Cowboys beat Titans for 12th win of season

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Dak Prescott threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns to Dalton Schultz as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Tennessee Titans 27-13 Thursday night for their sixth win in seven games.

The Cowboys (12-4) posted their first straight 12-win seasons since 1994 and 1995, when Dallas won its last of the franchise’s five Super Bowl titles. Fans chanted « Let’s Go Cowboys! » throughout the game.

The Cowboys have yet to finish the regular season by winning in Washington with Philadelphia (13-2) losing to have a chance of winning a second consecutive NFC East title. Otherwise, they’ll be locked into the NFC’s No. 5 seed.

Ezekiel Elliott ran for a 1-yard touchdown, his ninth straight game with a rushing TD. This makes him the fifth player with such a streak since 2000, joining Shaun Alexander (2005), Priest Holmes (11 in 2002), Jonathan Taylor in 2021 and LaDainian Tomlinson (18 between 2004-05).

The Titans (7-9) lost their sixth straight hour after placing quarterback Ryan Tannehill on the injured list, ending his season unless they reached the AFC Championship. They have 22 injured players and lead the NFL using at least 83 different players.

This game was meaningless for Tennessee in the standings, with next week’s regular season finale in Jacksonville deciding the AFC South title. The Titans therefore scratched seven starters, not counting two others put on IR with Tannehill. Among the spectators was Derrick Henry, the NFL’s second-best rusher.

The Titans gave Joshua Dobbs, signed Dec. 21 from Detroit’s practice squad, his first NFL start in place of rookie Malik Willis, their third-round pick in April. The former University of Tennessee star played his last college game on this court, a 2016 Music City Bowl win over Nebraska.

He had more yards at halftime than Willis managed in his first three starts. Dobbs finished with 232 yards and the first TD pass of his career, a 7-yard pass to Robert Woods, which took the Titans to 17-13 late in the third.

The Cowboys scored the last 10 points. Prescott capped a 75-yard drive with his second TD pass to Schultz for a 24-13 lead early in the fourth. Brett Maher added his second placement for final margin.

Dallas trailed just 10-6 at halftime thanks to three turnovers, including two interceptions by two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard who set up field goals by Randy Bullock. That gave Prescott a career-high 14 picks, tying him with now benched Raiders quarterback Derek Carr for most of the NFL.

That’s despite Prescott missing five games with a broken thumb. The Dallas quarterback has been knocked out in six straight games for the first time in his career.

Prescott took advantage of the Titans’ struggling defense, finding CeeDee Lamb for 11 catches for 100 yards. When undrafted rookie cornerback Tre Avery was flagged for catching Michael Gallup in third-and-19, Prescott threw a 6-yard TD pass to Schultz on the following play midway through the third for a 17-6 lead .