ARLINGTON, Texas – Dak Prescott faked a handoff, swept around to the left side with a wide-open path to the end zone.
For the Dallas Cowboys without Ezekiel Elliott, it's never that easy these days to score a touchdown.
Prescott's apparent 34-yard TD run was wiped out by a holding call, and the Cowboys punted after his incomplete pass on the following play in the third quarter of their 50th Thanksgiving Day game, a 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
"I take more responsibility in a loss like this, when the offense is in a funk. I'm the leader of the unit," Prescott said. "I've got to figure out what I've got to do to get that whole unit rolling better and consistent."
When Rod Smith powered in for a 2-yard TD run with 12 minutes, 48 seconds left, the Cowboys (5-6) finally ended a streak of 10 consecutive quarters without a touchdown, believed to be the longest such drought in team history.
Dallas went more than 158 minutes of game action without a touchdown after Prescott's TD run in the first quarter at Atlanta on Nov. 12 — a stretch that encompasses their three-game losing streak, half of Elliott's six-game suspension for alleged domestic violence. The Cowboys were held under 300 total yards in all three of those games.
Opposing defenses have scored two TDs against them in that same stretch, including Desmond King returned an interception 90 yards for a TD midway through the fourth quarter for the Chargers. Prescott had two more interceptions, giving him five in two games after throwing just four a year ago.
"Everybody's got a piece of it. Starts up front," Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. "… Offensively, the performance wasn't up to par."
