Redskins on top of NFC East after narrow win over Cowboys

0 0 Julius Choudhury October 22, 2018 Edit this post

Washington Redskins free safety D.J. Swearinger (36) celebrates his fumble recovery against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of play on Sunday at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI

By The Sports Xchange

The Dallas Cowboys' chance to end their road woes clanged off the left upright and fell away as time expired.

Kicker Brett Maher missed a 52-yard field goal on the final play and Washington held on to a 20-17 victory over Dallas on Sunday at FedEx Field.

Maher first lined up for a 47-yard attempt, but Washington jumped across the line of scrimmage and the officials called a snap infraction on Cowboys' deep snapper L.P. Ladouceur.

The call against Ladouceur will be one of many things Dallas coaches, players and fans revisit after the Cowboys (3-4) fell to 0-4 on the road this season.

Dallas was trying to erase a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Dak Prescott ran one yard for a touchdown to cut the Redskins' lead to three points. His TD capped a 12-play, 74-yard drive that took 3:18.

The Dallas defense then forced Washington to go three-and-out and the Cowboys got the ball back with 1:09 remaining and a timeout left.

Dallas played for a field goal in the last 30 seconds, but Maher's streak of 16 straight made field goals ended courtesy of the left upright.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan wrapped up Prescott inside the Cowboys' 5, then Kerrigan knocked the ball out of the Dallas QB's grasp. Washington linebacker Preston Smith recovered the loose ball and returned it one yard for a touchdown and a 10-point Redskins lead.

So Dallas out-gained Washington 324-305 in total yards, but Washington escaped with the win.

And with it, the Redskins (4-2) lead the NFC East by more than a game over Dallas and Philadelphia, each of which are 3-4.

Running back Adrian Peterson fueled the Washington offense by rushing for 99 yards on 24 carries.

The Redskins defense shut down Dallas's running game, limiting running back Ezekiel Elliott to 34 yards on 15 carries.

Prescott responded by passing for 273 yards and a first-half touchdown to Michael Gallup. But he was sacked four times and his fumble deep in his own territory proved to be the difference in the game.

Dallas now heads into its bye week licking the wounds of yet another road loss.