ARLINGTON, Texas _ Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett preaches daily, weekly, incessantly and seemingly boringly every week about staying focused, poised and controlling what you can control no matter the situation.
It's worked well for Cowboys all season as they dealt with a roller coaster that is running back Ezekiel Elliott's legal battle with the NFL in federal court over his six-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy for allegedly committed domestic violence against a former girlfriend.
After being suspended again on Monday, Elliott got back on the field with another court ruling on Friday.
But it was in Sunday's 28-17 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in which the Cowboys put Garrett's lessons to the test on the football field with character building, big-boy answers in the face of seeming incredulous circumstances before a packed house of 93,273 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Imagine being ahead 14-3 with 21 second left in the first half following an 82-yard scoring drive. It was a drive that included a 21-yard pass to Dez Bryant on a third-and-15 play from their 15 and a 56-yard pass to Terrance Williams on a broken play before quarterback Dak Prescott scrambles 10 yards to the end zone on a third-and-goal play from the 10.
"Terrance stepped up, got some opportunities, and took advantage of them," Garrett said. "He was a big part of our success today."
The drive gave the Cowboys confidence, momentum and seemingly control of the game.
Then imagine being down 17-14 the next time you touched the ball.
"Staying focused," Prescott said. "We expect points. Nothing changes our focus. We just didn't have a chance to get the ball.
"We're still growing. We're still not there yet."
That was the shocking and seemingly unfathomable situation that Cowboys found themselves in the third quarter.
The Chiefs got the ball at their own 37 following a late-hit penalty on safety Byron Jones on the kickoff following the Prescott touchdown. A delay of game penalty followed by a pass for 12 yards put the ball at the 44 with 2 seconds left in the half.
So Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith tossed a screen to Tyreek Hill against a defense that is backed up at the end zone waiting for the Hail Mary pass.
Hill ran 30 yards before he encountered a defender and then darted left and back to the middle to the end zone through at least six flailing and flatfooted Cowboys as time expired.
Jones compounded the gaffe by the defense with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play.
The Chiefs got the ball to start the second half and started at the 38, thanks to Jones' penalty.
They promptly marched 62 yards to the end zone, making the score 17-14 on 2 yard pass from Smith to tight end Travis Kelcie, who beat Jones in coverage.
The Chiefs added fun to the insult with an end zone celebration mocking a children's sack race with Kelcie winning against Hill.
It was character showing time for the Cowboys and, led by Prescott, they didn't blink.
"The overall spirit was good," Garrett said. "It was good enough for us to win the game,"
A 12-play, 75 _ yard scoring drive, capped by a 2-yard scoring run by Elliott, was followed by a 13-play, 87-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard pass from Prescott to Cole Beasley.
And the maligned Cowboys defense went from embarrassing to game saving in making the 28-17 lead stand up.
Safety Jeff Heath followed the first sack of rookie defensive Taco Charlton's career with an interception of Smith with 5:12 left in the game.
It was Heath's first interception of the season and the first thrown by Smith all season.
"I think our defense and offense responded," Garrett said. "Our defense responded throughout the rest of the second half. Good things are going to happen in games. Bad things are going to happen in games. Putting that play (touchdown before halftime) behind you and moving forward is sometimes easier said than done. We felt like we gave them one."
Prescott completed 21 of 33 passes for 249 yards with two touchdowns passing and one running to lead the Cowboys to their third consecutive win and move to 5-3 on the season.
They will be looking for their fourth consecutive win against the reeling Atlanta Falcons (4-4) next Sunday.
But their first hope is for a win in federal court early next week when Elliott hopes to be granted another preliminary injunction to remain on the field for the rest of the season.
Elliott rushed 27 times for 93 yards, snapping his streak of three consecutive 100-yard games.
But his running helped Prescott and Williams to break out in the passing game. Williams had nine catches 141 yards, the first 100-yard outing of the season for a Cowboys receiver. Bryant had six catches for 73 yards.
"We just got to keep banging away," Garrett said. "It's all in front of us."
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