THE DALLAS COWBOYS did not play their best, but still did enough to beat an injury-ravaged Tennessee Titans 27-13 on Thursday night with tight-end Dalton Schultz catching two touchdowns.

With their post-season place already assured, the Cowboys retain an outside chance of taking the top seed in the NFC if they can win their final game against Washington and the Philadelphia Eagles lose their last two games.

Despite their sixth straight loss, the Titans can also make the playoffs if they win their final game at the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Quarterback Joshua Dobbs was handed his first start in the NFL after Malik Willis was benched, having struggled to stand in for the injured first-choice starter Ryan Tannehill.

A former University of Tennessee player, Dobbs has spent five years as a backup with Pittsburgh, Jacksonville and Cleveland but may have done well enough to keep his place for the decider in Jacksonville.

Dobbs completed 20 of 39 attempts as he threw for 232 yards and one touchdown, with one interception.

His opposite number Dak Prescott threw two interceptions in the first half, continuing a worrying trend for the Cowboys signal-caller, but he kept a level head as he managed the team to victory in the second half.

Prescott, without star running back Tony Pollard, threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns.

Ezekiel Elliott set the Cowboys on their way with a one-yard run into the endzone for his ninth straight game with a rushing touchdown and Dallas led 10-6 at halftime.

Prescott then found Schultz with a six-yard pass to extend Dallas’ lead to 11 points before Dobbs kept the Titans in the contest, connecting with Robert Woods on a seven-yard touchdown pass.

But Prescott turned to the reliable Schultz again in the fourth quarter, finding him in the corner of the endzone with a fine ten-yard pass and a field goal from Brett Maher secured a comfortable win.

– © AFP 2022