Elliott, Prescott provide 1-2 punch
PHILADELPHIA — Ezekiel Elliott had 151 yards rushing and his go-ahead one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter helped the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 on Sunday night.
The Eagles (4-5) suffered their third consecutive loss at home and the Cowboys (4-5) ended a skid at two games. Washington (6-3) leads the NFC East.
“All of us need to look in the mirror,” coach Doug Pederson said. “Are we doing enough? Are we giving enough? You have to strain yourself to make plays. We didn’t do it. Each person, each coach, each player in the locker room has to look at yourself and decide every day to give your best.”
The Cowboys gave their all to give embattled coach Jason Garrett a week off from questions about his job security.
“You can imagine the way Jason Garrett, his resolve before the game,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I asked him before the game, ‘You feeling any pressure?’ [Garrett replied] ‘It just makes me want to go out and do more to turn this thing.’ ”
Dak Prescott had 270 yards passing and one touchdown and also ran for a score. Elliott also had a touchdown reception.
“It was absolutely mandatory that we went and got this win,” Elliott said. “We wanted to keep our hopes up for winning this division and making the playoffs.”
Carson Wentz threw two touchdown passes to Zach Ertz, but his pass to Ertz on fourth down fell a yard short of a first down at the Dallas 29 with 1 minute 9 seconds to play. The Eagles got the ball back at their 32 with 40 seconds left and drove to the Dallas 32 for the final play. Wentz completed a pass to Ertz inside the 10. Ertz lateraled to Golden Tate but he was tackled for no gain to end it.
“We just didn’t execute,” said Wentz, who was 32 for 44 for 360 yards with one interception. “We all got to look in the mirror and ask what can we do better.”
The Eagles were listless in the first half and trailed 13-3 before rallying to tie it on Wentz’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Ertz late in the third quarter. Wentz connected with Jordan Matthews for 18 yards on third and 11 to extend the drive. He hit him again for 12 yards on the next play and found Ertz a few plays later.
Prescott threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Elliott to give Dallas a 20-13 lead on the ensuing possession. Elliott accounted for 57 of the 75 yards on the drive.