Cowboys showed resolve in comeback win over Falcons

The Dallas Cowboys helped Atlanta live up to their reputation of blowing big leads.

The Atlanta Falcons were up 20-0 on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday during a Week 2 matchup from AT&T Stadium before leading 29-10 at halftime. And everyone, from fans to national media members to those somewhere in between, were letting Jerry Jones’ team hear about it.

Noted Cowboys hater Stephen A Smith was having a field day tweeting about the game, describing it as “providing updates”.

Unfortunately, the joke turned on him as the Cowboys overcame the odds to escape with a 40-39 victory. The win came hanks to key plays by the Dallas offense late in the game, sure, but most importantly, an unbelievable onside kick recovery following the two-minute warning:

The Cowboys are without a doubt, ecstatic about this victory considering how they came up short a week before in Los Angeles when an unfortunate no-call knocked them out of field goal range and handed them to a loss. This week, however, it looked like they were on their way to the same result after a mistake-filled first quarter.

Cowboys showed grit, resolve in mounting a big comeback at home.

The Falcons meanwhile raced out strong and let off the gas, similar to an incident in the same state but in a different stadium. Ah, yes, Super Bowl LI; Atlanta was enjoying a 28-3 lead before the Patriots, led by Tom Brady, engineered the comeback of the decade and tied the game at 28 heading into overtime before James White sent the Falcons home emptyhanded.

This time around, Dallas trailed by as many as 20 points while being down 19 at the half. Simply put, nothing was going to plan. Playing without both of their starting offensive tackles, the Cowboys offense sputtered. The hole seemed likely too big to climb out of.

History, however, found a way to repeat itself as Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense shifted into high gear through the running of Ezekiel Elliot and exceptional plays by CeeDee Lamb. In fact, despite their comeback, Dallas at no point in the game had the lead until there were triple-zeroes on the scoreboard.

Had it not been for Greg Zuerlein‘s impressive onside kick (and Atlanta’s miscue on the recovery attempt), the Falcons would have escaped. Instead, they hesitated and Dallas pounced on it, allowing Prescott to march the team down in time for Zuerlein to hit the field goal and give the Falcons a painful reminder.

It’s obviously not a good look for Atlanta, being the team that is never safe with a lead. Having said that, it speaks to the heart and resolve of Dallas that they were able to claw back from a substantial deficit and avoid an 0-2 start.