Kirk Cousins completed 19 of 24 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Atlanta Falcons defeat the visiting Dallas Cowboys 27-21 on Sunday.
Bijan Robinson rushed for a game-high 86 yards for Atlanta (6-3), which has won five of six games. Darnell Mooney caught five passes for 88 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons.
Dak Prescott completed 18 of 24 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown before exiting with a hamstring injury in the second half. Prescott was replaced by Cooper Rush, who completed 13 of 25 passes for 115 yards and a score, as the Cowboys (3-5) lost their third straight.
Rico Dowdle ran for 75 yards to lead Dallas, while Jake Ferguson caught seven passes for 71 yards. CeeDee Lamb had eight grabs for just 47 yards.
Trailing 14-10 at halftime, Dallas attempted a fake punt on its opening drive from its own 38, but Bryan Anger’s pass was incomplete. The Falcons then scored on a five-play, 38-yard drive, capped by Cousins’ 11-yard touchdown pass to Ray-Ray McCloud with 10:29 left in the third.
Following punts from each team, Brandon Aubrey’s 57-yard field goal on the final play of the third cut Dallas’ deficit to 21-13.
On the ensuing drive, Atlanta connected with Robinson for consecutive passes of 11 and 29 yards to advance to the Dallas’ 26-yard line, leading to Tyler Allgeier’s 6-yard touchdown run with 11:08 left in the game.
Trailing 27-13, Rush led the Cowboys on a 14-play, 86-yard drive which resulted in a 4-yard touchdown to Jalen Tolbert with 1:28 left. Rush then found Lamb for the two-point conversion, but Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts recovered the ensuing onside kick to secure the victory.
After Atlanta punted on its opening possession, Dallas cracked the scoreboard on Aubrey’s 34-yard field goal with 9:32 left in the opening quarter.
The Falcons then answered with a seven-play, 78-yard scoring drive, stamped with Cousins’ 9-yard touchdown pass to Drake London, who then left with a hip injury.
Dallas then punted but got the ball back on a Cousins fumble recovered by Donovan Wilson at the Cowboys’ 33. After reaching Atlanta’s 44, Lamb’s fourth-and-1 run was stuffed by Kaden Elliss.
The Falcons stretched their lead to 14-3 with Cousins’ 36-yard TD pass to Mooney, before the Cowboys answered with Prescott’s 3-yard scoring toss to Dowdle, cutting their halftime deficit to 14-10.
–Field Level Media
