The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17 at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Monday, securing their fourth win of the 2023 National Football League regular season.

Both teams scored one touchdown after the first three drives in Monday's competition. The Chargers' quarterback (QB) Justin Herbert completed four passes and found wide receiver Keenan Allen in front of the end zone, helping his side secure an early lead. However, it didn't last long because the Cowboys' QB Dak Prescott replied a nine-play, 75-yard attack in the following drive that ended with a rushing touchdown by Prescott himself to tie the score.

Nonetheless, instead of having a high-scoring contest, both the Cowboys and the Chargers fell into offensive slumps, getting nothing but one field goal each until the fourth quarter. The Chargers decided to punt on a 4th & 2 in the first quarter, then missed a 4th & 1 play in the third period. The Cowboys failed to covert a 4th & 1 play in the second quarter as well.

The two team's defensive groups deserved credit for the underperformances of each other's offensive groups, but in different ways. The Chargers sacked Prescott five times, but couldn't keep him from completing 21 of his 30 passes for 272 yards and one touchdown with no interception. Herbert was only sacked once, but the Chargers' offensive line was so poor in protecting their QB that he had to make quick decisions under great pressure constantly. As a result, 15 of his 37 passes were incomplete.

The Chargers were one step from desperation after having to punt at their 30 yards on 4th & 10. They were trailing 17-10 at that moment with less than nine minutes to go, but the team was saved by one mistake made by the Cowboys’ special team. Wide receiver Jalen Tolbert had a muffed catch, giving the ball back to the opponents at the Cowboys’ 20 yards. Then cornerback Stephon Gilmore committed a pass interference, which enabled the Chargers to move forward on a 15-yard penalty to the red zone. Herbert didn't waste this opportunity, passing to tight end Gerald Everett to score a touchdown and tie the score at 17-17.

The Cowboys' rally in the following drive was long and wrinkled. It took them 15 plays to the opponents' 21 yards for Brandon Aubrey to make his second field goal of the game and put his side on a three-point lead (20-17). It was not the perfect advantage, but they only left the Chargers two minutes and 19 seconds for counterattack.

Herbert carried his team to 33 yards on 2nd & 2 with one pass, one penalty and one scramble. However, in his first play since the two-minute warning, he was sacked by linebacker Micah Parsons at eight yards back. Then his pass for wide receiver Quentin Johnston was intercepted by Gilmore, marking the end to the Chargers' battles.

"It was a must win. There's a big difference between 4-2 and 3-3," Prescott said. "We talked after last week about not allowing this thing to landslide. When you get this win like we did, we can definitely move on."