Leading up to Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens was at the center of plenty of criticism.

It appeared that Pickens was thrown under the bus by head coach Brian Schottenheimer for his lack of blocking in the run game, while Cowboys legend turned Monday Night Football color analyst Troy Aikman ripped an unnamed Dallas receiver for running sloppy routes.

Many believed Aikman was talking about Pickens, but on Monday night, Pickens put the noise behind him and did his part in the team's 38-21 victory over the Eagles on the road.

Pickens finished this week's game with four catches for 57 yards, one massive hurdle, and a touchdown. Oh, he added a little blown kiss to an Eagles cheerleader, as well.

George Pickens Reclaims His Swagger

While Coach Schottenheimer and the rest of the Cowboys offense would probably prefer that Pickens doesn't go leaving his feet and attempting to leap over defenders every week, the game is better when he is having fun.

There was no clearer sign of that than when Pickens hauled in a big first-down catch before blowing an Eagles cheerleader a little kiss.

He's a smooth operator.

And when Pickens is having fun, he has shown the ability to produce and find the endzone. There are some things that you have to give players a little freedom with, and when it comes to Pickens, letting him get loose is the key to him finding success. Sometimes, he just needs to reel it in.

Luckily, everything appeared to go smoothly in Week 7, and the Cowboys offense got back on track after two stagnant weeks. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys' defense pitched a rare shutout that catipulted the team to victory.

Hopefully, they will be able to keep that momentum rolling with a string of three consecutive primetime games behind us. Dallas will return to action in Week 8, back at home to kick off November against the struggling Arizona Cardinals, who have lost five of their last six outings.

Kickoff between the Cowboys and Cardinals is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX with Tom McCarthy on play-by-play, Robert Turbin as analyst, and Tiffany Blackmon providing updates from the sidelines. Let's hope that the offense can continue to roll, and that the Cowboys can enter the new month on a winning streak.

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