By Jon Machota, Saad Yousuf, Josh Kendall and Cale Clinton
The Atlanta Falcons (6-3) furthered the Dallas Cowboys’ (3-5) slide, securing a 27-21 victory at home as Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott exited the game with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter.
Kirk Cousins, who at one point completed 13 straight pass attempts, finished the afternoon with three touchdowns, while Prescott was hounded on the other side by a Falcons pass rush that posted three sacks.
An already-banged-up Cowboys team will leave Atlanta with even more injuries to key players. Prescott was ruled out of the game with a hamstring injury after pulling up untouched on a pass attempt and was separately evaluated for a hand injury. Cornerback Trevon Diggs appeared to suffer a leg injury but was unable to run off the field in time. While staying on the field, he failed to keep up with Darnell Mooney, who scored a touchdown on the play. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb appeared to injure his right shoulder landing early in the game, then re-aggravated it multiple times throughout the afternoon.
The loss for Dallas came despite its best rushing performance of the season. Coming into Sunday, Dallas had yet to have a rushing attempt longer than 15 yards, their longest run coming in at just 13 yards. The Cowboys had three such rushing attempts in this game, including a 22-yard scramble by Prescott.
Cousins continues to excel
Cousins continued his impressive start in Atlanta. The 36-year-old completed 19-of-24 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns against Dallas defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who was Cousins’ head coach for four seasons in Minnesota.
Entering the fourth quarter, he had as many touchdown passes (three) as incompletions. He finished with a 144.8 passer rating. Combined with last week’s 145.9 rating against Tampa Bay, it is the first time in Cousins’ career that he has posted back-to-back games with a rating higher than 140, according to TruMedia. — Josh Kendall, Falcons beat writer
Falcons defense shines, but loses Jarrett
Atlanta’s anemic pass rush found its first life of the season against the Cowboys’ struggling offensive line. The Falcons entered the game with six sacks, putting them on pace to have the second-fewest sacks in a season since at least 2000, but sacked Prescott three times. Prescott, who was hit six times and under pressure several more times, left the game in the fourth quarter due to a hamstring injury.
Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie and inside linebacker Kaden Elliss were each credited with one sack. It was the Falcons first multiple-sack game since Week 1.
Despite the result, the Falcons won’t feel fully good about Sunday’s result until they get an update on an Achilles strain suffered by Jarrett in the second half. The defensive tackle was having a monster game (two tackles, a sack, a quarterback hit and a tackle-for-loss) when he left the game with what a team official described as a “strain.” Jarrett, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 8 last year, remained on the Atlanta sideline throughout the game, standing normally and not appearing to be in significant pain. — Kendall
Cowboys’ head-scratching performance in pivotal game
Sunday was a must-win for the Cowboys. Prescott acknowledged as much last Thursday. And just like they’ve done most of this season, the Cowboys were even more disappointing than expected. There was an awful fake punt attempt, numerous inexcusable pre-snap penalties, poor blocking, poor tackling and a hamstring injury suffered by their most important player. At one point in the second quarter, a poorly blocked fourth-and-1 run by Lamb led to a 3-yard loss. FOX cameras caught head coach Mike McCarthy spiking his Microsoft tablet off the turf in disgust, apparently related to that play. It perfectly summed up Dallas’ season.
The Cowboys dropped to 3-5 Sunday. Former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells used to say, “You are what your record says you are.” He might be wrong in this case. Dallas is probably worse than a three-win team. — Jon Machota, Dallas Cowboys beat reporter
Mistakes abound for Dallas
The Cowboys simply made too many mistakes. They’re not a talented enough team to overcome an opponent and themselves. The offensive line kept Prescott under duress all afternoon. Prescott missed open receivers.
Pre-snap penalties were a significant issue, as the Cowboys got called for delay of game, false start and too many men in the huddle at different times. Defensively, tackling was an issue again, as well as the pass rush, or lack thereof. There are no silver linings to take from this game for the Cowboys as they move to 3-5. — Saad Yousuf, Dallas Cowboys beat reporter
Injury bug bites Prescott
The season already appeared to be on the ropes in the third quarter, when the Cowboys spiraled after a failed fake punt. But if there was a question of could it get any worse, the fourth quarter came around to answer with a resounding, “yes.” Prescott entered the medical tent and was being evaluated in there for approximately six minutes. After he came, he rejoined his teammates on the bench. However, shortly thereafter, Prescott was ruled out of the game with a hamstring injury. Given the tricky nature of hamstring injuries, it’s hard to tell immediately what the timeline will be for Prescott to return.
With the season on its way down the drain, the Cowboys will also need to consider Prescott’s future, as he is their biggest investment after they gave him the biggest contract in NFL history at the start of the regular season. If Prescott does miss time, Cooper Rush would be expected to take over. He’s gone 5-1 filling in for Prescott under Mike McCarthy. Trey Lance is the third-string quarterback for the Cowboys. His last appearance was the Cowboys’ preseason finale at home, in which he threw five interceptions. — Yousuf
Required reading
- NFL Week 9, trade deadline live updates: Latest news, rumors, grades and coverage maps
- Dak Prescott’s contributions won’t save Cowboys’ running game. So what is the solution?
- Examining the Cowboys’ three 12-win seasons: What we learn from their wins and losses
- Talk about Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts hasn’t stopped, but the tone is changing
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
