Dez Bryant scored two touchdowns while Ezekiel Elliott set a rookie rushing record as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-17 on Sunday at AT&T Stadium, pushing their win streak to nine games.
In 140 characters...
Ezekiel Elliott gets his team rookie record, but it's Dak Prescott and the Cowboys' pass game that leads them over the Ravens.
MVP
Dez Bryant appeared on the injury report after taking a knock to his back in training on Friday, but he was able to play and finished with six catches for 80 yards - and of course those two touchdowns.
Game-changer
Bryant's first touchdown gave the Cowboys their first lead, but his second touchdown was the one that put the game out of reach for the Ravens.
Stat of the night
Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 97 yards, giving him 1,102 for the season and moving him past Cowboys legend Tony Dorsett for the most yards by a rookie in team history.
The game
Although the Ravens entered with the best rushing defence in the league and the Cowboys had the top rusher in Elliott, it was Baltimore's running game that started the scoring. Three successive power runs by the Ravens resulted in an 18-yard touchdown run for Terrance West, the Baltimore-area native who found the end zone for the fourth time this season.
The Cowboys, and Prescott, struggled to get going. Even without outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who missed the game because of a foot injury, the Ravens were able to pressure Prescott early, with Albert McClellan delivering a sack and the rookie quarterback making a number of bad, rushed throws.
Prescott and the Cowboys even faced a rare 1st and 30 midway through the second quarter after a pair of 10-yard penalties - but they somehow survived, with Prescott gaining 12 yards on a scramble and later finding Brice Brown for a 41-yard reception. The drive ended when Prescott found Cole Beasley with a three-yard touchdown pass - and he even survived a hard knock that left medics examining the quarterback's right shoulder on the sideline.
Baltimore appeared to be heading into half-time with the lead after Justin Tucker made a 46-yard field goal, but Cowboys coach Jason Garrett trusted his rookie quarterback to guide his team on a potential scoring drive. Prescott led Dallas on an eight-play, 64-yard drive over 1 minute, 33 seconds to level up again at 10-10 - and that seemed to give the Cowboys the momentum they needed entering halftime.
Bryant seemed to have the advantage when the Ravens determined before the game that cornerback Jimmy Smith was unfit to play, and he emerged in the second half. Prescott found Bryant on a four-yard touchdown pass with 7:37 left in the third quarter, then went back to him with 11:37 left in the fourth quarter, feeding him on a 13-yard slant for another touchdown.
The Ravens tried to recover, with Steve Smith, who earlier became the 14th player to have 1,000 career receptions, answering by scoring a touchdown on a five-yard slant pass from Joe Flacco on the following drive. Their questionable management of the clock late in the game, though, prevented a recovery, and the Cowboys punctuated their victory with a 21-yard field goal by Dan Bailey.
Prescott, with a healthy Tony Romo watching as his backup, completed 27 of 36 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Flacco, meanwhile, completed 23 of 35 passes for 269 yards, with Smith catching eight of them for 99 yards.
The Cowboys converted on seven of their 12 third-down attempts and finished with 417 yards.