McCoy leads Redskins past Cowboys in overtime

[October 28, 2014]  (Reuters) - Replacement quarterback Colt McCoy overcame a limping Tony Romo to lift the Washington Redskins to a 20-17 overtime victory over the red-hot Dallas Cowboys on Monday, snapping the home team's winning streak at six games.

McCoy, who was named as starter after filling in for a struggling Kirk Cousins last week, led Washington to a winning drive on the first possession of overtime with Kai Forbath booting the decisive 40-yard field goal.

“It was our moment,” third-string quarterback McCoy told reporters. “I made some mistakes tonight but my team mates stuck with me, we found a way to win and it feels great.”

Trailing by three, Dallas had one last chance to reply but failed to make it through the first set of downs with a bruised Romo tossing two straight incomplete passes to end the game.

Romo was taken out of the contest in the third quarter with a back injury but returned in the final minutes of regulation to try to lead an ultimately unsuccessful comeback.

It was the second straight win for the Redskins (3-5) while Dallas (6-2) lost for the first time since the season-opener.

“(McCoy) kept us in the game and we didn’t have any major turnovers,” said Redskins coach Jay Gruden. “This is a heck of a win for us to really get started for the rest of the season.” McCoy was strong in his starting opportunity as he tossed for 299 yards and put Washington ahead 17-10 with a seven-yard rush early in the fourth. Dallas answered with backup QB Brandon Weeden, briefly taking over for Romo, finding Jason Witten on a 25-yard connection that sent the game into overtime.

The Washington defense applied pressure to Romo all night, sacking him five times. Brandon Meriweather had two of them while Keenan Robinson tallied 10 tackles and made the sack on Romo that sent him out of the game in the third.

“He caught me pretty good,” said Romo, who underwent back surgery in December. “Even if I hadn’t had back surgery I would probably feel that one. It was a direct shot.”

Romo finished with 209 yards passing and threw a TD to receiver Dez Bryant in the first for a 7-3 lead.

Washington moved ahead in the second on a five-yard run from Alfred Morris, but the Cowboys tied it 10-10 with Dan Bailey’s field goal before halftime.

NFL-leading rusher DeMarco Murray registered his eighth straight 100-yard running game for Dallas, compiling 141 yards on the ground along with 80 yards receiving in the defeat.

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by John O'Brien)

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.