Dak Prescott threw two second-half touchdown passes to Dalton Schultz and the Dallas Cowboys clinched their second straight 12-win season with a 27-13 victory over the injury-ravaged Tennessee Titans on Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn.
Prescott was 29 of 41 passing for 282 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Dallas (12-4). Ezekiel Elliott added a rushing score and CeeDee Lamb caught 11 passes for 100 yards for the playoff-bound Cowboys, who are 1 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East.
Joshua Dobbs completed 20 of 39 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Tennessee in his first career start. The sixth-year pro was selected to start over rookie Malik Willis despite just being signed from the Detroit Lions’ practice squad on Dec. 21.
The setback was the sixth in a row for the Titans (7-9), a beat-up squad that played without quarterback Ryan Tannehill (ankle), running back Derrick Henry (hip) and defensive end Jeffery Simmons (ankle), among others. Tennessee meets the Jacksonville Jaguars next weekend in a contest that will determine the AFC South’s playoff berth.
Robert Woods had a scoring reception and Kevin Byard had two interceptions for the Titans.
Tennessee was penalized 10 times for 124 yards, while Dallas was flagged three times for 35 yards.
The Cowboys took a 17-6 lead on their first possession of the second half. Prescott hit Schultz on a 6-yard scoring pass with 8:48 left in the third quarter. The touchdown was set up by a 51-yard pass interference call on Tre Allen one play earlier, on third-and-19. That moved the ball from the Dallas 43-yard line to the Titans’ 6.
The Titans responded with a 14-play, 71-yard drive in which Dobbs tossed a 7-yard scoring pass to Woods with 2:04 left in the third quarter. It was the 27-year-old Dobbs’ first NFL touchdown pass.
Dallas pushed its lead back to 11 when Prescott and Schultz teamed on a 10-yard touchdown with 11:58 remaining in the contest. Brett Maher booted a 45-yard field goal to make it 27-13 with 6:24 remaining.
Prescott committed three first-half turnovers (two interceptions, one lost fumble) as the Cowboys led just 10-6 at the break.
Elliott scored on a 1-yard run with 4:36 left in the first quarter, and Maher added a 36-yard field goal four seconds into the second quarter for a 10-0 lead.
Randy Bullock kicked field goals of 37 and 29 yards in the final 64 seconds of the half. Byard’s interception return of 28 yards to the Dallas 41 with 21 seconds remaining set up the second field goal.
–Field Level Media