National Football League
Dallas 27, Tennessee 13
When: 8:15 PM ET, Thursday, December 29, 2022
Where: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Temperature: 59°
Head Official: Shawn Hochuli
Attendance: 69292

Dak Prescott threw two second-half touchdown passes to Dalton Schultz and the Dallas Cowboys clinched their second straight 12-win season with a 27-13 victory over the injury-ravaged Tennessee Titans on Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn.

Prescott was 29 of 41 passing for 282 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Dallas (12-4). Ezekiel Elliott added a rushing score and CeeDee Lamb caught 11 passes for 100 yards for the playoff-bound Cowboys, who are 1 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East.

Joshua Dobbs completed 20 of 39 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Tennessee in his first career start. The sixth-year pro was selected to start over rookie Malik Willis despite just being signed from the Detroit Lions' practice squad on Dec. 21.

The setback was the sixth in a row for the Titans (7-9), a beat-up squad that played without quarterback Ryan Tannehill (ankle), running back Derrick Henry (hip) and defensive end Jeffery Simmons (ankle), among others. Tennessee meets the Jacksonville Jaguars next weekend in a contest that will determine the AFC South's playoff berth.

Robert Woods had a scoring reception and Kevin Byard had two interceptions for the Titans.

Tennessee was penalized 10 times for 124 yards, while Dallas was flagged three times for 35 yards.

The Cowboys took a 17-6 lead on their first possession of the second half. Prescott hit Schultz on a 6-yard scoring pass with 8:48 left in the third quarter. The touchdown was set up by a 51-yard pass interference call on Tre Allen one play earlier, on third-and-19. That moved the ball from the Dallas 43-yard line to the Titans' 6.

The Titans responded with a 14-play, 71-yard drive in which Dobbs tossed a 7-yard scoring pass to Woods with 2:04 left in the third quarter. It was the 27-year-old Dobbs' first NFL touchdown pass.

Dallas pushed its lead back to 11 when Prescott and Schultz teamed on a 10-yard touchdown with 11:58 remaining in the contest. Brett Maher booted a 45-yard field goal to make it 27-13 with 6:24 remaining.

Prescott committed three first-half turnovers (two interceptions, one lost fumble) as the Cowboys led just 10-6 at the break.

Elliott scored on a 1-yard run with 4:36 left in the first quarter, and Maher added a 36-yard field goal four seconds into the second quarter for a 10-0 lead.

Randy Bullock kicked field goals of 37 and 29 yards in the final 64 seconds of the half. Byard's interception return of 28 yards to the Dallas 41 with 21 seconds remaining set up the second field goal.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Dallas   Tennessee
Malik Davis Player Hassan Haskins
10 Attempts 12
39 Yards 40
3.9 Avg Yards 3.3
0 Touchdowns 0
23 Long 12
Receiving
Dallas   Tennessee
CeeDee Lamb Player Treylon Burks
11 Receptions 4
100 Yards 66
9.1 Avg Yards 16.5
0 Touchdowns 0
34 Long 30
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Dallas 361 87 274 3 2 1 2.0 2
Tennessee 317 97 220 1 2 2 1.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Tennessee will play their next game on the road against Jacksonville. The Titans have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .250 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Cowboys have a W/L % of .667 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.