Prescott’s 3rd TD to Cooper lifts Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Texas — Amari Cooper’s impact on Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott has been dramatic.
The new No. 1 receiver for the Cowboys shook up the NFC East race, too.
Prescott threw his third touchdown pass to Cooper on the first possession of overtime, and the Cowboys took a big step toward the division title with a 29-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
On third down, Rasul Douglas tipped the pass into the air, and Cooper grabbed it and had a clear path to the end zone from the Philadelphia 7 for the 15-yard score. The Cowboys used almost all of the 10-minute overtime, scoring with 1:55 remaining.
By winning the third overtime game in the past four seasons at A&T Stadium between these division rivals, the Cowboys (8-5) won their fifth straight game and took a two-game lead over the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (6-7) and Washington with three games left.
The Cowboys dominated almost from the start but let the Eagles stay close to set up a wild fourth quarter. Dallas, which can clinch the NFC East title with a win at Indianapolis next Sunday, finished with 576 yards, the most since gaining 578 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.
Cooper finished with 217 yards receiving on 10 catches in his second game in the past three with at least 180 yards and two scores. All three of Cooper’s touchdowns — the others from 75 and 28 yards — were in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Acquired from Oakland for a 2019 first-round draft pick seven games into the season, Cooper leads the NFL with 642 yards receiving since Week 9, his first game with the Cowboys. He had nine catches for 190 yards after halftime.
“He’s made a huge impact on our team since we’ve gotten him,” coach Jason Garrett said. “I thought he did a good job staying patient early on in the ballgame and just continuing to work to get open. I thought Dak did a really good job getting him the ball in critical moments.”
Carson Wentz threw for three touchdowns, including a pair of tying scores in the fourth quarter. But he never got a chance in overtime because of the 13-play, 75-yard drive engineered by Prescott.
The third-year quarterback overcame two interceptions and a lost fumble to set career highs in completions (42), attempts (54) and yards passing (455).
The Cowboys converted a fourth-and-1 from the Eagles’ 19 with a 1-yard plunge from Ezekiel Elliott, who had 192 yards from scrimmage on 40 touches — 28 carries for 113 yards and 12 catches for 79.
Cooper converted a pair of third downs on the winning drive. The first one was big, too — a 12-yarder on third-and-9 from the Philadelphia 40.
Brett Maher set a Dallas franchise record with a 62-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and had three field goals.