For the third straight week, the Dallas Cowboys put up 30-plus points in an NFL game, continuing their run and staking their claim as the best offense the league has to offer. And, indeed, any game in which a team runs 73 plays, tallies 28 first downs, posts 399 yards and comes away with a 34-31 road win is a good effort. Credit star quarterback Dak Prescott there.
But it wasn’t the cleanest effort for the Cowboys, who had struggles with the blocking up front, had a hard time getting consistent play at tight end and in the running game (25 carries for 75 yards as a team), and got a bit lucky with some of the many calls that went against Houston in the game, as the Texans were flagged for 13 penalties totaling 90 yards.
Said Prescott in an interview with Pam Oliver of Fox after the game: “It wasn’t a good first half, especially on our side of the ball, but our defense gave us an opportunity. They played a hell of a first half and were able to come out, get some things going and that just shows the resilience of this team.”
Dak Prescott Had his Hand Wrapped After Cowboys Win
Prescott noted after the game, too, that he was playing through some pain in the game. He revealed his hand got stepped on and he was dealing with swelling, and had it wrapped when he met with the media. Yet he recorded 335 yards on 32-for-45 passing.
From Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News: “Dak Prescott said his right hand got “stepped on” on the intentional grounding play. Little swelling. He said he’s fine.”
Dak Prescott: ‘I Want it Like That’
But Prescott and the Cowboys bounced back with an excellent second half, driven in large part by the connection between Prescott and star receiver CeeDee Lamb, who had 17 catches on the day for 189 yards–with 11 catches, 141 yards and a touchdown coming in the second half alone.
Prescott also credited much better protection from the offensive front for the turnaround. But, ultimately, the game wound up in Prescott’s hands for a game-winning drive that started with 2:23 to play in the game.
“I want it like that, the ball in my hands at the end of the game,” Prescott said. “I am thankful for that. If you give me these games, I asked God, give me one more chance. Thank my guys for going out there and blocking, CeeDee, George going out there making great catches. Can’t do it without any of those guys.”
Quick Turnaround for the Cowboys
The challenge for the Cowboys now is to keep moving forward into Thursday night, when they will face the Buccaneers for Week 5. Tampa fell to 0-4 with a loss on Sunday, but may get quarterback Baker Mayfield back from a thumb injury that was supposed to keep him out for three weeks. Mayfield is pushing to play on Thursday.
Said Prescott: “We gotta get back tomorrow on it. We are playing Thursday, so it is going to be a quick turnaround, use this momentum, use what we did in the second half and just keep going.”
Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Reveals Hand Injury After Texans Win