ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes and the Dallas Cowboys extended their home winning streak to 14 games, rallying for a 41-35 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Prescott's 12-yard pass to Jake Ferguson put Dallas in front with 4 1/2 minutes remaining as the Cowboys (9-3) set up a rematch with NFC East rival Philadelphia by escaping for a fourth consecutive victory since falling to the Eagles 28-23 to start November.
Geno Smith threw three touchdown passes to D.K. Metcalf, including a 73-yarder, as the Seahawks (6-6) got their offense going again. But Seattle couldn't avoid a third consecutive loss to drop to .500 for the first time since splitting its first two games of the season.
Dallas’ Brandon Aubrey kicked four field goals to extend the 28-year-old rookie’s NFL record to 26 consecutive makes to start a career.
Neither team punted, the fifth time in NFL history that's happened. But the Dallas defense, ranked third in the league coming in, got fourth-down stops on the Seahawks' final three possessions as the Cowboys kept alive their best home winning streak since an 18-game run at old Texas Stadium from 1979-81.
The Cowboys trailed 35-30 when Zach Charbonnet was stopped on fourth-and-1 from the Dallas 46. Seven plays later, Ferguson scored, and Prescott hit Brandin Cooks for the 2-point conversion. Cooks also had a TD catch in the second quarter.
CeeDee Lamb had the other touchdown catch while finishing with 12 catches for 116 yards, and his 24-yard run on a jet sweep helped set up Aubrey's final field goal to put Dallas ahead by six. That came after Smith threw incomplete on fourth down near midfield with 3:11 to go.
The Seahawks reached midfield with 1:11 left, but Micah Parsons' pressure on fourth down forced Smith to throw the ball into the ground, sealing the Dallas victory.
Metcalf had a season-high 134 yards on six catches in his second career three-TD game as the Seahawks scored touchdowns on five of their first seven drives after coming in with 20 consecutive possessions without an offensive TD.
Smith also ran for a score while throwing for 334 yards with an interception.
Seattle’s stretch without an offensive TD ended on its third play — and longest on offense this season — when Metcalf beat DaRon Bland a week after the Dallas cornerback set an NFL record with his fifth interception return for a touchdown this season.
Bland cut in front of Metcalf to try to break up the slant as safety Donovan Wilson closed in, leaving Metcalf free up the middle of the field to reach 22.23 mph, the fastest for a ball-carrier since early in the 2020 season, on the way to a 7-3 lead.
It was the first deficit at home this season for the Cowboys, who were the first team to win their first five home games by at least 20 points.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba set up two touchdowns by drawing pass interference penalties in the end zone. On the second, officials ruled Smith-Njigba made a 30-yard touchdown catch over Bland, who later bounced back with his NFL-leading eighth interception. But it was overturned on review.
With 7 seconds remaining before halftime and no timeouts, Smith threw a 1-yard scoring pass before officials said Dallas had called timeout, then threw a 1-yarder to Metcalf that counted. That gave the Seahawks a 21-20 lead at the break.
Seattle scored again to start the second half on Smith's 5-yard run, but the Cowboys answered with Tony Pollard's 6-yard score as the teams combined for 58 first downs (33 for Dallas, 25 for Seattle) while converting 17 of 28 third downs (9 of 14 for the Seahawks, 8 of 14 for the Cowboys).
INJURIES
Seahawks: LB Jordyn Brooks injured an ankle and didn't return. ... RB Kenneth Walker III missed a second consecutive game with an oblique injury.
UP NEXT
Both teams get the mini-break after consecutive Thursday games, and both have rematches Dec. 10 with division-leading rivals. Seattle visits San Francisco in just its second game since the Niners solidified their NFC West lead with a 31-13 victory at the Seahawks. Dallas' rematch with Philadelphia comes a month after the Eagles took control of the NFC East.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
