ARLINGTON, Texas _ The Dallas Cowboys left too much time for Aaron Rodgers and now time might be running out on their season.
As soon as quarterback Dak Prescott scored on an 11-yard run to put the Cowboys back in the lead with 1 minute, 13 seconds left, sending the delirious crowd at AT&T Stadium into frenzy, one daunting thought came to mind.
The Cowboys left too much time for a Packers quarterback, who has owned them up of late and generally makes miracle finishes look easy.
And so it was again on Sunday as Rodgers drove the Packers 75 yards on nine plays in 1:02 to win the game 35-31 with a beautiful 12-yard strike to Davonte Adams over helpless rookie cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
It was quintessential Rodgers, who completed 19 of 29 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns on the day. He also converted a third-and 8 play with an 18-yard scramble.
"He can beat you with his arm and beat you with his legs," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.
It was equally devastating for a Cowboys team that seemingly did almost everything right on offense, controlling the ball and the clock, behind a stellar performance from Prescott.
Prescott completed 24 of 35 passes for 223 yards with three touchdowns and an interception before his dramatic touchdown run.
And even then the Cowboys applied the right formula, going 89 yards on 17 plays, taking 8:43 off clock as they tried to keep Rodgers off the field.
The Cowboys got there with aggressive play-calling, including three fourth-down tries.
The Cowboys got the first two and appeared be short on the final one as running back Ezekiel Elliott ran into a wall.
The officials ruled him down, short of the first down.
But what they didn't see was there was no quit in Elliott. Not this time.
He stretched the ball forward, which was proven on replay challenge by coach Jason Garrett.
Three plays later, Prescott scored on a perfect zone read.
But they left too much time for Rodgers and his miracles.
"You're playing with fire when you do that. It's a slippery slope," Prescott said. "It's a frustrating loss that we'll get better from."
The Cowboys head into next week's bye with a 2-3 mark, two games behind the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles (4-1).
"It's a tough one. It's frustrating," Prescott said. "We'll self-evaluate in the bye week. There's a lot of football left to be played."
The Cowboys could find out this week if Elliott gets to stay on the field for the rest of the season or will be forced to start a six-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule this week. That the Cowboys only managed two wins with him in the lineup is a setback. Facing six games without Elliott would be a tough task.
Just like defending Rodgers.
