Cowboys Snap Eight-Game Losing Streak With Win Over Bears

BY ESPN

Maybe the Cowboys will be OK without quarterback Tony Romo this time. The future of the Dallas running game with Ezekiel Elliott looks pretty good, too.

Dak Prescott led scoring drives on all four Dallas possessions in the first half before throwing his first career touchdown pass in fellow rookie Elliott's first 100-yard game, and the Cowboys beat the Chicago Bears 31-17 on Sunday night to snap an eight-game home losing streak.

With his second straight win, Prescott doubled the number of victories the Cowboys (2-1) had in 14 games without the injured Romo over three seasons before the fourth-round pick showed up.

Prescott's first TD pass was a 17-yarder to Dez Bryant for a 31-10 lead in the fourth quarter, and he's up to 99 throws without an interception to start his career. Philadelphia's Carson Wentz has 102, and those are the two highest career-opening totals for a rookie in NFL history.

"Dak's handled every opportunity he's had right from the start really, really well," coach Jason Garrett said. "No different tonight."

Brian Hoyer had trouble moving the Chicago offense early with Jay Cutler sidelined by a sprained right thumb as the Bears fell behind 24-3 at halftime and dropped to 0-3 for the second time in two seasons under coach John Fox.

Making his 27th career start for his fourth different team, Hoyer was 30 of 49 for 317 yards -- a good portion of that with the game out of each late in the fourth quarter -- and threw for two scores to Zach Miller.

"We haven't played a complete game," Fox said. "This week was the reverse of what we've had. We played very poorly in the first half."

Elliott finished with 140 yards on 30 carries, including a 14-yard run when he hurdled safety Chris Prosinski. The Cowboys kept giving him the ball while trying to work the clock with a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter a week after he was benched because of two fumbles in a win over Washington.

Colts 26, Chargers 22

Andrew Luck missed T.Y. Hilton on one critical play Sunday. The Colts quarterback didn't make the same mistake again.

On his second chance, Luck threw a perfect strike to Hilton with 1:17 to play, and the Pro Bowl receiver spun out of a tackle and zig-zagged 63 yards down the field to give Indianapolis a 26-22 victory over San Diego.

Just 35 seconds earlier, Luck tried the same play with Hilton on fourth-and-7 but an off-target throw forced Hilton to spin around for an 8-yard catch on fourth-and-7. The next time, Luck got it right.

"It was the same sort of play and I kind of missed him," Luck said, referring to the fourth-down throw. "So I came back to him and this time I hit him in stride."

Hilton took care of the rest.

It's the second time on Luck's home turf that he has led the Colts (1-2) to a go-ahead score in the waning seconds. But, unlike the season opener two weeks ago, the Colts recovered two fumbles in the final 62 seconds to preserve the victory.

Luck finished 24 of 37 for 331 yards with one TD and one interception to earn his 15th career come-from-behind win.

No, he wasn't flawless. But when it mattered most, Luck excelled with the two big plays to Hilton.

Sunday, September 25 Scoreboard

Buffalo 33, Arizona 18

Oakland 17, Tennessee 10

Miami 30, Cleveland 24 (OT)

Baltimore 19, Jacksonville 17

Green Bay 34, Detroit 27

Denver 29, Cincinnati 17

Minnesota 22, Carolina 10

Washington 29, New York Giants 27

Los Angeles 37, Tampa Bay 32

Seattle 37, San Francisco 18

Kansas City 24, New York Jets 3

Indianapolis 26, San Diego 22

Philadelphia 34, Pittsburgh 3

Dallas 31, Chicago 17

Monday, September 26 Schedule (Time  Central)

Atlanta at New Orleans, 7:30 p.m.