Dak Prescott threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb in the fourth quarter Sunday, his 249th, to pass Tony Romo for the most touchdown passes in Dallas Cowboys history in a 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was hurt on the final play of the first half and left on a cart, and coach Dan Quinn said afterward that Daniels has a dislocated left elbow.
The record
Prescott’s margin over Romo is one: the Cowboys’ recap puts his total at 249, and the AP puts Romo’s mark at 248.
Prescott finished with four touchdown passes, the fourth of them the record-setter and Lamb’s second of the day, with no interceptions and 279 yards. The Cowboys’ recap says he completed 26 of 31 passes and had a 143.8 passer rating. Two of the touchdowns went to Jake Ferguson, who caught four passes on four targets for 43 yards. Lamb had 153 receiving yards. The recap also notes it was Prescott’s 79th career multi-touchdown game, which tied Romo’s team record, and that he came in 7-0 against Washington at home.
The recap describes the last drive as a 35-yard pass to Lamb down the right sideline, then the 24-yard touchdown, with Lamb leaping over the defender.
Prescott said: “That made me emotional. There’s tons of guys that aren’t in that locker room that I think about when I break this record.” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said: “You can’t talk about Dak, the player, without starting with the man. The man is unique.”
How the game went
The team numbers were closer than the score. Washington outgained Dallas 389 yards to 332 and held the ball 31:29 to 28:31, according to the Cowboys’ recap. Washington rushed for 182 yards. Dallas ran 21 times for 66 yards, 3.1 a carry; Javonte Williams had 30 yards at 2.5 a carry.
Dallas led 17-10 at halftime. Prescott’s 3-yard pass to Lamb finished a 10-play, 66-yard opening drive, and Brandon Aubrey added a 25-yard field goal. Washington kicked a 27-yard field goal, Prescott found Ferguson from 10 yards, and Daniels threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs to make it 17-10.
Dallas outscored Washington 20-10 in the second half. Washington scored first in the half, a 47-yard field goal, and Aubrey kicked one from 44 yards. Then Dyami Brown fumbled after a short pass from Marcus Mariota, who had replaced Daniels; rookie Jaishawn Barham knocked the ball loose, Dee Winters recovered it and Dallas took over in Washington territory. Prescott’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Ferguson followed, making it 27-13.
In the fourth quarter Aubrey kicked a 60-yard field goal, which the Cowboys’ recap calls his seventh from at least 60 yards. Mariota connected with Diggs for his second touchdown catch of the game, a 20-yard score that made it 30-20, and Prescott’s pass to Lamb ended the scoring.
The Daniels injury
Daniels was hurt on the final play of the first half, with the Commanders on the Dallas 1-yard line and three seconds left in the half. Before leaving, he had completed 11 of 17 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown and had carried seven times for 69 yards.
The AP describes left guard Chris Paul stepping on Daniels’ foot as the quarterback retreated from center, and Daniels’ non-throwing elbow “appeared to bend the wrong way as he braced himself.” CBS also reported that Paul stepped on his foot.
Quinn, speaking after the game, said Daniels has a dislocated left elbow. X-rays showed no fracture, Quinn said, and there would be more imaging Monday.
The result of Monday’s imaging had not been reported as of early Monday, and the sources reviewed give no timetable for his return.
The AP notes Daniels missed all but one game in the second half of last season after dislocating his left elbow in a loss to Seattle in November.
Mariota played the second half, and Quinn said the team will “rally so hard around Marcus” until Daniels is back.