10 IN A ROW
Rival Redskins can’t slow Prescott, Elliott
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys down Washington for their 10th straight win.
ARLINGTON, After TEXAS Ezekiel Elliott strolled down the bench, fielding high-fives left and right, he eventually plopped down on his designated spot on the bench and sneaked a peak up at the Jumbotron.
He had just punched in a 1-yard touchdown run that put the Washington Redskins away. And it was time to admire from afar.
This wasn’t a dominant performance like the Dallas Cowboys have posted time and time again this season, but they proved — again — that they have found a winning formula behind Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott, a fellow rookie, when they beat Washington 31-26 on Thursday.
Another test and another passing grade. And another postgame battle of wits and words involving Redskins cornerback Josh Norman.
Norman and Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant were warned by officials during the second half to cool it with their words and actions. There were no more incidents during the game, but in the postgame handshake at midfield, the two went mask-tomask and had to be separated by teammates.
“You’re supposed to be a
lockdown corner, and you can’t even play, man,” Bryant said in the locker room about Norman. “He was scared.”
As for the game, this was a Washington team that had won two in a row and lost only once in its last eight. Quarterback Kirk Cousins had elevated his play, and running back Robert Kelley had emerged as a workhorse weapon.
The Cowboys, however, won despite not forcing a turnover, despite losing the time-of-possession battle, despite being outgained by more than 100 yards and despite not sacking Cousins.
At 10-1, Dallas holds a comfortable 21⁄ 2- game lead in the NFC East, with the New York Giants (7-3) looking to trim it to two by beating the winless Cleveland Browns on Sunday. So beyond a division crown, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason are very real aspirations for the Cowboys.
And even though Prescott and Elliott were quiet for the majority of the second and third quarters, they made enough plays late to quash multiple comeback attempts. Those expecting the rookie duo to eventually stumble will — again — have to wait.
“We have high expectations for ourselves on the offensive side of the ball,” Prescott said. “We expect to score on every possession.”
Prescott and Elliott should no longer be considered surprises. They should be seen as two players near the top of their respective positions.
Prescott produced another efficient performance, completing 17 of 24 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown. He again did not turn the ball over and added 39 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
Elliott, meanwhile, put up a two-touchdown, 97-yard game on 20 carries.
From the opening snap, Dallas dominated. The Cowboys did it with big plays, with gains of 15, 20, 12 and 13 yards. The offensive line, as it has all season, pushed aside defensive linemen to pave rushing lanes for Elliott, who rushed for 43 yards on four attempts on the first drive, including a 4-yard touchdown. On the series, the Cowboys never faced a third down.
What put Washington (6-4-1) in an early hole, however, was an inability to close drives. On three of the team’s first four, it marched down to Dallas’ 25-, 6- and 2-yard lines, respectively, before stalling because of penalties, questionable play calls, bad clock management and poor execution.
The Redskins’ first four possessions spanned 240 yards — an average of 60 per drive — but the offense was held to six points. Kicker Dustin Hopkins converted field goal attempts of 24 and 20 yards but missed attempts of 43 and 55 yards.
Maybe it was because Washington walked off the field from Sunday night’s victory against the Green Bay Packers just 90 hours before kickoff of Thursday’s game.
Maybe it was because the team had to prepare on a short week and travel halfway across the country, while the Cowboys were at home last weekend.
But Washington came out flat, and Dallas did not.
By the time Cousins rallied the offense and got the Redskins back into the game, it was too late.
The Cowboys are on a 10-game winning streak and seem to have as good a winning formula as there is in the NFL.
“We expectationsourselves have on high thefor offensive side of the ball. We expect to score on every possession.” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott