EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Entering Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys had four pass plays of 20 yards or more on the season. The big plays had disappeared, perhaps gone to Cabo with Ezekiel Elliott, since that development coincided with the running back’s suspension.
On Sunday, the big plays returned.
Dak Prescott threw touchdown passes of 50 yards to Dez Bryant, 20 yards to Jason Witten and 81 yards to Rod Smith in the Cowboys’ 30-10 win at MetLife Stadium. He also had a crucial 54-yard completion to Cole Beasley that set up Witten’s go-ahead touchdown with 7 minutes, 38 seconds to play.
“Those big plays were needed,” Prescott said. “Obviously they were great when they hit. They were fun to watch, to watch those guys run and do what they do best. Yeah, it was a grind, it was a grind early, it was a grind throughout the game, but we were finally able to get some momentum, get going and it got good right there in the fourth.”
Prescott had gone four games, and five of his past six, without throwing for 200 yards. He finished Sunday by completing 20 of 30 for 332 yards, a career high. It was his first three-touchdown game since Oct. 22 against the San Francisco 49ers.
“The big plays have eluded us, especially lately,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. “It was big for that. We have been putting a lot of emphasis on it. We started to see signs of it last week, especially in the second half. We talked about that. We felt the trend was going in the right direction. You’ve got to just stick with it. You can’t force that. Big plays come when playmakers make big plays.”
The Cowboys needed it in the worst way, especially with the score tied at 10 with less than 10 minutes to play against a 2-10 team playing its first game under interim coach Steve Spagnuolo.
On third-and-2, the Giants brought a blitz and Prescott found Beasley in the slot for a first down and much more as he ran away from safety Landon Collins. Beasley has struggled this season after leading the Cowboys with 75 receptions a year ago. He had not had a game with more than 33 yards receiving all season.
On first-and-10 from the New York 20, Prescott found Witten down the seam, perhaps taking advantage of the fact Collins had gone to the sideline with an injury, for the tight end’s first catch of the day. It was his 154th career catch and 15th for a touchdown against New York.
On the next drive, Prescott found Smith on third-and-3 from the Dallas 19 and saw the running back sprint 81 yards for the second-longest touchdown pass of the quarterback’s career and the longest play of the running back’s career.
In a matter of 5 minutes, 21 seconds, the Cowboys went from listless to in control. It got out of control one drive later with Sean Lee, who made a crucial tackle for loss on the drive before Witten’s touchdown, intercepting Eli Manning and Smith turning that takeaway into another touchdown.
The Cowboys still aren’t in control of their playoff fate. They will need teams to lose in order to make the postseason in back-to-back years -- even if they run the table and finish 10-6. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Cowboys’ playoff chances have increased from 2.8 percent to 5.2 percent. While that is not a huge bump, a loss would have dropped their chances to 0.4 percent.
With three games left, they are at least alive and can make things interesting.