Emotional Dak Prescott, Jerry Jones say Cowboys' MNF win over Raiders was tribute to Marshawn Kneeland

Playing their first game since the death of 24-year-old defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, the Cowboys' 33-16 win over the Raiders was filled with emotions for quarterback Dak Prescott, owner Jerry Jones and others. The Cowboys donned "94" helmet decals and had warm-up shirts with Kneeland across the front to honor their teammate.

"It's been obviously a tough, hard 12 days," Prescott said after throwing for 268 yards and four touchdowns. "Through the bye week, those first few days not being with the guys was harder than anything. But the last six, seven being together, working together, having conversations, healing, shining light on who Marshawn was. Then obviously coming out here tonight and playing with the style he played with, the intensity, the effort to finish, super proud of the guys.

"Whirlwind of a week, great one to cap off with a win right here, but this doesn't put a cap on it. We're going to continue to move forward, shining a light on Marshawn and carrying his legacy. We need to play like this every week moving forward, he'll always be with us."

The Cowboys (4-5-1) spent 11 days in mourning before paying tribute to Kneeland with one of their most complete performances of the season.

 "I'm proud of every last one of the staff and the coaches, Brian, his leadership throughout and the players," Jones said. "This obviously is tough, but in a way, a game, a competition like this with the Raiders is good therapy to come back and get in it. They know how much that Marshawn loved to compete, how much he loved the Cowboys, and to me it's just a way of saying 'this one's for you, Marshawn."

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said he was proud of the way his players persevered through grief, crying and laughter in their way of honoring Kneeland. Schottenheimer's post-game speech centered around Kneeland, moments after he pointed to his warm-up shirt to the Cowboys' faithful.

"We started talking about Marshawn and how proud he would be," Schottenheimer said. "And with the way we played the game. Then I tried to compose myself, and I did, and we did our normal celebration because that's what we do."

A 2024 second-round pick, Kneeland was in the middle of his second season in Dallas. His scored his first career touchdown on a blocked punt recovery in the end zone against the Cardinals on Nov. 3. Kneeland was found dead three days later and the cause was a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police chase for a traffic violation, according to the Frisco Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety.

"He's part of our family forever. It's been tough, these past 11 days have been really tough," Schottenheimer said. "I'm proud of those guys, because the way they played today, they played with Marshawn's play style."