ARLINGTON -- Dak Prescott never shirks his responsibility. The quarterback is the first to accept blame when the Cowboys lose.

That's happening a lot these days.

Prescott's fiercest advocates will try to shift culpability for Monday night's 28-14 loss to the defense. They will argue the way Tennessee's offense skewered the Cowboys, converting 11-of-14 third down attempts, set the tone.

That argument has some merit. The Titans ground the Cowboys into submission with their time of possession, especially in the second half.

But if you want to throw the Cowboys defense under the bus, you must also acknowledge they came out inspired, forcing fumbles on Tennessee's first two possessions. Prescott promptly squandered the opportunity to stake his team to a big early lead with an inexcusable interception. He then failed to move the offense in the second half until the game was out of reach.

Prescott was unable to seize the moment. It was the quarterback who failed to stem the tide for this struggling bunch, just as he did in the final five minutes of the team's loss to Washington 15 days earlier.

"We've got to do better and it starts with me," Prescott said. "I felt good going into this one and to come out with this loss to be 3-5 is very disappointing."

Dallas finds itself two games below .500 for the first time since the end of the 2015 season. You may remember that Tony Romo, Matt Cassel, Brandon Weeden and Kellen Moore all took turns at quarterback in that 4-12 season.

The agony of that season led to the fourth pick of the first round, a selection the club used on Ezekiel Elliott to spark its resurgence. The Cowboys don't have a first round pick in the upcoming draft. The club gave it up two weeks ago to acquire receiver Amari Cooper from Oakland.

Cooper had a nice game, scored a touchdown and displayed something of a rapport with Prescott. But the decision by the normally risk-adverse quarterback to squeeze the ball between two defenders resulted in an interception that changed the course of the evening.

The Cowboys already held a 7-0 lead with a second-and-goal on the Titans 6-yard line. Cooper, who scored the team's first touchdown, ran across the back of the end zone. Prescott tried to throw the ball over the first defender.

He threw the ball over Cooper in the process. Safety Kevin Byard came down with the interception.

Head coach Jason Garrett said the quarterback tried to lay the ball over the underneath defender and just didn't get a good look.

"I tried to force the ball," Prescott said. "There were guys in my face. I've just have to throw it out of the back of the end zone at that point."

Tennessee took over on the 20-yard line. Fifteen plays later the Titans scored a touchdown to tie the game at 7-all.

"That was the difference, simple as that," Prescott said. "Our defense gets us a turnover and we're up seven points. I go down there and try to force that ball and give it right back to them.

"It's a 14-point swing."

The score was tied at 14 on the Cowboys first possession of the third quarter. Prescott is wrapped up by linebacker Jayon Brown on third-and-13. Rather than accept the loss, Prescott tried to make something out of nothing.

He did the same late in the fourth quarter against Washington. Trapped for an apparent safety, Prescott spun away from the tackle, fumbled and gave up a touchdown that put the Cowboys down by 10 points with 4:55 remaining.

Prescott fumbled again on this night. It was his third lost fumble of the last two games and fourth of the season.

The Titans turned that into a touchdown seven plays later to take a 21-14 lead.

"It's about managing the game in that situation," Prescott said. "I've just got to go down and quit trying to take over the game and do too much at that point."

Prescott completed 21-of-31 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He presided over an offense that gained only 41 yards in the second half before the Cowboys found themselves down by 14. All five of his sacks took place after halftime.

In the days leading into this game, Prescott wasn't coy. He spoke of the sense of urgency the Cowboys face, declaring, "the time is now."

"Tonight's game did not -- did not, I emphasize -- impact my future look at Dak Prescott," owner Jerry Jones said. "Not tonight."

The decision won't come down solely to what happened on this night. But the time is now for Prescott to prove he should be this team's quarterback going forward.

Time is already slipping away on the Cowboys season.

Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. through the Super Bowl.