The box score says Washington moved the ball better. The scoreboard says Dallas won by 17. The difference was efficiency, and on Sunday the Cowboys had plenty of it.
Dallas beat the Washington Commanders 37-20 at AT&T Stadium, and Dak Prescott's fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 24-yarder to CeeDee Lamb, broke Tony Romo's franchise record with the 249th of his career, according to The Associated Press. The win evened the Cowboys at 1-1 after a 28-20 loss to the Giants in Week 1.
Winning the margins
Washington outgained Dallas 389 yards to 332, ran for 182 yards to the Cowboys' 66 and held the ball for 31:29. None of it added up to enough points.
Dallas converted 7 of 11 third downs. It played turnover-free football while taking the ball away once, on a forced fumble by rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham that Dee Winters recovered inside the Washington 20. And it finished drives: four touchdowns and three Brandon Aubrey field goals, including one from 60 yards.
Prescott was the engine. He completed 26 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, two to Lamb and two to tight end Jake Ferguson.
Ferguson's red-zone day
Ferguson turned two short throws into touchdowns. His 10-yard catch in the second quarter gave Dallas a 17-10 halftime lead, and his 12-yard catch came two plays after Barham's forced fumble, pushing the lead to 27-13 in the third quarter.
Lamb supplied the big plays around him, with eight catches for 153 yards. His 3-yard touchdown opened the scoring, and his 24-yard catch after Washington had closed to 30-20 sealed the game and the record.
