Dallas Cowboys take game from Dak Prescott’s hands, deliver victory to Vikings
And the Dallas Cowboys handed it off.
First, they handed Sunday’s game to the Minnesota Vikings in what was a devastating 28-24 loss before shocked and dismayed fans at AT&T Stadium.
Also gone with it was their half-game lead over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East.
They are tied at 5-4.
And with this being the first of four games in the next 18 days, they may have handed off their playoff chances.
How did they hand it off?
Instead of riding with arm of quarterback Dak Prescott, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore called two consecutive runs to an ineffective Ezekiel Elliott. Prescott had rallied the Cowboys from an early 14-0 deficit with 397 yards and three touchdowns, and had driven team from its 6 to the Vikings 11 with 1:33 left.
The first one on second and 2 was stopped for no gain.
The inexplicable next carry resulted in a loss of three yards.
On fourth down, the Cowboys called a pass to Elliott that went for no gain, giving the ball back to the Vikings with 40 seconds left.
And that essentially was it.
The Cowboys got the ball back long enough to allow Prescott to throw a Hail Mary interception on the final play of the game.
It was as cruel ending for the Cowboys and a horrible way for Prescott to have to end a brilliant performance.
But on a night when defense was gashed by Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who rushed for 97 yards on 26 carries and had seven receptions for 86 yards, it was the curious decision to go with the ineffective Elliott over the Prescott that will be remembered most.
Elliott had 20 carries for 47 yards.
It was Prescott who rallied the Cowboys from a 14-0 deficit. Prescott and Amari Cooper, that is, starting in the second quarter.
Prescott hit Cooper for 20 yards and a first down, thanks to a toe tap on the right sideline.
Two plays later, Elliott picked up the blitz to allow Prescott time to hit Michael Gallup on a crossing route. He turned into a 23-yard touchdown.
Prescott then directed an 83-yard scoring drive, converting a third and 12 to Gallup for 13 yards; a third and 3 to Blake Jarwin for 26; and a third and 7 with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb, who made a finger-tip catch while falling down in the back of the end zone.
The Vikings made it 17-14 at halftime on a 26-yard field goal from Dan Bailey.
Prescott was seven of 12 for 143 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter.
The Vikings opened the second half with a field goal to go up 20-14.
Prescott and Cooper responded with some toe tapping magic.
Cooper’s magical toe tap and lean for a 12-yard touchdown reception gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game.
Cook scored on a 2-yard run to put the Vikings back up 28-21 after the two-point conversion.
Prescott led the Cowboys to a field goal to make it 28-24.
And then he had a chance to create some magic, getting the ball back with 4:34 left at the Cowboys’ 6.
A 26-yarder Cobb was followed by a 10-yarder to Cooper and a 13-yarder to Gallup after an incompletion.
Passes of 20 yards to Cooper, 8 to Jason Witten and 8 to Cooper set the stage for the Cowboys take the ball out of Prescott’s hands and give the game to the Vikings.
Cooper had 11 catches for 147 yards, Cob had six for 106 and Gallup had four for 76.
Elliott had two catches for 16 yards but the incompletion on fourth down proved fatal.
The Cowboys play at the Detroit Lions on Nov. 17 and at the New England Patriots on Nov. 24, before hosting the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving Day.
This story was originally published November 10, 2019 at 11:08 PM.
