Cowboys receivers shine brighter than Chiefs’ vaunted stars

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid and his ballyhooed offense were in attendance Sunday for the show put on by ... Terrance Williams?

That’s right.

The Baylor product caught all nine of his targets for 141 yards and his biggest output in a game since Jan. 3, 2016, when he caught eight balls for 173 yards in a 34-23 loss to the Washington Redskins.

Until the 28-17 win over the Chiefs, no Cowboys receiver had notched a 100-yard game this season.

“This week felt kind of different, because we felt like we had great matchups with how they play defense,” Williams said after the game.

Sometimes the yards came against Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson. Sometimes it was Marcus Peters. It didn’t matter.

Williams was open all day, while Kansas City’s league-leading running back Kareem Hunt and speedster receiver Tyreek Hill were held relatively in check by a steadily improving Dallas defense.

“I was happy for Terrance,” Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said. “You never know when that opportunity is going to come. For five years now, every day he just works his tail off, keeps his mouth shut, just goes at it the right way. He’s a dynamic player, and he understands our offense really well.”

Hunt, a rookie, came into the game with a league-leading 727 rushing yards, but the Cowboys (5-3) held him to just 37 yards on nine attempts.

Hill rushed four times for nine yards and caught two passes for 64 yards, including an embarrassing 56-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half with most Cowboys defenders playing near the goal line in anticipation of a Hail Mary. The impressive catch and run brought the Chiefs (6-3) within 14-10.

Williams aggravated an ankle injury on the Cowboys’ final offensive possession, and Dez Bryant left the game one series earlier with an ankle injury.

Bryant finished the game with six catches for 73 yards.

“I’m sore, to be completely honest,” Bryant said. “Extremely blessed it ain’t nothing bad: no tears, no bruise. Everything is stable. My ankle is stable, just going to be sore. As the week goes on and progresses, I’ll get better.”

Some friendly wagers among the Cowboys receivers might have inspired Williams to one of the biggest games of his career. He said that each week, he and Dez compare yards after catches, and the winner takes home $200.

“It really makes you get the ball and go,” Williams said. “I won last week, but I lost the first six weeks. But a win this week. It’s good.”

Wide receiver Cole Beasley was another bright spot. He caught four balls for 24 yards with two of them going for touchdowns, underscoring how much of a threat in the red zone Beasley has become.

“He’s able to use his quickness,” Witten said of Beasley. “Some of those were these run-pass options. We’re able to sell the run and then he’s able to sneak in behind with his quickness. He has a really good feel with that, and we saw that last year. He’s a tough matchup in that area of the field.”

Beasley scored on a 6-yard pass in the first quarter and on a 7-yarder in the fourth, which made the score 28-17 with 8:58 left to play.

The two touchdowns came after Beasley was in the NFL concussion protocol last week following a hit late in the third quarter against the Redskins.

Dak Prescott ended the game 21-of-33 passing for 249 yards with two touchdowns and another on the ground. But it was his weapons on the edge, not the Chiefs, that were razor sharp Sunday.

This story was originally published November 5, 2017 at 9:36 PM with the headline "Cowboys receivers shine brighter than Chiefs’ vaunted stars."