Dallas flips script, tosses L.A. aside
Prescott makes his pregame coin call mix-up a moot point
ARLINGTON — Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys turned “much ado about nothing” over the coin toss into “win and they’re in” next weekend.
Prescott threw two touchdown passes after his confusing exchange with referee Walt Anderson made many think the Cowboys forced themselves to kick off to start both halves, and Ezekiel Elliott ran for two scores in a 44-21 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
The Cowboys (7-7) ended their second three-game losing streak of the season, and the defending NFC East champions stayed even with Philadelphia atop the division with a showdown looming next Sunday.
After their first victory over a team with a winning record this season, the Cowboys can clinch their fourth division title in six seasons with a win at the Eagles.
“We know that the team’s been criticized for not having really substantive victories,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “That is the kind of win you want to have before you get ready to go play what is the biggest game we play this year.”
The defending NFC champion Rams (8-6), who already needed help to get into the playoffs, didn’t aid themselves with another poor showing a week after their most impressive game of the season in a win over Seattle.
“We haven’t been consistent as a football team really throughout this season,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “That’s a big part of my responsibility is to figure out solutions and help us be more consistent.”
After rushing for a franchise playoff-record 273 yards in a 30-22 divisional win over the Cowboys in January, the Rams were held to just 22 while Dallas churned out a season-high 263. Todd Gurley had 11 carries for 20 yards.
After the Cowboys won the toss, Prescott initially made a reference to kicking off before saying the Cowboys would defer. Anderson said a couple of times the Cowboys wanted to kick, creating the confusion.
“Definitely a weird start,” Prescott said. “Just bad use of words by me. We listened to the audio. We got it figured out. Just wasn’t the cleanest coin flip I’ve been a part of.”
But what did he say? “A little bit of everything,” Prescott said as reporters broke out in laughter.