After playing one of the worst games of his eight-year career last week and with a bye week on the horizon, Prescott went into Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers knowing anything other than victory would be detrimental to the Cowboys’ hopes of contending for an NFC title.
Prescott responded by throwing for 272 yards and a touchdown as Dallas rallied in the fourth quarter for a 20-17 victory.
“It was a must win. There’s a big difference between 4-2 and 3-3,” said Prescott, who completed 21 of 30 passes and also had a rushing TD. “We talked after last week about not allowing this thing to landslide. When you get this win like we did, we can definitely move on.”
The Cowboys — coming off a 42-10 loss at San Francisco on Oct. 8 — continue to prove they don’t let losses fester. They improved to 10-1 in weeks following a loss since the start of the 2021 season.
“There’s plays that needed to be made, especially down the stretch,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “A lot of back and forth, a lot of resetting your jaw and just keep fighting, and I thought our men did a really good job there.”
Prescott became the 30th quarterback in NFL history to throw at least one touchdown pass against 31-or-more opponents when he connected with Brandin Cooks for a 2-yard score with 11:19 remaining in the game to give the Cowboys a 17-10 lead.
“Dak did a lot of great things,” said Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, who had seven receptions for 117 yards. “He improvised a lot, gave us the ability to do our work down the field.”
Prescott showed off his running ability midway through the first quarter when he faked a handoff on fourth-and-1 and went up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. It was the longest rushing touchdown of Prescott’s eight-year career.
“We had CeeDee in motion as an option. The defensive end took out Tony and two other guys ran toward CeeDee just allowing me to cut up field,” said Prescott, who also had 40 rushing yards on seven carries. “I have not been showing my legs early in the year so that might have played a part in it.”
Los Angeles tied it at 17 with 7:11 remaining when Gerald Everett caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert.
Brandon Aubrey made two field goals, including a 39-yarder with 2:19 remaining, to give the Cowboys the lead.
The Chargers (2-3) had one last chance to send it into overtime or win, but Stephon Gilmore picked off Herbert at the LA 33-yard line with 1:22 remaining to seal the victory. On the play immediately before the pick, Herbert was sacked by Micah Parsons for an 8-yard loss.
“We fell short, and I’ve got to make more plays as a quarterback,” said Herbert, who was 22 of 37 for 227 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. “I missed a couple of receivers, threw some bad passes. There was a lot left out there, so there’s a lot to work on, and a lot to improve on.”
The Chargers started off well when they scored on their opening drive for the second straight game as Allen caught a 1-yard pass from Herbert on third-and-goal. Allen finished with seven catches for 85 yards.
Los Angeles had a chance to tie or take the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter, but Herbert was unable to complete it to Joshua Palmer in the end zone on fourth-and-1 at the Cowboys 7.
“I thought we were really good most of the night on third down. I thought we pressured the quarterback at a high level, but Dak made a couple of plays on that last drive, and it hurt us,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said.
KEY PLAY
Cooks’ touchdown was set up by a 60-yard reception by Pollard on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Prescott scrambled out of pressure on third-and-11 at the Dallas 24 and completed a short pass to Pollard at the 32. Pollard then spun out of a tackle by Chargers cornerback Michael Davis at the 40 and appeared as if he would score a touchdown until he was brought down by Asante Samuel at the Chargers 16.
“The throw to Pollard is one of those fluke plays off the scramble where we have him, and you give credit to Dak for making a big play,” Staley said.
LUCKY BOUNCE
The Chargers tied it in the fourth quarter when they took over on the Cowboys 20 after a muffed punt.
It was originally called a downed punt, but it was reversed after the Chargers challenged the call.
INJURIES
Chargers: DL Sebastian Joseph-Day suffered a knee injury on the first play of the game, but came back in the second half. … CB Raheem Layne also sustained a knee injury in the third quarter and did not return.
UP NEXT
Cowboys: Have their bye week before hosting the Rams on Oct. 29.
Chargers: Travel to Kansas City. The Chiefs swept last year’s series and have won the last three meetings.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
