With a 35-yard pass from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb in overtime, the Dallas Cowboys managed to survive a veritable shootout in New England and went on to beat the Patriots 35-29 in overtime.
In its triumph Sunday, Dallas’ offense continued to show itself as a true steamroller and cornerback Trevon Diggs continued to make NFL history.
The victory represented Dallas putting its mark of the season in five games won and one lost to continue as leader of the East Division of the National Conference.
The Cowboys added 567 total yards of offense on 82 plays for averaging 6.9 yards per play.
This was the Cowboy’s first win over the Patriots since the 1997 season, when Barry Barry Switzer was the coach of Dallas and Bill Parcells of the Patriots.
With the clock ticking 2:11 to end the game, it looked like the Cowboys had the win in their bag but a 75-yard touchdown pass from Patriots quarterback Mac Jones to receiver Kendrick Bourne opened the door for a dramatic finish. .
Jones’ delivery to Bourne came immediately after the Cowboys had taken the lead on the scoreboard with an intercepted pass from Trevon Diggs that put their team ahead 26-21.
New England’s touchdown was followed by a successful conversion of two extra points, but Dallas tied the score 29-29 before the fourth period ended on a 49-yard field goal by Gregory Zuerlein.
In overtime, the Cowboys capped their first offensive drive with Prescott’s pass to Lamb.
“It was an excellent victory for us,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said after the game.
“I think this is the most important victory since I’ve been here,” said the coach, who is in his second season at the helm.
In Sunday’s win, Diggs put his name in the franchise’s historical annals by becoming the first Cowboys player to have seven intercepted passes in the first seven games of a season.
The last player to do that in the NFL was Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Rod Woodson in the 1993 season.
On offense, Prescott finished the game with 445 yards completing 36 of 51 passes, three of them for touchdown and one intercepted.
Never before has a quarterback thrown that many yards against the Patriots with Bill Belichick as their head coach.
Prescott concluded the bout with a muscle soreness in his right calf and will be evaluated on Monday in Dallas.
“In the last pass I threw I fell bad and felt an annoyance but I will be fine, you, the press, you can have a little fun speculating on me this week, but I will be fine, I promise,” Prescott said at the end of the meeting.
Next week will be a break for the Dallas team that returns to action on Sunday, October 31 with a visit to the Minnesota Vikings.
“It’s great that we will have a bye week, it will help us a lot to recover,” said Prescott.