COWBOYS ‘FEED ZEKE’ AS THEY ROLL TO VICTORY
Behind Elliott’s 150 yards, Cowboys run over Redskins, take 2nd place in NFC East.
Ezekiel Elliott ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns and the Dallas Cowboys took advantage of a blocked field goal return and three turnovers to beat the Washington Redskins 33-19 Sunday and move into sole possession of second place in the NFC East.
Playing in a driving rainstorm that made it difficult to hold onto the ball, let alone throw it, Dak Prescott completed 14 of his 22 passes for 143 yards as Dallas (4-3) heeded the message on Elliott’s cleats to “Feed Zeke.” With another hearing on his NFL suspension coming Monday, Elliott carried the ball 33 times, scored twice for the second consecutive game and surpassed 100 yards for the third time in a row.
The game turned in the second quarter when Dallas’ Tyrone Crawford blocked Nick Rose’s field goal attempt and Orlando Scandrick returned it 86 yards to set up a 1-yard Elliott TD run two plays later. Instead of the Redskins (3-4) leading 16-7, the Cowboys went up 14-13 and never trailed again.
Washington QB Kirk Cousins lost one fumble and kick returner Chris Thompson lost another. Cousins was 26 of 39 for 263 yards and a 1-yard TD pass to Josh Doctson that cut it to 26-19, but Rose missed the extra point and Dallas sealed it with an interception return for a touchdown by Byron Jones with 21 seconds left.
“This game was about team two things. Everybody had a piece of this. Offense, defense, kicking game. Everybody. This game was a fight,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told his team in the locker room after the game. “We needed everybody for every minute
‘Everybody had a piece of this. Offense, defense, kicking game. Everybody. This game was a fight. We needed everybody for every minute of that ballgame. … To make stops and to hold them to field goals was big.’ Jason Garrett Cowboys coach
of that ballgame.” “We didn’t blink. We
didn’t look left, didn’t look right, didn’t look behind us. Focused on the task.”
Signed to fill in for injured kicker Dan Bailey, Mike Nugent was wide left from 49 yards on his first attempt for the Cowboys. Nugent shook it off and made field goals from 36, 48, 27 and 37 yards in the second half. Bailey injured his groin last week, pressing safety Jeff Heath into action. Heath made two of three extra- point attempts against San Francisco.
Defensive end David Irving’s tipped pass was returned 21 yards to the
end zone by Byron Jones with 21 seconds left on the clock to empty the remain-
ing rain-soaked fans out of the stands.
“To make stops and to hold them to field goals was big,” Garrett said. “I think our defense got better as the game wore on. The offense fed off that.”
The Cowboys took full advantage of the Redskins’ bevy of injuries along the offensive line, sacking Cous- ins four times.
Washington was without starting left tackle Trent Williams, center Spencer Long and right guard Bran- don Scherff because of knee injuries and had two rook- ies making their NFL debuts — Chase Roullier at center
and Tyler Catalina at right guard.
The Cowboys were frus- trated on offense early.
Elliott fumbled on the opening drive that led to a Redskins field goal.
The offense had five hold- ing penalties, including two from Pro Bowl tackle Tyron Smith.
Prescott opened six for six and completed nine of his first 10 passes for 105 yards. But ended up, 14 of 22 for 143 yards in the constant rain. It was his second career game with fewer than 150 passing yards.
Redskins WR Terrelle Pryor was a nonfactor for a second consecutive game. Cousins threw Pryor’s way just once, a week after four targets and two receptions in a loss at Philadelphia.
Now the question for Dallas is whether the Cowboys can get another victory in a New York court on Monday where Elliott, who remains in legal battle with the NFL over a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, is hoping to get preliminary injunction to keep him on the field for the rest of the season.
Injuries: Cowboys WR Cole Beasley left in the third quarter with a concussion.