Dak Prescott brushed aside an 85-minute weather delay, interceptions on two different days in the same game, and CeeDee Lamb’s harsh in-game criticism. Then, he silenced doubters, guiding the Cowboys on a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to steal a 20-17 win from the Steelers.
“I was saying it before the game started, like we’re not going to forget this one regardless,” Prescott told beat writer Clarence Hill after completing a 4-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert with 20 seconds left. “With the delays, with everything that happened, it’s one of those games I don’t care how long you play, you’ll never forget it. I just kept saying, ‘Let’s make it one to remember.’ I think we did that in all the ups, the downs, the ebbs and flows.”
The Cowboys (3-2) have also ebbed and flowed this season. In fact, they are the first team in 14 years — since the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins in 2010 — to win each of their first three road games while losing each of their first two home games (per Elias Sports Bureau).
The 2010 Eagles and Dolphins went in different directions after similar starts. Behind dual quarterbacks Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb, Philadelphia finished 10-6 with a 6-2 road record. But their fifth home loss was their ultimate downfall, in the Wild Card playoffs to eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay. Miami also finished 6-2 on the road, including a Lambeau Field win over those Packers to advance to 3-2. However, the Dolphins were an astonishing 1-7 at home that year and fizzled out down the stretch, closing at 7-9.
What direction Dallas takes this season obviously will depend on Prescott, who was 29 of 42 for 352 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday night’s win. And before he could author his 23rd career game-winning comeback, and before he hit Tolbert on a shallow, fourth-down crossing route for the clutch score, Prescott literally saved the Cowboys.
Two plays before the touchdown pass, Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts super-manned over the Dallas line to force a Rico Dowdle fumble. Prescott dove on the loose ball to avert disaster.
Afterward, Prescott said it was Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy who averted disaster, crediting the coach with a strong gameplan despite Dallas’ struggles in the running game and key injuries at wide receiver. Dallas also won without two of its defensive leaders, DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons, whose ankle injury forced him to miss the first football game of his life at any level.
Prescott joined McCarthy and his parents the night before the win, taking a tour of the coach’s childhood.
“Love him,” Prescott told Hill. “Great head coach. He’s very, very proud to be from Pittsburgh. Greenfield at that. And you hear it anytime anything comes up with references from this place.”
Dallas is happy to leave that place with a win. Now, the Cowboys look for their first home win, having to prepare for the Lions (3-1), who are fresh off a bye week. Dallas hosts Detroit on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX) before getting its own bye week.
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