National Football League
Dallas 20, L.A. Chargers 17
When: 4:25 PM ET, Sunday, September 19, 2021
Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Temperature: 73°
Head Official: Tony Corrente
Attendance: 70240

Kicker Greg Zuerlein drilled a 56-yard field goal with no time remaining to push the Dallas Cowboys over the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

The Cowboys (1-1) were led by the running game that totaled 198 yards. Tony Pollard paced Dallas with 109 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Ezekiel Elliott added 71 yards and a score on 16 carries.

Dak Prescott finished 23-of-27 passing for 237 yards, and an interception. CeeDee Lamb led the Cowboys with eight receptions for 81 yards.

For the Chargers (1-1), Justin Herbert completed 31 of 41 passes for 338 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Keenan Allen grabbed four catches for 108 yards, and Mike Williams had seven catches for 91 yards. Running back Austin Ekeler finished with 115 scrimmage yards.

The Cowboys took the opening drive and marched 78 yards on 15 plays, scoring on a 4-yard end-around by Pollard for a 7-0 lead.

Dallas then got the ball right back on an interception by Trevon Diggs, his fifth interception in 14 in NFL games.

However, Prescott threw an interception to Asante Samuel Jr. for the Florida State product's first NFL career interception. Five plays later, the Chargers turned the turnover into points on a 46-yard field goal by Tristan Vizcaino, cutting the Cowboys' lead to 7-3.

The Cowboys upped their lead to 14-3 on a seven play, 75-yard drive capped by an Elliott 5-yard score.

The Bolts answered with their own touchdown on a Herbert pass out in the flat to Williams, who ran it in for a 12-yard score. Ekeler ran in the two-point conversion to make it 14-11 at the half.

On the first drive of the second half, Vizcaino's 32-yard field goal tied the score at 14.

Just before the end of the third quarter, Ekeler had to leave the game after taking a shot to the head on a 20-yard reception down the sideline. Diggs was called for unnecessary roughness on the play. Ekeler later returned to the game.

The Chargers were marching for the go-ahead score on that drive, but Herbert was intercepted by Dallas defensive back Damontae Kazee. The Cowboys capitalized on the takeaway with a Zuerlein 34-yard field goal, giving Dallas a 17-14 lead.

Los Angeles tied the game at 17 on Vizcaino's 29-yard field goal with 3:54 left to play.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Dallas   L.A. Chargers
Tony Pollard Player Austin Ekeler
13 Attempts 9
109 Yards 54
8.4 Avg Yards 6.0
1 Touchdowns 0
28 Long 20
Receiving
Dallas   L.A. Chargers
CeeDee Lamb Player Keenan Allen
8 Receptions 4
81 Yards 108
10.1 Avg Yards 27.0
0 Touchdowns 0
34 Long 42
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Dallas 419 198 221 2 2 2 2.0 0
L.A. Chargers 408 95 313 1 3 1 2.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • L.A. Chargers will play their next game on the road against Kansas City. The Chargers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Cowboys have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.