ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys figured they were headed to halftime with a comfortable lead after his touchdown run before a what-just-happened score from Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill, who surely will be on the short list for the play of the year in the NFL.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones wasn’t even watching.
Dallas overcame Hill’s weaving 56-yard score with the clock expired going into halftime, with Ezekiel Elliott scoring the go-ahead touchdown after another reprieve from his six-game suspension in the Cowboys’ 28-17 victory over the Chiefs on Sunday.
Elliott’s 2-yard plunge in the third quarter came after the Chiefs turned a 14-3 deficit into a 17-14 advantage, sparked by Hill’s stunning catch and run through seven Dallas defenders inside their 25 trying to prevent the score.
“You’ve got to put that play behind you and move forward,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “Sometimes easier said than done. We felt like we gave them one.”
Last year’s NFL rushing champion as a rookie, Elliott had 93 yards, ending a streak of three straight 100-yard games but outgaining Kareem Hunt, this year’s rushing leader in his first season entering the game.
Hunt matched a season low with nine carries, finishing with 37 yards as a club record-tying nine-game road winning streak ended for the Chiefs (6-3) in their third loss in four games since a 5-0 start.
Elliott got an emergency stay from a New York court Friday, stopping the suspension over alleged domestic violence for the third time. Another court hearing could be held this week.
With former quarterback Tony Romo calling his first Dallas game as lead analyst for CBS, Prescott had two touchdown passes to Cole Beasley and along with his fourth rushing TD this season in a third straight win for the Cowboys (5-3).
Terrance Williams had a career-high nine catches for 141 yards, including a 56-yarder from a scrambling Prescott to set up Prescott’s 10-yard TD run with 13 seconds left in the first half.
Trailing 14-3, the Chiefs were at their 44 with 2 seconds left when the Cowboys used three linemen and a linebacker near the line of scrimmage and dropped everyone else back.
Hill caught an easy toss from Alex Smith at the Cowboys 42 and started toward the goal line with three blockers in front.
The speedy Hill motored around Orlando Scandrick at the 25, cut behind two blocks from Demarcus Robinson inside the 10 and sidestepped overpursuing linebacker Anthony Hitchens to finish the stunning TD.
Remarkably, it appeared Hill was untouched all the way, with only safety Xavier Woods getting close with an outstretched left arm. Fellow safety Byron Jones ripped off his helmet in frustration as Hill crossed the goal line.
“I knew it was going to be trouble,” said running back Charcandrick West, who was on the field for the play. “The kid is something special. His Twitter name and Instagram is cheetah. That’s what he is.”
The Chiefs got the ball to start the second half with great field position after Byron Jones was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after Hill’s score. Kansas City went in front on Travis Kelce’s 2-yard scoring catch, which sparked a sack-race celebration with Hill and Robinson.
The Cowboys answered with drives of 75 and 87 yards that took more than 12 minutes combined. Beasley capped the latter with a 7-yard TD after a 6-yarder in the first half.
Prescott was 21 of 33 for 249 yards, with Beasley getting 24 yards receiving after spending part of the week in the concussion protocol. Dez Bryant had 73 yards.
FIRST PICK OF SEASON
Down by 11 for the second time, Kansas City’s realistic hopes ended on Smith’s first interception of the season on a fourth-down throw. It ended a streak of 293 passes without a pick for Smith, who was 25 of 34 for 263 yards and two TDs.
‘WELCOME HOME 9’
On the Cowboys’ video tribute to Romo, there was an inset shot of Romo watching the highlight tape as the crowd cheered, and he responded by applauding toward them as the video ended. When the giant board switched to a full shot of Romo, he shook his head briefly as if touched by the gesture as he was putting on his headset.
The franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns lost the job last season when Prescott replaced him after a back injury and led the Cowboys to a club-record 11 straight wins. Romo took the CBS job rather than chase an elusive Super Bowl with another franchise.
BIG-PLAY HILL
Hill’s TD was his ninth of at least 50 yards, leaving him one behind Hall of Famer Gale Sayers for the most such touchdowns in a player’s first 25 games.
INJURIES
Chiefs: Defensive lineman Allen Bailey left in the third quarter and has a sprained knee ligament.
Cowboys: Bryant left with a sprained ankle in the third quarter, and defensive tackle Brian Price was helped off the field after a knee injury in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT
Chiefs: Bye next week, at New York Giants on Nov. 19.
Cowboys: At Atlanta, with the defending NFC champs having lost four of their past five.
Photo credit – Brandon Wade / Associated Press / Arlington, TX
