What a game! Just when you thought the Dallas Cowboys were ready to implode into an epic meltdown in front of the home crowd, they launched a furious comeback to beat their bitter rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. For most of the game, Dallas looked completely out of sorts, making one crushing blunder after another. Heading into halftime, the deficit, while only two scores, seemed almost insurmountable for how the Cowboys had played up until that point.
The Cowboys couldn’t hang on to the football and
failed to execute in the red zone, while also being unable to keep the Eagles’ offense from scoring. In a miracle, the Cowboys overcame a 21-point deficit. Dallas shocked the Eagles to improve to a 3-1 record in the NFC East division. With the win, Dallas draws to .500 once again and could play themselves back into playoff contention ahead of a critical stretch over the next few weeks. Here are the stars that delivered the Cowboys a wild finish days before Thanksgiving.
Osa Odighizuwa
After Alijah Clark made a terrific play to force a fumble inside the Eagles 10-yard line, the Cowboys came up short once again in the red zone. The Eagles very well could have marched their way into field goal range to deliver the game-winning kick. Facing 3rd-and-2 after the two-minute warning, the Eagles had a very manageable conversion.
However, Osa Odighizuwa’s relentless pursuit of Jalen Hurts resulted in a crucial sack that gave Dallas the ball back with the opportunity to win the game. Coinciding with the arrival of Quinnen Williams, Odighizuwa has looked much better these last two games. He also had a quality rush earlier in the game where he quickly swam over the center and brought pressure right in the face of Hurts to force an incompletion. Without Odighizuwa’s sack of Hurts, we could be talking about a completely different outcome. Dallas’ interior defensive linemen are paying off, and Odighizuwa was money today.
Sam Williams
In the second half, the Cowboys’ defense pitched a shutout. The Eagles’ first three drives after the break ended up in punts, and very rarely did Philadelphia make it past midfield. After Jake Elliott barely missed a 56-yard field goal attempt, he would have had another chance to redeem himself and give the Eagles a 24-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter. That is, until Sam Williams came swooping in.
Facing a 2nd and 17, Philadelphia was looking to salvage the drive, and Jalen Hurts threw a short pass to Barkley. Williams gave it his all to make a play, chased down Barkley, and punched the ball out of his arms that would be recovered by Kenneth Murray. It was a very timely effort play from Williams to allow his team to steal points and a possession from Philadelphia.
George Pickens
There’s some truly special receiving talent in the NFL. Arguably, the best in the game are Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and, at one point, CeeDee Lamb. However, it’s impossible to watch George Pickens over the last month or so and not convince yourself that he isn’t in that tier of elite receivers. He’s great at getting clean releases off the line of scrimmage, as we saw early in the game.
On one play, Eagles cornerback Adoree Jackson had inside leverage to take away the slant route, but Pickens got through Jackson anyway and picked up a nice gain for a first down. Then, on another play, Pickens ran a terrific pattern to get separation on a corner route. Pickens leaped over Cooper DeJean to haul in the pass, and as Tom Brady described was very similar to the legendary Hall of Famer Randy Moss.
His exceptional skills of route running, body control, and being a supremely talented athlete are out of this world. His slant on the game-winning drive put the Cowboys firmly in field goal position as Dallas got the win. In all, Pickens had nine receptions for 146 yards and one score. Cowboys fans have seen enough: Pay the man.
Dak Prescott
Lost in the first half of Dallas’ struggles was how well Dak Prescott played. As things crumbled around him, he stayed consistent. He was 13/17 (76.5%) before the break. Prescott was also doing it with his legs. Deep in the red zone, Prescott tied the game with a vintage scramble. Prescott left the pocket and running behind a great block behind Jake Ferguson, somersaulted into the end to even the game at 21-21.
Overall, Prescott did a great job of navigating the pocket, making his reads, and hitting receivers in the right spot. Sure, Prescott has a few throws he would like to have back, but the Eagles are a very good pass defense that Prescott carved like Thursday’s dinner. Prescott had one of his best games of the season.
He threw for 354 yards, had almost 9.8 yards per completion, and had a passer rating 103.2. In the game, Prescott surpassed Tony Romo for the all-time lead in passing yards for the Cowboys. Prescott now has 19 consecutive regular-season wins against NFC East opponents played at home. He may re-enter the MVP conversation if he keeps up this type of performance.
