enough space and time to do something special.

So we are indeed very lucky to have Lucky.