ARLINGTON, Texas – Trailing Seattle in the fourth quarter, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys knew there was no way they could extend their NFL record of five consecutive 20-point wins at home to start the season.
They kept alive the bigger streak at AT&T Stadium.
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Prescott threw three touchdown passes and the Cowboys won their 14th consecutive home game, rallying to beat the Seahawks 41-35 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.
“I told the team after the game we need games like this,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “To get to where you want to go, you have to win these kind of games.”
Geno Smith threw three touchdown passes to D.K. Metcalf, including a 73-yarder, as the Seahawks (6-6) got their offense going. 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.
“There’s no concession to losing, but we will definitely build on this,” coach Pete Carroll said. “The story is not told what’s going to happen.”
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. And DaRon Bland made his NFL-leading eighth interception late in the third quarter after he was burned several times earlier in the game.
The Cowboys kept alive their best home winning streak since an 18-game run at old Texas Stadium from 1979-81.
Dallas trailed 35-30 when Zach Charbonnet was stopped on fourth-and-1 near midfield. 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.
Dallas had a double-digit lead entering the fourth quarter in each of the first five breezy home victories. This time, it trailed for the first 25-plus minutes after halftime before beating a team with a winning record for the first time this season.
“This was a big one to get,” Prescott said. “The first one with a winning record, but more importantly in the fashion that we did. Tough game, down at halftime, down in the fourth quarter. The guys and the team just making plays when plays were needed.”
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 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 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 and the Cowboys' first deficit at home this season.
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 TD catch over Bland. But the call on Smith-Njigba's catch 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).
“I thought we played a tough four quarters going back and forth,” Seattle safety Julian Love said. “Didn’t finish it.”
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.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL