FRISCO, TEXAS — The Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons in a wild comeback 40-39. A rushing touchdown by Dak Prescott, recovered onside kick, and Zuerlein 46-yard field goal changed the Cowboys’ fate. Dallas turned their awful performance into a win just two hours later.
This game was a reminder that anything can happen in an NFL football game and it is not over until the final whistle blows. The Cowboys did not win the turnover ratio or time of possession but still came away with a victory at home.
Dallas had a disastrous start. The team dug themselves into a hole in the fist quarter with four fumbles, Atlanta recovering three of them. The Cowboys went for two fake punts and did not make either. But surprisingly after what seemed like the longest quarter of a football game, the score was only 20-0.
“ It was terrible, “ Amari Cooper stated on the team’s play to start the game. “Obviously we were able to overcome those things and that was great for our football team, but that’s not winning football and we have to clean those things up if we want to go where we’re trying to go.”
The offense was able to find their rhythm in the second half and get into an up-tempo momentum but the defense could not get off the field on third down. The pass rush was once again predominately nonexistent. Matt Ryan had all day to throw the football in the pocket and the Cowboys’ were struggling in press coverage. Calvin Ridley consistently beat Jourdan Lewis on routes and Hayden Hurst created a nightmare mismatch for Jaylon Smith. The offense would step up with a score, but then the Falcons would directly march down the field and answer with one of their own.
Sure, it is still week two and with no preseason games and an entirely virtual offseason, players are still getting used to Mike Nolan’s hybrid scheme and being in a two-point stance verses a three-point stance, but overall the defense has to get into a groove and improve.
Regardless of the beginning, there is no debate on the Cowboys’ resiliency. The team fought to come back from a 20-0 deficit and scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Dak Prescott connected with Dalton Schultz on a 10-yard pass for Schultz’s first career touchdown and Prescott ran one in on a quarterback sneak to bring the score to 39-37, with Dallas only trailing by two points. Then after a miraculous onside kick recovery and the leg of Zuerlein, the Cowboys had pulled off a last second win.
One of the most tremendous efforts of the day goes to Prescott. Without both of his starting tackles, he became the first player in NFL history to have three rushing touchdowns and throw for over 400 yards in a single game. Not to mention, he left during the third quarter to undergo concussion protocol. The medical staff cleared him and once he returned to the field, moments later plowed his way into the end zone for a one-yard rushing TD. No.4 is willing to do whatever it takes for his team and he showed that against the Falcons, as he has time and time again.
He is a humble guy that down plays his accomplishments to elevate his teammates and following the win against the Falcons it was no different. Dak was asked about his resiliency and performance in the game and he told D210Sports, “ Credit the offensive line, they allowed me to get in [end zone]. Let’s also credit those receivers. They went out there and continued to get open. Yeah, sure, I had to find them and had to make some plays here and there, but that was a team win all the way around. I think my stats today show just that…I give credit to the whole offense.”
