Dan Quinn Earns Revenge Against Falcons

It's hard to remember a better performance in a "revenge game" for a former head coach than the one Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn experienced Sunday. 

Sure, he essentially said this week the matchup with the Atlanta Falcons was just another game. But in reality, anyone in his situation would like to "stick it" to their former employer.

That's exactly what Quinn and the Cowboys defense did, and then some, in Week 10.

After some good throws from Matt Ryan early, Dallas stopped Atlanta on a fourth-and-7 attempt with about four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Then, it was all Cowboys, as they cruise to a 43-3 victory.

It was Dallas' first win by more than 40 points in more than 20 years.

The Dallas defense held Atlanta to 171 yards and just 4.0 yards per play. In addition to the failed fourth-down try, the Falcons were 1-of-11 on third downs. The Cowboys defense also had two sacks and three interceptions.

If the 33-point halftime deficit isn't enough of an indication of how bad Week 10 was for Atlanta, maybe these facts will add further perspective. Sunday's game was the first time the Falcons trailed by 33 points in the first half of a game since 1967. It hadn't been quite as long since the Cowboys led in the first half by 33 points, but it had been 50 years before Sunday.

Backup quarterbacks often play in blowouts, but in today's high-scoring NFL, coaches are reluctant to give backups opportunities before there's a few minutes remaining. On Sunday, Arthur Smith replaced Matt Ryan with backup Josh Rosen before the end of the third quarter.

It was a completely different performance for the Cowboys, who at one point trailed the Denver Broncos by 30 points just last week. Dallas was 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions and only had the ball for about 18 minutes versus the Broncos. 

Against the Falcons, the Cowboys were 3-for-3 on fourth down and possessed the ball for more than 19 minutes in the first half alone.

This wasn't even the case of the Cowboys falling victim to playing poorly at altitude in Denver. Both of these games were at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

Dak Prescott looked much more like himself, throwing for 296 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. CeeDee Lamb caught both scores and led the Cowboys with 94 receiving yards.

Ezekiel Elliott wasn't very efficient with 41 yards on 14 carries, but he scored two rushing touchdowns.

Ryan started hot for the Falcons, completing four of his first six passes for 66 yards. But he finished the game 9 of 21 for 117 yards with two interceptions.

Ryan has failed to reach 150 passing yards in two of the last three weeks.

Rosen didn't fare much better, throwing an interception on his only pass attempt.

Jourdan Lewis, Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs led the way for the Cowboys defense. But the win will be extra sweet for all the former Falcons on the unit. In addition to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, safeties Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee are now in Dallas.

As NFL coaches like to say, the Falcons will have to "flush" this one quickly. Atlanta hosts the New England Patriots on Thursday night. New England routed the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, 45-7.