Don’t look now, but the Atlanta Falcons are on fire.

Atlanta is now 5-1 in its last six games following Sunday’s 27-21 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They are 6-3 overall and sit atop the NFC South as they continue an impressive season in Raheem Morris’ first year as head coach.

Kirk Cousins ​​was 19 of 24 for 222 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, while Bijan Robinson accounted for 145 yards from scrimmage in a solid performance.

As for the Cowboys, they fell to 3-5 with a third straight loss and remain out of the NFC playoff picture. They played without running back Ezekiel Elliott due to “disciplinary reasons,” according to ESPN. Todd Archerand quarterback Dak Prescott was ruled out in the fourth quarter due to a hamstring injury.

The game was all but decided for the Falcons when Prescott exited, which only added to the frustration on the Cowboys’ side.

That frustration bothered head coach Mike McCarthy a bit, especially during a game that included bad timing penalties, a botched fake punt and overall poor play:

These teams are going in opposite directions, which was clear from the beginning. The cousins ​​found Drake London, who was discarded with a hip injury as a result, for the first touchdown of the game and Darnell Mooney for the second to open a double-digit lead.

Even when the Cowboys gained some momentum with a Cousins ​​sack, they gave it back when Atlanta’s defense stuffed CeeDee Lamb on a fourth-down run. It was part of a brutal start for the visiting offense, although Prescott’s touchdown pass to Rico Dowdle cut the halftime deficit to 14-10.

Any good feeling after Dowdle’s touchdown was short-lived, however, as McCarthy decided that a fake punt inside his own territory was the way to start the second half. It didn’t work, and Cousins ​​hit Ray-Ray McCloud III for a touchdown on the next possession to give the Falcons more breathing room.

Mistakes and overall sloppy play continued for the Cowboys, who were punished for having too many men on the field on a 4th-and-1 attempt and saw a promising drive stopped only for a field goal due to a holding.

It was a similar pattern for the team, which explains why angst is growing around McCarthy.

Cooper Rush led a touchdown drive to close the deficit after Tyler Allgeier’s touchdown extended the lead to 14 in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons recovered the onside kick to send Dallas into a key divisional showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles with even more question marks.