Dak Prescott threw for 330 yards and four touchdown passes to lead the host Dallas Cowboys past the Washington Football Team, 56-14, Sunday night in Arlington, Texas.
Ezekiel Elliott scored two touchdowns, one on a run and the other on a reception. DeMarcus Lawrence added a deft interception and nimble 40-yard return for another score as Dallas (11-4) beat Washington (6-9) for the second time in 15 days, pushing its NFC East rival to the brink of elimination from the postseason.
After clinching the division title earlier in the day, there was no letup in the Cowboys as they scored touchdowns on five straight possessions in the first half. Those scores, combined with Lawrence’s pick-six on a pass that he tipped and hauled in at the line of scrimmage, gave Dallas a 42-7 lead at the break. The output tied a team record for the most points scored in a half.
In the third quarter, Dallas increased its lead as Corey Clement blocked a punt and Chauncey Golston gathered the ball on a waist-high bounce in the end zone. Cowboys backup quarterback Cooper Rush added a 9-yard touchdown pass to Malik Turner.
The Cowboys finished with 497 yards, with 388 coming in the first half. Five days earlier, Washington’s defense surrendered 519 yards in a 27-17 loss at Philadelphia. On Sunday, the frustration boiled over on the Washington sideline as Pro Bowl tackle Jonathan Allen threw a punch at fellow lineman Daron Payne.
Prescott completed all but one of his first 21 passes and finished 28 of 39 before retiring to the sideline in the third quarter. Amari Cooper had seven catches for 85 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 13-yard reception with five seconds left in the first half. Dalton Schultz caught eight balls for 82 yards and a score. Even lineman Terence Steele got into the act, catching a 1-yard touchdown pass on a tackle-eligible play.
Meanwhile, Washington’s Tyler Heinicke faced a swarming Cowboys defense that sacked him four times and limited Washington to 257 yards. Heinicke completed 7 of 22 passes for 121 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Trevon Diggs picked off Heinicke’s first pass of the night for his league-leading 11th interception this year.
–Field Level Media