Cowboys snap 3-game slide behind Morris, stout defense

Dallas gets first win since suspension of Elliott kicked in.

ris has fresh legs.

He played a huge role Thursday in the obliteration of a Cowboys scoring drought that coincided with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sitting Elliott for six games. The win was a season saver after an ugly threegame losing streak that had some thinking the Pokes had mailed it in with five games to play. The Cowboys figured it out in a 38-14 romp past the Redskins and now sit at .500 entering the final quarter of the season.

At 6-6, Dallas isn’t going to overtake high-flying Philadelphia in the NFC East, but Morris and an opportunistic defense playing without linebacker Sean Lee kept the playoff flame burning as Zeke begins the second half of his suspension. Dallas will get a 10-day break while it tries to figure out a way to close the distance in the wild-card race that involves Carolina, New Orleans, Atlanta, Seattle and Detroit.

The Cowboys will need some more angry running from Morris, who ran like ... well, like a man who wanted to show his former team’s owner, Dan Snyder, that he made a mistake in allowing Morris to leave D.C.

“I’m just super thankful for us to turn this thing around,” Morris said. “I mean, it’s only one game. We still have a lot more games to play to do what we want to do: get in the postseason.”

His lone touchdown Thursday night didn’t precede a jump into the red Salvation Army kettle — something Zeke did against Tampa Bay last season — but Morris’ powder-blue cleats, which represented the Salvation Army as part of the league’s “My Cause, My Cleats” charitable campaign, found the right spots time and time again on his best night as a Cowboy.

The veteran of six seasons was never one for over-the-top end zone celebrations, although the 91,712 assembled were beyond delighted to see his signature home run swing after his touchdown run put the Cowboys up big in the fourth quarter.

It’s a formula that has worked well for Dallas in the past: a ground-andpound offense, a good pass rush and QB Dak Prescott in the role of game manager. All were on full display in this one as Morris ran for 127 yards to pace an offense that gobbled up more than 32 minutes off the clock. It was Morris’ first 100-yard rushing performance since the 2015 regular-season finale, when he hit the century mark on the nose in the Redskins’ victory over Dallas. He turned back the clock Thursday as part of a game plan that was heavy on running it right at a defense that gives up 4.3 yards per carry.

“We wanted to be persistent in running the football,” Garrett said. “Obviously, Alfred was outstanding. He’s got a great feel and instinct for running the football. He makes a lot of runs that people don’t really recognize how good they are.

“He’s a damn fine football player.”

The question now is whether Morris’ performance was a harbinger of things to come or merely a good pro putting it all together in an emotional game against his former teammates. The guess is he has plenty of life left in those 28-year-old legs, regardless of the opponent.

“We showed up today,” Morris said. “We have to continue to show up for these next games; otherwise, our hopes of keeping this postseason (dream) alive is slim to none.”

Timing is everything, and the Cowboys’ next two games are winnable ones. The Giants (2-9) have gone into tank mode with the decision to sit two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning in favor of the mediocre Geno Smith, and Oakland and Seattle aren’t nearly as potent as they were in 2016. Philly? Well, that’s a different animal altogether.

As for Morris, he isn’t Zeke, but he isn’t bad. That bell fits him just fine for now.

Dak Prescott was getting X-rays on his swollen right hand when rookie Ryan Switzer scored his first career touchdown on an 83-yard punt return.

The extra time with the Dallas offense on the sideline kept Prescott from missing any plays, and last year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year led the Cowboys to their first win after three straight losses without suspended star running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Prescott threw two touchdown passes, including a franchise record-breaker to Dez Bryant, in the Cowboys’ 38-14 victory over the Wash- ington Redskins on Thursday night.

The injury happened in the second quarter when Prescott’s right hand was hit by linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons just as he made an option pitch to Rod Smith. Thanks to Switzer’s dash to the end zone, Prescott didn’t miss a snap. He said the X-rays came back negative.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever broken my hand,” Prescott said. “I couldn’t grip initially right after because the (hand) swelled up on me so bad. As I said, they wrapped it up, got the swelling down and I was fine.”

Bryant’s leaping 13-yard catch in the end zone was the 2014 All-Pro’s firstscore in six games and 72nd of his career, one more than Hall of Famer Bob Hayes.

The Cowboys (6-6) never trailed despite a sluggish start to the offense, thanks to three first-half turnovers and four overall by the Redskins (5-7). Dallas kept it going after halftime with a 21-7 scoring edge.

The Cowboys were outscored 72-6 in the second half during the threegame skid.

Alfred Morris, Elliott’s replacement during the sixgame suspension for alleged domestic violence, had 127 yards rushing and a touchdown.

The Cowboys forced NFL-leading Philadelphia to wait until at least Sunday to clinch the division title. But Dallas still faces a steep climb to playoff contention, and two more games with- out Elliott.

The Redskins had already been eliminated in the divi- sion race and are virtually out of the postseason picture after Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions and lost a fumble while throwing two touchdown passes.

Jamison Crowder let the pass go through his hands on Cousins’ first interception and fumbled a punt a few plays later in the Redskins’ fourth straight loss to the Cowboys, the longest such streak in the series since 2003-04.

“It was just miscues,” Cousins said. “A dropped ball here, we had a nice drive down the field the second drive, just a tough turnover, and then it was one thing after another that were just mistakes.

“They happen, and we have to correct them.”

Prescott only threw for 102 yards but didn’t have a turnover after throwing five interceptions and losing three fumbles without a touchdown pass during the losing streak.