Set up by a 34-yard over-the-shoulder catch by Ezekiel Elliott, Brett Maher booted a 38-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Dallas Cowboys to a 26-24 victory against the Detroit Lions on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Matthew Stafford's 38-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate had given the Lions (1-3) the lead with 2:17 remaining, but Dak Prescott drove the Cowboys (2-2) 55 yards in nine plays to set up Maher's fourth field goal of the game.
Elliott finished with a career-high 240 yards from scrimmage. He rushed 25 times for 152 yards, his fourth career 150-yard game, and caught four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Prescott completed 17 of 27 passes for 255 yards and two scores, topping the 200-yard mark for the first time since mid-December.
Stafford finished 24-of-30 passing for 307 yards and threw two TDs to Tate, who finished with eight grabs for 132 yards.
The Lions trailed 20-10 after three quarters, but they seized the lead with Tate's touchdown catch and rookie Kerryon Johnson's first career touchdown run from 8 yards out.
Dallas took the 10-point lead on its second drive of the second half. Elliott got things going with a 41-yard run to the Detroit 23.
Facing fourth-and-inches at the 3, Elliott burst up the middle for the first down. He fumbled, but Dallas recovered and Prescott then found Geoff Swaim for a 1-yard touchdown. The fourth-year tight end's first career score put the Cowboys up 20-10 late in the third quarter.
Detroit answered with Johnson's 8-yard touchdown run on the next series. Johnson trucked over Dallas safety Jeff Heath for his first career TD, pulling the Lions within 20-17 early in the fourth.
The Cowboys just kept feeding Elliott after that, chewing up yardage and the clock. They went 85 yards in 16 plays and consumed 8:31 but couldn't punch it in. Maher's third field goal, a chip shot from 22 yards, put Dallas on top 23-17 with 5:52 remaining.
The Cowboys led 13-10 at halftime thanks to a 38-yard touchdown catch by Elliott and two field goals by Maher (32 and 43 yards).
Elliott's score with 1:39 left in the half came on a screen pass from Prescott. Elliott followed his blockers down the right sideline, including a key block all the way down by the goal line from hustling 315-pound center Joe Looney.
Detroit took a 7-3 lead with 19 seconds left in the first quarter on a 45-yard touchdown reception by Tate. Tate conducted a yards-after-catch clinic on the right sideline, making cornerback Jourdan Lewis miss at the 35 and faking out Heath at the 20 before high-stepping the last 10 yards.
DeMarcus Lawrence tallied a career-high three sacks for Dallas.
--Field Level Media