For Falcons, an onside kick in the stomach

ARLINGTON, Texas — One gamble after another failed for coach Mike McCarthy in his home debut with the Cowboys. A successful onside kick made them all moot.

Greg Zuerlein kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired, and the Cowboys overcame four fumbles and a 20-point deficit in the first quarter to beat the Falcons 40-39 on Sunday.

The Falcons were still up 15 in the fourth quarter before Dak Prescott became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards and rush for three touchdowns in the same game, the third touchdown getting Dallas (1-1) within two.

Zuerlein did not use a tee for his slowrolling onside attempt, a rare tactic. But even more curious was the Falcons surrounding the ball when they could have recovered it. As soon as it went 10 yards, C.J. Goodwin pounced — and later emerged from the big pile with the ball and 1:48 on the clock.

Rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb’s 24-yard catch got the Cowboys in field-goal position, and they ran down the clock before Zuerlein touched off a wild celebration for the players and the 21,708 fans who booed the Cowboys off the field with the Falcons up 29-10 at halftime.

“I don’t know if I’ve been in many games like this thing,” Prescott said. “But to be able to get the win, and in front of those fans that were there, stayed the whole game, they didn’t give up on us. That was a huge difference.”

Matt Ryan threw four touchdown passes, including two off the three lost fumbles from the Cowboys in the first quarter.

But the Falcons couldn’t avoid their first 0-2 start in six seasons under coach Dan Quinn in a performance reminiscent of their blown 28-3 lead in a Super Bowl loss to the Patriots.

In the last nine seasons, the Falcons now have two of the three instances in which a team lost after leading by at least 15 points with less than eight minutes remaining.