Dak Prescott Throws Game-Winning Touchdown in Overtime to Lead Dallas to Victory
Former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott led his Dallas Cowboys to a 35-29 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday after throwing the winning touchdown in overtime, continuing to play at a level that could very well warrant him being named MVP by the end of the season.
The Cowboys are 5-1 so far this season, largely due to Prescott's outstanding passing ability. On Sunday, he completed 36-of-51 passes for 445 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
In the first quarter, Prescott completed his first 10 passes and threw for 161 yards--the most in a first quarter for any NFL quarterback this season. He threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Blake Jarwin with 6:43 left in the quarter, but the team still trailed 14-7 heading into the second quarter.
If there was any quarter in which Prescott struggled the most today, it was the second. After using 13 plays over a span of seven to march down the field into the red zone, Prescott threw his third interception of the season. The Patriots had the chance to extend their lead, but a turnover on their end returned the ball to Prescott and the Cowboys. They managed to get a field goal on the possession. Later in the quarter, the Cowboys had the ball on first and goal at New England's one-yard line with the chance to take the lead. The offense was stopped, and on fourth down, Prescott fumbled while trying to extend the ball over the goal line.
Prescott finally gave the Cowboys the 17-14 advantage later in the third. He hit wide receiver CeeDee Lamb with a one-yard touchdown pass with 4:49 left. That was the only score recorded by either team in the quarter.
The fourth quarter was filled with excitement and both teams trading scores back and forth. A field goal with a little over 13 minutes left until the end of the game extended Dallas's lead to six. The Patriots answered with a touchdown of their own to make the game 21-20. The Cowboys scored again on an interception that was returned 42 yards for a touchdown, but Prescott was unable to complete a two-point conversion pass, and the score was 26-21. New England answered less than a minute later with a touchdown and successful two-point attempt to take a three-point lead with two minutes left in the game. In his last possession of regulation, Prescott stepped up big time. He led his team down the field quickly, but a penalty left the Cowboys facing a 3rd down and 25 outside of field goal range. Prescott completed a 24-yard pass to give the team a favorable spot for a field goal attempt, which was successful, keeping the Cowboys alive with a chance for victory.
Prescott made the magic happen in overtime.
New England won the coin toss and elected to receive. The Cowboys defense was able to stop them and give Prescott the chance to win it all. He completed all five of his passes on the final drive, the most important of which was the one that came on the last play of the game. Prescott called game and threw a deep, 35-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb to secure the team's fifth victory of the season. He apparently suffered a calf strain injury on the play and had a walking boot on in the press conference, but didn't seem at all concerned about his status moving forward.
Dallas will not play this coming weekend but will return to action on Oct. 31st against the Minnesota Vikings. The bye week will give Prescott and the team some time to rest and should allow the quarterback to heal up to be back at full capacity when he returns to the action.
