Cowboys win on FG in final seconds
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Throughout his rehab from a broken ankle last season, Dak Prescott thought about what it would feel like to be on the field again and lead the Dallas Cowboys on a game-winning drive.
Prescott directed the Cowboys on an 11-play, 49-yard march against the Los Angeles Chargers, culminating in Greg Zuerlein’s 56-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-17 victory on Sunday.
“I mean, that’s what you do it for, for the ball in your hands for a chance to go win,” said Prescott, who completed 23 of 27 passes for 237 yards and an interception. “I was talking to the offense in the huddle that now we’ve got the game in a position that we wanted. We were able to capitalize, get into field-goal range and let special teams go out there and do their job.”
Dallas (1-1) overcame the loss of five players who started its opener and ruined the Chargers’ first game in front of home fans at Sofi Stadium.
“You see the best of Dak Prescott in those situations, and he knows those situations, puts a lot of time into it. I just really love his demeanor, his poise in two-minute drills, so it’s good to get these ones on Sunday,” Dallas coach Mike Mccarthy said.
Prescott got Dallas into Chargers territory with a 12-yard completion to wide receiver Amari Cooper to the L.A. 45 with 36 seconds left. Three plays later, Zuerlein booted it through for his 11th game-winning kick and third with the Cowboys.
Zuerlein made all three of his attempts Sunday after missing two fields and an extra point last week.
“You see why we have confidence in him. This guy, he kicks field goals that put teams in the Super Bowl, and he’s definitely a Super Bowl-caliber champion-type kicker,” Mccarthy said. “He had two big ones today, and he hit the money one right at the end.”
Cowboys running back Tony Pollard had 109 yards on 13 carries for the third 100-yard game of his career and Ezekiel Elliott had 16 carries for 73 yards.
The Chargers (1-1) got their 10th 300-yard game from Justin Herbert, but turnovers and penalties ended up looming large. Los Angeles was flagged 12 times for 99 yards and had a pair of touchdowns taken away.
“There were 20 penalties in the game. It felt like a preseason game, to be quite honest with you. That was just the way the game was being officiated today, and we’ve got to play within the parameters of how the game is being called,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. “I felt like last week we won the game as a team, and today I thought we lost the game as a team.”