Dak Prescott praised the resilience of the Dallas Cowboys after the overcame the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17 in the NFL on Sunday.

Staring down the possibility of a second consecutive heart-breaking road defeat to start the season, the Cowboys showed their determination in Week 2.

That was the message from star quarterback Prescott after Greg Zuerlein's 56-yard field as time expired gave the Cowboys victory over the Chargers. 

After watching Tom Brady march Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers down the field in the final minute to set up a game-winning kick in the season opener, the Cowboys' defence got the job done in the second half against the Chargers.

An 11-play Chargers drive in the third quarter ended with a Damontae Kazee interception of Justin Herbert in the end zone, four plays after an apparent Herbert TD pass was called back due to a holding penalty. 

It was more of the same on a 12-play Los Angeles drive that consumed much of the fourth quarter, as Herbert and the Chargers reached the Dallas two-yard line before having a touchdown negated due to an illegal shift.

Two plays later, Micah Parsons sacked Herbert for an 18-yard loss and the home side had to settle for a game-tying field goal from Tristan Vizcaino rather than a go-ahead touchdown. 

To Prescott, those two stands were indicative of a team determined to stick together. 

"We're resilient, we're gonna fight, we're always in the fight," Prescott told CBS. "I think tonight we showed our brotherhood, we trusted each other, we played complementary football.

"Defence came up with a great turnover there in the red zone and we finished off with a win."

Zuerlein saw to that with his booming 56-yarder, which Prescott "had all faith" the veteran kicker would make. 

More important over the course of the game was a revived Dallas rushing attack after the team ran just 18 times for 60 yards at Tampa Bay. 

The Cowboys more than tripled that yardage total on Sunday, going for 198 on 31 carries as Tony Pollard ran for 109 yards while averaging 8.4 per rush and Ezekiel Elliott piled up 71 yards, with both backs finding the end zone. 

"It started with the offensive line," Prescott said. "They came out and they set the tone, they were physical. That allowed both of those backs to get going. Those guys hit the holes and just allowed us to be balanced.

"That's what we said, after last game -- we're gonna do whatever it takes to win, whether it's throwing a lot, run and a lot or be balanced. Tonight, it took all of that to get it done."