Dak Is Back, As Dallas Cowboys Rack Up Another Win Downing Panthers 36-28
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — It was like old times... Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes, Ezekiel Elliott had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season against the NFL's No. 1 defense and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Carolina Panthers 36-28 on Sunday.
Elliott finished with 143 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries as the Cowboys (3-1) rolled up 245 yards on the ground after the Panthers allowed just 135 total in the first three games.
Leading the Panthers in their first full game without injured star running back Christian McCaffrey, Sam Darnold had two rushing touchdowns to become the first quarterback in NFL history with at least five TDs on the ground in the first four games.
It was a different story for Darnold behind the line of scrimmage before getting hot in the passing game with the Panthers (3-1) trying to erase a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter in their first loss.
Trevon Diggs had two interceptions for an NFL-leading five while becoming the first Dallas player with a pick in each of the first four games since the 1970 merger.
When he won a tug of war with receiver DJ Moore for the second pick, Diggs gave Dallas, this year's NFL leader in forcing turnovers, multiple takeaways in an eighth consecutive game going back to last season, the longest active streak in the league.
The Cowboys sacked Darnold five times, including two from Randy Gregory, while Dallas kept Prescott upright against a defense that entered the game with an NFL-best 14 sacks.
Carolina's pressure did force Prescott into more incompletions than he's been used to while completing 77.5% of his passes the first three weeks, but he had enough time for scoring passes to four different receivers.
Three of the TDs came in the third quarter to erase a 14-13 halftime deficit as Prescott finished 14 of 22 for 188 yards. His scoring tosses were 18 yards to Blake Jarwin, 35 to Amari Cooper, 6 to Dalton Schultz and 23 to Cedrick Wilson, the last set up by Diggs' first pick.
Elliott set up Schultz's short scoring catch with a 47-yard run, his longest since a 55-yarder as a rookie in 2016. Elliott's game total was the most for the two-time rushing champ since 2018.
Darnold, who had five rushing TDs in 38 career games with the New York Jets, matched Elliott's 1-yard plunge in the first quarter with a 1-yard option keeper. The Panthers went ahead 14-13 on an 11-yard QB draw. Darnold finished with 35 yards on six carries.
Darnold was 26 of 39 passing for 301 yards with fourth-quarter TDs of 6 and 8 yards to Moore, who caught eight passes for 113 yards.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
