OAKLAND, Calif. _ When Dak Prescott throws multiple interceptions, the Dallas Cowboys don't win.
Or didn't win.
Prescott and the Cowboys overcame his two interceptions in a wild 20-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night.
The Cowboys are now 1-4 when Prescott throws multiple interceptions, an occurrence that happened just once his rookie season.
But Prescott and his teammates showed resilience all night long to pull out a victory and keep their playoff hopes alive for another week.
Prescott finished the night 18-of-27 for 212 yards with no touchdowns. He scrambled for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys a 17-10 lead in the third quarter, matching his total from last season with six.
But that is hardly the run by Prescott that folks will remember. Late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys faced a fourth-and-inches from their own 39 with 5:06 left.
Prescott kept it himself and didn't move the pile much. It appeared the officials marked him just shy of the 40-yard line, but a measurement proved otherwise _ by a paper-thin margin. Literally.
Referee Gene Steratore needed to pull out a piece of paper and make sure the nose of the ball had crossed the first-down marker.
That kept the Cowboys' drive alive and Prescott took advantage. He hit Dez Bryant for a 40-yard gain, and the Cowboys took a 20-17 lead on a 19-yard field goal by Dan Bailey.
Those plays were all that mattered in the end, but Prescott appeared to have a forgettable game for much of the night.
Prescott threw an interception on the opening drive of the game. The Cowboys had marched into Raiders territory, but faced a third-and-10 from the Oakland 35.
Prescott tried to hit Bryant, but overthrew him and the ball went into the hands of Raiders cornerback Sean Smith. It appeared Bryant stopped his route early, although that likely wouldn't have prevented the interception.
Either way, it ruined a possible scoring drive for the Cowboys.
Prescott threw another interception on the Cowboys' first possession in the second half. Prescott threw a pass intended for Cole Beasley and Smith was again there to make a play on the ball.
Smith was on the ground when he made the catch and got up and ran it in for a touchdown. After review, though, it was determined that Beasley had touched him down.
Still, Prescott has now thrown 11 interceptions on the season after throwing just four as a rookie. The 11 interceptions is the most he's thrown since he had 11 his junior season at Mississippi State.
But the silver lining for Prescott and the Cowboys was the defense minimized damage after each interception.
The Raiders went three-and-out after getting the ball in the first half, and settled for a field goal in the second half. Limiting those scoring chances ultimately gave Prescott a chance to redeem himself.
That's exactly what he did.
