or the losing Dallas Cowboys seemed entirely sure about the rule that led to a penalty for “snap infraction.” That flag turned a 47-yard field-goal try into a 52-yarder that slammed off the left upright as time expired.“I don’t know what happened there Rob Kelley Jersey ,” said Redskins coach Jay Gruden, after his club avoided overtime and edged the Cowboys 20-17 Sunday to remain alone atop the NFC East when Dallas’ Brett Maher missed the potential tying kick.The call, in a nutshell: A Redskins lineman moved early, but the flag went against Cowboys long snapper L.P. Ladoceur, because he moved the football illegally.That last part was news to Ladoceur, the longest-tenured member of Dallas’ roster.“Exact same thing I’ve been doing for 14 years,” he said.Asked how often he’s seen that call in the NFL, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said: “I don’t know. Once? Twice? Not very often.”Maher’s take?“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” he said, “but it’s my job to kick it, wherever it was.”His miss foiled a spirited comeback attempt after Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan’s strip-sack of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was recovered for a touchdown by Preston Smith with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.“Scoop and score,” said Smith. “Yeah, that was one of the easiest touchdowns I ever had.”That made it 20-10 and was Washington’s fourth sack of Prescott, who used smelling salts and was checked for a concussion in the first quarter after taking a shoulder to his helmet at the end of a run.The QB didn’t miss a play, returning for the Cowboys’ next possession.Prescott lost two fumbles in the game, including one on an earlier fourth-and-1 keeper.The Redskins (4-2) won consecutive games for the first time this season. The Cowboys dropped to 0-4 on the road, 3-4 overall, as they head into their bye week.Washington won this one thanks to its staunch defense and 99 yards on 24 carries from Adrian Peterson, who helped mask the latest so-so performance from quarterback Alex Smith and a generally iffy offense that was missing three injured playmakers.The Redskins twice had to settle for short field goals in the second half despite having first-and-goal opportunities. On each of those possessions, Alex Smith missed an open receiver in the end zone from down close.Washington’s QB finished 14 for 25 for 178 yards, including a 23-yard TD on a swing pass to Kapri Bibbs in the first quarter. But there were some questionable decisions, including running out of bounds on third down with 78 seconds left, stopping the clock before a punt gave the ball back to Dallas.The Redskins limited Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL’s No. 2 rusher entering the week, to 34 yards on 15 carries, the second-lowest total of his pro career.“He’s a great Deshazor Everett Jersey , great player,” Gruden said. “It takes all 11 men on defense to get him stopped, and our defensive line played outstanding.”Prescott was 22 for 35 for 273 yards, with one TD pass and one TD run. He connected with rookie receiver Michael Gallup on a 49-yard score a minute before halftime that made the score 7-all, then — after Kerrigan’s key play made it 20-10 — scored on a 1-yard quarterback draw to cut Dallas’ deficit to three points with 1½ minutes remaining.The Cowboys got the ball back and drove into Redskins territory thanks, in part, to three consecutive completions from Prescott to Beasley that ate up a total of 33 yards.But in the final seconds, Dallas seemed content to try to get to OT rather than pushing for a go-ahead TD.And, well, the field goal did not go according to plan.“It didn’t come down to the kick,” Dallas right guard Zack Martin said. “It came down to the first three quarters leading up to that.”PASSING THE SMELL TESTPrescott was nonchalant about the being captured by a TV camera using smelling salts, saying, “I do that every game.” Redskins LB Mason Foster agreed that it’s commonplace in the NFL. “I feel like everybody uses them, just to wake up or whatever. It’s almost like a habit.”INJURIESCowboys: Martin sprained his knee but remained in the game. … CB C.J. Goodwin broke his forearm. … TE Geoff Swaim left with a knee injury.Redskins: Both Kerrigan (chest) and Preston Smith (ankle) briefly left the game with injuries but returned. … CB Fabian Moreau hurt his ankle in the last minute of the fourth quarter.UP NEXTCowboys: Bye week. Return to host Titans on Nov. 5.Redskins: At New York Giants next Sunday. Zack Martin can’t pinpoint why the Dallas offensive line was better in consecutive road wins after a mostly rugged first half of the season.The Cowboys right guard has a few options: time to adjust to the season-long absence of fellow Pro Bowler Travis Frederick, a steady showing from Xavier Su’a-Filo at left guard for injured rookie Connor Williams or the position coaching change to former Dallas lineman Marc Colombo.Dak Prescott would suggest picking any of them. The quarterback doesn’t really care.“I don’t know what we needed or whatever it was,” Prescott said Tuesday. “The mindset and the way that they’re playing right now, the confidence they have. The way that they’re communicating is just something we’re trying to build on.”The Cowboys (5-5) can pull even with Washington (6-4) atop the NFC East by beating their division rival on Thanksgiving. The surge into contention came from the pair of road wins against the past two NFC participants in the Super Bowl: Philadelphia and Atlanta.Those victories followed an 0-4 start on the road, with communication along the front聽among the primary problems聽without Frederick, the center and traffic cop who is out and increasingly unlikely to play this year聽because of a nerve disorder聽.Dallas has praised聽backup center Joe Looney聽, while Martin has played through a left knee injury sustained in a preseason game and aggravated early in the win over the Eagles. Who knows whether the 2014 All-Pro would be doing that if Frederick were still alongside him.“Anytime you lose an All-Pro player at a position, you can’t replace a guy like that,” Martin said. “But I think guys, through the season, we’re getting used to playing next to each other. We’re extremely lucky to have a guy like Looney here to be able to step in and play the way he’s played.”Sacks of Prescott that were an issue in the four straight road losses haven’t disappeared. He’s been dropped 34 times this season, already a career high, with multiple sacks in eight straight games. That’s not even including a season-high six in the opener Mason Foster Jersey , a 16-8 loss at Carolina.But Prescott wasn’t sacked in the fourth quarter of the wins over the Eagles and Falcons, when the Cowboys matched tying scores with winning drives that featured a solid mix of star running back Ezekiel Elliott and clutch plays in the passing game. Time to throw for Prescott was crucial in several of those plays.“There are still some things we need to clean up in protection, but we’re getting better every week and I think guys have bought in,” Martin said. “It’s been trending in the right direction.”It was trending in the wrong direction聽the first time the Cowboys played the Redskins聽. Elliott rushed for 33 yards, the second-lowest total of his career, and the Cowboys lost 20-17 when Brett Maher‘s potential tying field goal from 52 yards hit the left upright on the final play.After that loss, the Cowboys聽replaced first-year offensive line coach Paul Alexander聽with Colombo, the assistant line coach who played tackle for the Cowboys from 2005-10.And now, Elliott is coming off consecutive 100-yard games and needs 91 yards to overtake MVP contender Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL rushing lead. Gurley is off this week.“The mindset of the way they’re going to block, that’s credit to Colombo, as much as it is getting back to the stuff we’ve done in the past that was more Cowboys football instead of trick-ems or whatever it was,” Prescott said. “The offensive line is doing a great job moving guys.”The Cowboys signed Su’a-Filo, a 2014 second-round pick by Houston, for depth in the second week of the season. A starter in 31 of 32 games over his final two seasons with the Texans, Su’a-Filo sat until Williams’ knee injury was diagnosed after a loss to Tennessee eight weeks later.Williams, who was overpowered several times on sacks of Prescott, is on the verge of returning after arthroscopic surgery. There’s no indication Su’a-Filo is headed back to the bench after his showing against the Eagles and Falcons.“Felt good about what Connor was doing and how he was growing, but Xavier has gone in there and done a good job against two good fronts,” coach Jason Garrett said. “He has held physically in the game, has communicated well with the other guys.”Five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith left the Atlanta game with what he described as a stinger, replaced by former New England tackle Cameron Fleming, one of Dallas’ free agent pickups. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Smith should play against the Redskins.“I just think we’ve done a great job as a team overall of playing with all 11 guys,” Elliott said. “Everyone doing their job, everybody getting in the right spots and the O-line doing a great job up front.”NOTES: Jones said on his radio show Tuesday he expects TE Geoff Swaim to miss three to four weeks after surgery for a broken wrist. … Rookie WR Michael Gallup remained away from the team after getting the news following the Atlanta game that his brother had died by suicide. There is still a chance Gallup will play against the Redskins. … C Adam Redmond was added to the injury report Tuesday with a concussion. He didn’t practice.
