Prescott’s 3rd TD to Cooper lifts Cowboys over Eagles in OT
By SCHUYLER DIXON
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ Dak Prescott threw his third touchdown pass to Amari Cooper on the first possession of overtime, and the Dallas Cowboys took a big step toward the NFC East title with a 29-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
On third down, Rasul Douglas tipped the pass into the air, and Cooper grabbed it and had a clear path to the end zone from the Philadelphia 7. The Cowboys used almost all of the 10-minute overtime, scoring with 1:55 remaining.
By winning the third overtime game in the past four seasons at A&T Stadium between these division rivals, the Cowboys (8-5) won their fifth straight game and took a two-game lead over the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (6-7) and Washington.
The Cowboys finished with 576 yards, their most since gaining 578 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.
Dallas can clinch the NFC East title with a win at Indianapolis next Sunday.
Carson Wentz threw for three touchdowns, including a pair of tying scores in the fourth quarter. But he never got a chance in overtime because of the 13-play, 75-yard drive engineered by Prescott.
The third-year quarterback overcame two interceptions and a lost fumble to set career highs in completions (42), attempts (54) and yards (455).
The Cowboys converted a fourth-and-1 from the Eagles 19 with a 1-yard plunge from Ezekiel Elliott, and Cooper converted a pair of third downs. The first one was big, too _ a 12-yarder on third-and-9 from the Philadelphia 40.
Cooper finished with 217 yards receiving on 10 catches, and Elliott had 192 yards from scrimmage on 40 touches _ 28 carries for 113 yards and 12 catches for 79. All three of Cooper’s touchdowns _ the others from 75 and 28 yards _ were in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Brett Maher set a Dallas franchise record with a 62-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and had three field goals.
The game went from a defensive struggle with missed Dallas opportunities that kept the Eagles close to a wild fourth-quarter shootout.
Wentz thought he had answered a 75-yard touchdown to Amari Cooper with a matching 75-yarder to tight end Dallas Goedert. But Goedert was called for pass interference, apparently for pushing off against Jeff Heath before bouncing off a helmet-to-helmet hit from Xavier Woods that wasn’t called and running to the end zone from midfield.
Philadelphia scored anyway, with Wentz leading a more methodical march to his third touchdown pass, a 6-yarder to Darren Sproles for a 23-23 tie.
The Eagles, outgained 233 yards to 70 before halftime, were scoreless when Corey Graham returned Prescott’s second interception to the Dallas 2 in the third quarter. Wentz threw a 2-yard screen to Alshon Jeffery on the next play, and Jake Elliott missed the extra point for a 9-6 deficit.
After Prescott’s third turnover _ a fumble near midfield _ led to Elliott’s tying field goal, Prescott capped a 75-yard drive with a 28-yard TD to Cooper.
The teams exchanged punts before Wentz took advantage of another short field, capping a 47-yard drive with a 3-yard scoring toss to Goedert for another tie, 16-16.
STRANGE CALL TO START
The Cowboys got a big break to avoid a lost fumble on the opening kickoff. Jourdan Lewis fumbled, but officials ruled him down. The Eagles appeared to come away with the loose ball.
Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson challenged the call, and referee Clete Blakeman said the review showed that Jordan fumbled. However, Blakeman said there was no clear recovery even though the Eagles came out of the pile with the ball.
Pederson lost the challenge and a timeout, and the Cowboys kept the ball instead of the Eagles starting their first possession at the Dallas 18.
INJURIES
Philadelphia RB Corey Clement injured his right knee when he was stopped for a 4-yard loss late in the first quarter and didn’t return. Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat left in the first half with an ankle injury and didn’t return.
UP NEXT
Eagles: At LA Rams next Sunday.
Cowboys: At Indianapolis next Sunday.
Colts snap Texans’ 9-game winning streak with 24-21 win
By JORDAN GODWIN
HOUSTON (AP) _ Andrew Luck threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns and T.Y. Hilton had 199 receiving yards to lead the Indianapolis Colts to a 24-21 road win over the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.
The Colts (7-6) snapped a nine-game winning streak by the Texans (9-4), trimming Houston’s lead over the AFC South to two games with three remaining.
Hilton entered the game as the all-time leader in receiving yards per game at NRG Stadium with 122.3 yards and finished Sunday just shy of 200 yards on nine catches on 12 targets.
Houston cut Indianapolis’ lead to 24-21 with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to DeAndre Hopkins with less than three minutes remaining. With the Colts facing a critical third-and-1 at midfield, Luck drew Jadeveon Clowney offside to secure a first down and the win.
The Colts entered Sunday having allowed just 14 sacks, second only to New Orleans. Houston’s usually menacing pass rush was largely neutralized with just two sacks from J.J. Watt and Christian Covington after being held without a sack against Cleveland last week.
Indianapolis’ defense, on the other hand, gave Houston fits both in the passing and running game. The Colts sacked Watson five times for a loss of 41 yards and held Houston’s rushing offense to just 89 yards on 25 carries.
Watson had 267 yards passing and 35 yards rushing. Tight end Ryan Griffin led Houston receivers with 80 yards on five catches, while Hopkins was held to 36 yards on four catches.
Houston took an early lead after a lengthy 12-play drive set up a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Alfred Blue.
The Colts didn’t have a first down until early in the second quarter. They found momentum on that drive before a pass from Luck was tipped by Kareem Jackson and intercepted by Andre Hal.
Indianapolis finally ended a lengthy scoring drought with Marlon Mack’s 4-yard run. That play followed a 60-yard completion from Luck to Hilton.
The Colts took a 14-7 lead late in the first half on a 14-yard pass from Luck to Eric Ebron. It was Luck’s fourth straight touchdown pass to a tight end, three of which went to Ebron.
Luck had not thrown a touchdown pass to a non-tight end since the Nov. 18 win over Tennessee until the third quarter, when he found receiver Zach Pascal for a 12-yarder to put the Colts up 24-14.
Indianapolis had a 54-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri as time expired in the second quarter to take a 17-7 halftime lead. During Houston’s winning streak, the team never trailed at halftime.
Houston opened the third quarter with a long drive to a 1-yard touchdown run on a direct snap to Lamar Miller to cut the Colts’ lead to 17-14.
PLAYOFF RACE
Indianapolis will host the Cowboys and Giants before closing out the season in Tennessee, while Houston visits the Jets and Eagles before hosting Jacksonville in the finale.
INJURIES
Texans receiver and kick returner Deandre Carter left in the first quarter and was later ruled out with a concussion. . Colts right guard Mark Glowinski was carted to the locker room in the second quarter with an ankle injury.
UP NEXT
Colts: Host the Cowboys next Sunday.
Texans: Visit the Jets next Saturday.