Cowboys Win on Final Kick, 20-17
Image by BaylorScott&White Health
One thing about the Dallas Cowboys, they don’t need a big number to win to celebrate. The Cowboys yet again gave the world of football a shock as they performed with an exciting fight.
The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 20-17 on Sunday. The Cowboys moved into the season 1-1 and broke a streak of 34 straight games of winning when they topped 30. This marked the first time doing so since a 27-20 victory over Tampa in 2018.
An outcome like this was no doubt a surprise. Each team came into the matchup boasting with confidence for their offense. But worse for Dallas, their defense has been shaken with the fact that both their starting defensive ends, DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory, and safety Donovan Wilson would be out.
But everyone’s opinions are the same when it comes to the Cowboy’s defense. But even so, Dallas’ don’t break mentality did the job enough where they were able to get Dak Prescott and the offense a chance to pull through with a win. And they did.
Greg Zuerlein splitting the uprights from 56 yards as the clock hit zero to give the Dallas Cowboys their win. The Dallas defense allowed 408 yards on the offense, but the Los Angeles Chargers reached the end zone on only one of four trips. Dallas had two interceptions, two sacks, and nine quarterback pressures. Which was good enough for the Dallas offense.
Beginning in the first quarter, the Cowboys couldn’t have gotten off at a better start. They had the first 15 minutes under their wing with a pair of touchdowns. The first came from the opening drive. It was a mix of 15 plays, 78 yards with Elliott running the ball six times, and Prescott completing 5 to 6 passes for 46 yards. Pollard then finished things off with his third carry around the right end to the goal line.
Pollard got the first call with three consecutive touches for 34 yards. That was then followed by CeeDee Lamb with three catches for 36. Elliott with the scoring honors though drove behind right guard Zach Martin with the final 5 yards for a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
However, by the second quarter, the Cowboy’s advantage slipped away. Even though the Chargers committed a handful of penalties on their next possession and having to face a third and 11 and then move to face a third and 13, they were able to keep their fire alive and reach the end zone. A touchdown pass produced by Justin Herbert to Mike Williams followed by a two-point conversion brought Los Angeles to three.
Dallas barely made it to the end of the first half trying to avoid the game being tied. The Cowboys made a questionable decision when they rushed the punter when the Chargers were booting the ball away on the fourth and 20 with only 2 minutes left. However, Herbert failed a 44-yard field goal kick. The Cowboys nearly scored on the last play in the first half when Prescott found CeeDee Lamb over near the middle, the receiver took the ball for 34 yards and then giving it to Elliot, who made it down to the Chargers’ 3-yard line before going out of bounds.
Going into the third quarter, the game finally came to a tie. The Chargers got their field goal on their first possession with a 32 yarder given them 11 points. Dallas defense helped their effort when they allowed a 42-yard pass on third and 15. But unfortunately for the Chargers, this didn’t mean they would take the lead. Out of nowhere, the Dallas defense came up the ramp with power. Safety Damontae Kazee intercepted Herbert’s pass to Allen in the end zone, ending the Charger’s threat to try and put more points on the board in the third quarter.
Dallas’ offense made a move on as the clock ticked down over into the final minutes of the game. Pollard started things off with three consecutive runs for 29 yards. The team worked their way down the 16 on the Los Angeles side. There the Cowboys’ Zuerlein accomplished a 34-yard field goal. In the final four minutes, the score tied 17-17. The Chargers moved down the field once again traveling 64 yards. The Chargers however got two touchdowns but were beaten down by a penalty, having to settle for a 29-yard field goal.
That’s when the Dallas Cowboys went to work. Zuerlein tried to do good on his 56 yards as time ran out. The Cowboys ended up there by some clock management that raised some eyebrows, but that didn’t stop him from making his 10th game-winning kick. The game ended with the Cowboys’ 20 and the LA Chargers’ 17.
