Cowboys Beat Patriots In Overtime After Wild End To Regulation
FOXBORO (CBS) -- The Patriots went toe-to-toe in an offensive shootout with one of the best offensive teams in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys. They just came up a little short.
After a wild end to regulation -- which saw a pick-six for Dallas, a 75-yard touchdown pass for New England, and a game-tying field goal for the Cowboys -- the Patriots and Cowboys headed to overtime.
The Patriots won the toss and received the ball to start overtime, but their drive stalled at their own 46-yard line, with Mac Jones throwing incomplete in the vicinity of Nelson Agholor. Jake Bailey's punt only went 34 yards, and the Cowboys took over at their own 20-yard line.
They drove to the edge of field-goal range, but they ended up not needing to worry about a kick. On a first-and-10 at the New England 35-yard line, Prescott rolled to his right and found CeeDee Lamb running free across the field. Prescott fired, Lamb made the catch, and the receiver beat Jalen Mills to the right pylon for the game-winning touchdown.
Prescott was 36-for-51 for 445 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for Dallas. Mac Jones was 15-for-21 for 229 yards, two touchdowns, and one pick for New England.
The Patriots dropped to 2-4 on the season, while the Cowboys improved to 5-1.
The game got to overtime after the teams exchanged blows late in regulation. Trevon Diggs scored on a pick-six with 2:26 left to give Dallas a lead. Jones then hit Kendrick Bourne for a 75-yard sscore to get the lead right back. Dallas then drove for a late 49-yard field goal to tie the game with 24 seconds to go.
The Patriots got off to a great start, stopping the Cowboys on a third-and-1 and a fourth-and-1 play on the opening drive, taking over at the Dallas 34-yard line. They'd capitalize on that stop with a quick-strike touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead, with Damien Harris picking up 21 yards on the ground before taking a direct snap into the end zone from 4 yards out.
The Cowboys then answered with a touchdown drive of their own, marching 75 yards on seven plays for the game-tying touchdown, a 1-yard pass from Prescott to Blake Jarwin.
The Patriots then came right back with a 75-yard touchdown drive that took just 1:53. Rhamondre Stevenson picked up a quick 40 yards (14-yard run, 22-yard reception, 4-yard run), Trevon Diggs committed a post-whistle penalty for 15 yards, and Jones hit Hunter Henry up the left seam for a 20-yard touchdown pass to give New England a 14-7 lead.
The Cowboys were poised to tie things up, but Prescott's pass on third-and-9 from the Patriots' 16-yard line was tipped by Justin Bethel and intercepted by Kyle Dugger in the end zone.
The Patriots briefly appeared to have stretched their lead to two touchdowns, but Jones' 25-yard pass to Jakobi Meyers was negated due to a holding penalty on James Ferentz. Randy Gregory -- who drew that hold -- came flying off the left end on the very next snap and delivered a crushing blow to Jones, getting the sack and forcing the fumble.
The Patriots' defense then came up with a goal line stand, forcing a fumble on the second straight QB sneak by Prescott. The play was initially ruled a touchdown, but replay showed that Ja'Whaun Bentley had punched the ball loose before Judon's helmet completely knocked the ball out of Prescott's hands.
The turnover allowed the Patriots to take a 14-10 lead into halftime.
The teams exchanged punts to start the second half, but Dallas finally gained that lead with 4:49 left in the third quarter. After driving to the 1-yard line, Prescott lofted a pass to the back right corner of the end zone, where CeeDee Lamb hauled in the touchdown pass to give Dallas a 17-14 lead.
The Patriots failed to counter with a scoring drive of their own, and Dallas tacked on a field goal to stretch the lead to 20-14 early in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots regained their lead on the ensuing possession, mounting their first scoring drive of the second half with a 13-play, 75-yard march to the end zone. The big play of the methodical drive was a 21-yard run by Harris, while a 3-yard completion to Brandon Bolden to convert a third-and-3 was rather significant, too. Rhamondre Stevenson plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out to score his first career touchdown and give New England a 21-20 lead with 6:23 left.
Prescott scrambled on a third-and-12 on the following Dallas possession, coming up a yard shy of the first-down marker. Greg Zuerlein's 51-yard field goal attempt -- which would have given the Cowboys a two-point lead -- went wide left.
The Patriots were then looking to kill some clock to win the game, but things fell apart. After a Harris run for no game, the Cowboys called timeout. The Patriots were then penalized for delay of game coming out of that timeout. Facing a second-and-15, Jones threw too far in front of Kendrick Bourne on a short slant, and Trevon Diggs picked it off and returned it 42 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Cowboys' two-point conversion attempt failed, making it a 26-21 score with 2:27 left.
Things may have looked dire, but Jones finally uncorked a deep ball for the first time all day, and it worked to perfection. Bourne ran a post route, getting behind Diggs, and safety Damontae Kazee misplayed the ball. Bourne made the catch and was off to the races for a 75-yard touchdown.
The two-point conversion to Jakobi Meyers worked, and the Patriots took a 29-26 lead.
The Cowboys, though, came back. Prescott completed a 13-yard pass to Cedrick Wilson to convert a fourth-and-4, and later completed a 24-yard pass to Lamb on third-and-25 (after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Connor Williams) to set up a 49-yard field goal attempt. This time, Zuerlein made the kick, tying the game at 29-29 and sending it to overtime.
The Patriots will be at home next Sunday to host the Jets, who are 1-4 and will be coming off their bye.
