Cowboys Hand Redskins Second Loss of Season, 31-21

The Dallas Cowboys handed Washington its second loss of the young season — 31-21 — as Dak Prescott torched the Redskins depleted secondary and tossed three touchdowns while racking up 269 yards. With the loss, the Redskins have dropped to 0-2 while the Cowboys remain atop the NFC East with back-to-back wins to begin the season.

Like last week, the Redskins jumped out to a 7-0 lead against their division rivals but let it slip away. Adrian Peterson moved to fifth on the all-time rushing touchdown list, passing Jim Brown at 107, as he put the ’Skins up 7-0 at the start of the second quarter.

Prescott responded with a pair of touchdowns to close the half — one with nine seconds left to tight end Jason Witten — and added another just over five minutes into the third quarter. Washington responded with a touchdown from Case Keenum to Paul Richardson as the Cowboys led 21-14 heading into the final 15-minute frame.

Washington dodged a bullet when Dallas had a rushing touchdown called back due to a holding penalty, which forced the Cowboys to eventually settle for a field goal. That four-point swing kept the Redskins in the game, though it didn’t matter in the end.

Keenum misfired on a fourth-and-three from Dallas’s 46-yard-line with 11 minutes to play, missing an open Chris Thompson. Running back Ezekiel Elliott extended the Dallas lead to 17, effectively sealing the game. Rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin added his second touchdown in as many games as the Redskins pulled to within 10, but it was too little, too late.

The Redskins were out-gained in total yards (474-255), yards per play (7.3-4.6), yards per pass (8.4-5.5), yards per rush (6.3-2.8), and first downs (25-19). Dallas dominated time of possession (33:22-26:38) despite having one turnover to Washington’s zero.

Head coach Jay Gruden’s team seeks its first win of the year next week against the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Entering the season, Gruden was the betting favorite to be the first coach fired at +333 odds, a bet that’s looking better and better by the week.