Elliott powers Cowboys to 8th straight win
PITTSBURGH — Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have little interest in the big picture. Yes, the rookies understand the Dallas Cowboys are on a historic roll. Just don’t expect them to start thinking about what it all means.
“I really don’t think about what’s normal and what’s abnormal,” Prescott said.
Maybe because what’s happening in Dallas might be the new normal.
Elliott ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns — both in the final two minutes — and turned a screen pass into an 83-yard score as the Cowboys pulled off a thrilling 35-30 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night for their eighth straight win.
Twice late in the fourth quarter Dallas had the ball in Pittsburgh territory with a chance to run out the clock and attempt a game-winning field goal. Twice Elliott found himself running free into the end zone, the last a 32-yard sprint up the middle with nine seconds left.
“It parted like the Red Sea,” Elliott said after pushing his season rushing total to an NFL-best 1,005 yards. “All I had to do was run.”
Prescott overcame an early fumble to pass for 319 yards and two scores.
When safety Byron Jones pushed Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown out of bounds at the Dallas 20 on the final play, the Cowboys had perhaps their most impressive victory of an increasingly surprising season. Prescott also took another step toward stopping any discussion about the team’s starting quarterback.
Veteran Tony Romo practiced during the week and is nearly recovered from a broken bone in his back, but he spent his Sunday afternoon the same way he spent every other one this season: in street clothes watching Prescott do his thing.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones declined to name Prescott the permanent starter in the giddy aftermath, though there appears to be no plans — and really no reason — to make a switch even though Jones anticipates Romo being the backup next week against Baltimore.
“I think the longer (Prescott) plays like this, the more we have a chance to have another win,” Jones said.
SEAHAWKS 31, PATRIOTS 24
This time, Seattle won it at the goal line.
It certainly won’t make up for the Super Bowl loss two seasons back, but the Seahawks’ goal-line stand lifted them to a victory at New England.
Tom Brady couldn’t connect with Rob Gronkowski on a fade pattern on fourth down as New England failed four times from inside the 2 in the dying moments.
It was reminiscent of how the Seahawks lost the 2015 Super Bowl when Malcolm Butler intercepted at the goal line to win the NFL title for the Patriots.
Doug Baldwin caught three touchdown passes, including a 15-yarder for the final margin. Strangely, Seattle went for two points and failed on the conversion, leaving the Patriots a chance to tie with a touchdown and an extra point kick.
But LeGarrette Blount, who earlier rushed for three scores, couldn’t get into the end zone from close range, nor could Brady on a pair of sneaks.
BRONCOS 25, SAINTS 23
Denver’s Justin Simmons used a perfectly timed leap over the offensive line to block an extrapoint kick that would have given host New Orleans a late lead, Will Parks ran it back 84 yards for a defensive two-point conversion, and the Broncos pulled out a wild victory.
The decisive play came while the Superdome crowd was still celebrating Brandin Cooks’ twisting, 32-yard touchdown catch between two defenders. That put New Orleans in position to take the lead with 1:28 left. Simmons’ block of Wil Lutz’s kick was scooped up by Parks, who nearly stepped out of bounds as he raced down the left sideline.
The Broncos then recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.
TITANS 47, PACKERS 25
Marcus Mariota threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns in host Tennessee’s rout of Green Bay. Five Titans scored a touchdown in the first half as Tennessee put together its best scoring performance this season with 35 points.
DeMarco Murray set the tone on the opening play from scrimmage, running 75 yards for a touchdown. He finished with 123 yards and also threw a touchdown pass, becoming the first non-quarterback to do that for this franchise in the same game since Earl Campbell on Sept. 7, 1980, for the then-Oilers.
CHIEFS 20, PANTHERS 17
Marcus Peters stripped Kelvin Benjamin with 20 seconds left, Cairo Santos kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired, and Kansas City overcame a 17-point deficit to win at Carolina.
The game was tied when Benjamin caught a pass from Cam Newton, and Peters ripped the ball from his arms. Santos’ fourth field goal of the day split the uprights, lifting the Chiefs to their fifth straight victory and 17th win in their last 19 games.
WASHINGTON 26 VIKINGS 20
Kirk Cousins threw for two touchdowns, and Preston Smith had two sacks and a game-altering interception in host Washington’s first victory in almost a month.
Washington got all of its second-half points off the foot of Dustin Hopkins, who hit four field goals, including a 50-yarder. Washington shut out Minnesota in the second half, and Smith sacked Sam Bradford in the final seconds to hand the Vikings their fourth straight loss.
DOLPHINS 31, CHARGERS 24
Kiko Alonso intercepted Philip Rivers’ pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown with 1:01 left to give visiting Miami a fourth straight win. The Dolphins intercepted Rivers four times, all in the fourth quarter.
Alonso jumped in front of Tyrell Williams and outraced everybody into the end zone for the winning score.
RAMS 9, JETS 6
Alec Ogletree intercepted Baylor product Bryce Petty with just under two minutes left to clinch the game, as Los Angeles won at New York. Petty made his first NFL start in place of an injured Ryan Fitzpatrick, but couldn’t get much going against the Rams’ defense.
CARDINALS 23, 49ERS 20
Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired to lift host Arizona past San Francisco and help the Cardinals avert a devastating loss.
EAGLES 24, FALCONS 15
Ryan Mathews ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns, while a tenacious defense held down the league’s highest-scoring offense as Philadelphia defeated visiting Atlanta.
BUCCANEERS 36, BEARS 10
Jameis Winston threw for 312 yards and two scores to lift host Tampa Bay past mistake-prone Chicago. The Bucs forced four turnovers and sacked Jay Cutler four times.