Prescott rallies Cowboys with arm, legs
Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes and flipped head over heels into the end zone on a 10yard run for another for the Dallas Cowboys, who pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Arizona Cardinals, 28-17, on Monday night.
Prescott, 13 of 18 for 183 yards, broke a 14-14 tie with a 37-yard scoring pass to Brice Butler with 11:52 to play.
Arizona, with a spectacular catch by Larry Fitzgerald for 24 yards on a thirdand-18 play, moved downfield but the drive stalled. Phil Dawson’s 37-yard field goal cut the lead to 21-17 with 6:35 left.
Ezekiel Elliott was bottled up much of the game but still gained 80 yards on 22 attempts, 30 on one play. He ran 8 yards for the final Cowboys touchdown.
The Cardinals (1-2), in their home opener, got a big game from Fitzgerald, who caught 13 passes for 149 yards, in the process moving ahead of Marvin Harrison into eighth in career receiving yards.
Carson Palmer had a big first half, completing 15 of 18 for 145 yards and finishing 29 of 48 for 325 yards and two scores.
The Cardinals dominated the first half statistically, but were deadlocked with the Cowboys at 7-7. Arizona had a 152-57 advantage in yards and dominated time of possession 19:34 to 9:41.
Before Dallas (2-1) even had a first down, Arizona mounted a nearly nineminute drive but a touchdown pass to Jaron Brown was negated by a holding penalty and Phil Dawson’s 36-yard field goal try was wide right.
The miss left the door open for the Cowboys to get back in it.
Prescott scored on a 10yard run, flipping headfirst over the goal line to tie it at 7-7 with 3:33 left in the half.
Sproles out for year
Philadelphia Eagles running back and returner Darren Sproles tore his ACL and broke his forearm on the same play in Sunday’s victory over the Giants and will miss the rest of the season.
The versatile Sproles has nine career returns for touchdowns, including seven on punts, and has gone to three Pro Bowls.
“He’s a lot of energy, and that’s hard to replace,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “Guys are just going to have to rally and pick up that spot and move forward.”
Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (calf) and linebacker Jordan Hicks (ankle) also were injured against New York. Pederson said both players are day to day.
Luck might practice
Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano says there’s a chance Andrew Luck could return to practice Wednesday, but he ruled his star quarterback out for Sunday night’s game at Seattle.
Luck, who had sugery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, missed all of the team’s offseason workouts, training camp and the preseason before he was activated from the physically unable to perform list on Sept. 2.
But the most significant indication Luck’s return is close came when Pagano didn’t rule him out of practice, something he did the past two Mondays.
Benjamin status iffy
Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera expressed relief Monday after an MRI revealed wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin has no structural damage to his left knee.
Benjamin’s status will be day-to-day, and Rivera said it’s too early to know if he will play Sunday at New England.
Benjamin’s left knee got bent backward while being tackled on the final play of the first quarter.