Cowboys dominate Raiders after honoring Marshawn Kneeland in first game since linebacker's tragic death

On a night filled with mourning the Dallas Cowboys honored their late teammate Marshawn Kneeland with a win Head coach Brian Schottenheimer had his eyes closed like a great number of others on the sideline during the national anthem in Las Vegas while wearing a T-shirt honoring Kneeland the -year-old who died by suicide earlier this month Schottenheimer and the Cowboys had not played since Nov as they were on their bye in Week and the group had been hurting since the news broke three days after their Monday Night Football loss to the Arizona Cardinals Both teams honored Kneeland with a moment of silence before kickoff then the Cowboys went out and dominated the Las Vegas Raiders - to get back in the win column this season CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMThe Cowboys defense a unit that has struggled for much of the season was flying all over the field and disrupting the Raiders offense led by quarterback Geno Smith who was sacked four times in the gang s eighth loss of the season Newcomer Quinnen Williams acquired from the New York Jets before the NFL commerce deadline had sacks in his Cowboys debut while his defensive tackle counterpart Kenny Clark added half a sack James Houston and Osa Odighizuwa each recorded a sack in the win On offense Dak Prescott and company were cooking as the veteran quarterback threw for four touchdowns and yards It was an compelling start for Dallas which went three-and-out to open the encounter on a series where both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens didn t see the field ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters stated on the Monday Night Football broadcast that it was a coach s decision to sit the star receivers for the first drive COWBOYS COACH SAYS LATE NFL PARTICIPANT MARSHAWN KNEELAND'S GIRLFRIEND IS PREGNANT SQUAD LAUNCHES MEMORIAL FUNDThings didn't get better when Maxx Crosby strip-sacked Prescott on the following drive though the Cowboys' defense was able to hold the Raiders to just three points on the turnover in their own red zone When Pickens and Lamb entered the event after those series they promptly went to work Both receivers scored touchdowns with Lamb getting the first on an -yard strike from Prescott on the group s third drive Then after Prescott revealed tight end Jake Ferguson Pickens made multiple defenders miss on an impressive -yard catch-and-run into the end zone to blow the competition open - near the end of the first half Pickens had himself quite the contest in Sin City collecting nine receptions for yards and a touchdown to lead all players in both categories Lamb finished with five receptions for yards while Javonte Williams carried times for yards on the ground Meanwhile Smith was pressured throughout but still managed to go -of- for yards with one touchdown pass to Tre Tucker in the fourth quarter Tucker finished with four catches for yards Tight end Brock Bowers did his best to spark the Raiders catching seven of his targets for yards But it was a pass-heavy approach all night with rookie running back Ashton Jeanty getting just six carries for seven yards In fact the game-sealing play for Dallas came when the defense stopped Jeanty in the Raiders end zone for a safety It was a - competition with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter but the Cowboys slammed the door from that point on The Cowboys now - - will continue to push forward despite the tragedy that shook their locker room They ll return home for an NFC East showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles next week at AT T Stadium where they hope to start a win streak Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter