Fans and some players might roll their eyes when a Week 6 game is described as a must-win, but that does not matter to the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott
After last week playing one of the worst games of his eight-year career and with a bye week on the horizon, Prescott went into Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers knowing anything other than victory would be detrimental to the Cowboys’ hopes of contending for a National Football Conference title.
Prescott responded by throwing for 272 yards and a touchdown as Dallas rallied in the fourth quarter for a 20-17 victory.
Photo: AFP
“It was a must-win. There’s a big difference between 4-2 and 3-3,” said Prescott, who completed 21 of 30 passes and also had a rushing touchdown.
“We talked after last week about not allowing this thing to landslide. When you get this win like we did, we can definitely move on,” he said.
The Cowboys — coming off a 42-10 loss at the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 8 — continue to prove they do not let losses fester. They improved to 10-1 in weeks following a loss since the start of the 2021 season.
“There’s plays that needed to be made, especially down the stretch,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “A lot of back and forth, a lot of resetting your jaw and just keep fighting, and I thought our men did a really good job there.”
Prescott became the 30th quarterback in NFL history to throw at least one touchdown pass against 31 or more opponents when he connected with Brandin Cooks for a 2-yard score with 11 minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the game to give the Cowboys a 17-10 lead.
“Dak did a lot of great things,” said Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, who had seven receptions for 117 yards. “He improvised a lot, gave us the ability to do our work down the field.”
Prescott showed off his running ability midway through the first quarter when he faked a handoff on fourth-and-1 and went up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. It was the longest rushing touchdown of Prescott’s eight-year career.
“We had CeeDee in motion as an option. The defensive end took out Tony and two other guys ran toward CeeDee just allowing me to cut up field,” said Prescott, who also had 40 rushing yards on seven carries. “I have not been showing my legs early in the year so that might have played a part in it.”
Los Angeles tied it at 17 with 7 minutes, 11 seconds remaining when Gerald Everett caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert.
Brandon Aubrey made two field goals, including a 39-yarder with 2 minutes, 19 seconds remaining, to give the Cowboys the lead.
The Chargers (2-3) had one last chance to send it into overtime or win, but Stephon Gilmore picked off Herbert at the Los Angeles 33-yard line with 1 minute, 22 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
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