The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Cowboys race up, down field, outgun Lions
Dak Prescott and the assortment of playmakers surrounding him are getting praise for giving the Dallas Cowboys the NFL’s top-ranked offense.
Give the big guys up front their due, too. Prescott took advantage of a comfortable pocket as he threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns, lifting the Cowboys to a 35-27 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
“Our offensive line did a great job, giving me some time,” Prescott said. “I had some time to go through the progressions once and a couple times, go through them again to find the open guy.”
The Cowboys (6-4) have won three of four games at least in part because Prescott has been tough to stop, with 10 TD passes and three interceptions during the successful stretch.
Dallas has had balance with the ball, but Prescott was passing with such ease that it wasn’t necessary to try to move the ball much on the ground in the Motor City.
The Lions (3-6-1) were without Matthew Stafford for a second straight game and have lost six of seven.
“This is tough,” Lions guard Graham Glasgow said. “This is something we take very seriously and we know we have to get better. We’ve got talent, but we aren’t finding ways to maximize our talent.”
Stafford’s backup, Jeff Driskel, played well enough to give his team a shot to compete. He threw a 25-yard yard TD pass to Marvin Jones with 5:49 left to pull Detroit within eight points before a 2-point conversion failed.
The Lions forced Dallas to punt, but they opted to punt while facing a fourth-and-26 from midfield.
From the Cowboys 13 on second down on the ensuing drive, Prescott sealed the victory with a 23-yard pass to Blake Jarwin.
The two-time Pro Bowler completed 29 of 46 passes. He threw a 21-yard TD pass to Tony Pollard early in the second quarter and a 19-yard pass to Randall Cobb with 27 seconds left in the quarter, giving him a career-high 274 yards passing in a first half.
Prescott threw a pass slightly wide to Ezekiel Elliott midway through the fourth quarter and the running back made the catch, kept his balance and scored from 17 yards out.
Michael Gallup had nine catches for 148 yards, and Cobb made four receptions for 115 yards to help the team compile 509 yards of offense.
“They have a bunch of guys who can make plays and it is tough to account for all of them,” Detroit cornerback Darius Slay said. “There were plays where I thought we had them shut down, but someone would get open by a step and Dak would hit the throw or he’d get out of the pocket and run.”
Ravens 41, Texans 7: Lamar Jackson threw four TD passes, ran for 86 yards and helped Baltimore roll to its sixth straight victory. Jackson and the Baltimore defense made it a one-sided affair, and the Ravens are riding their longest winning streak since a seven-game run in 2000, their first Super Bowl season.
49ers 36, Cardinals 26: Jimmy Garoppolo threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Wilson Jr. with 31 seconds left for his fourth TD pass of the game and San Francisco rallied past Arizona. The Cards wasted a 16-0 lead and lost their fourth straight game. It was the biggest deficit erased by the 49ers since a win over the Eagles in 2011.
Vikings 27, Broncos 23: Minnesota erased a 20-0 halftime deficit with TDs on each of its four drives in the second half, fending off Denver by forcing three straight incomplete passes in the end zone over the final 10 seconds to preserve victory. This was the first time in five years that a team won after trailing by 20 or more after two quarters.
Colts 33, Jaguars 13: Jacoby Brissett threw a TD pass, ran for another score and used an impressive ground game to get Indianapolis back on track. The Colts ended a twogame losing streak and pulled back into a tie with Houston for the AFC South lead. Jacksonville has lost four of six, this one coming despite the return of starting QB Nick Foles.
Saints 34, Buccaneers 17: The NFC South leaders rebounded from a loss to struggling Atlanta, with NFL receptions leader Michael Thomas becoming the first player in league history with 90-plus catches in the first 10 games of a season and Drew Brees tossing TD passes of 16 yards to Thomas, 3 yards to Jared Cook and 6 yards to Ted Ginn Jr.
Falcons 29, Panthers 3: Atlanta intercepted Kyle Allen four times and sacked him five times, Kenjon Barner returned a punt 78 yards for a TD and the Falcons defeated Carolina for their second straight lopsided win against an NFC South foe. Matt Ryan improved to 7-1 in his past eight starts against the Panthers, throwing for 311 yards.
Raiders 17, Bengals 10: Derek Carr passed for 292 yards and a TD, Josh Jacobs had his fourth 100-yard game in the last six weeks, and Oakland beat winless Cincinnati. Maxx Crosby had a team rookie-record four sacks as the Raiders harassed Bengals rookie quarterback Ryan Finley and shut down Cincinnati’s offense.