The Cowboys delivered a statement victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, giving fans something to celebrate taking down one of their biggest rivals 38-21 on Monday Night Football. Although every win against the Eagles carries inherent significance, this performance deserves a closer look as more than a handful of Cowboys stepped up when their team needed them.
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. continues to erase opposing receivers when matched up mano a mano. Receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens also stood out, carving up an Eagles defensive backfield filled with Pro Bowl and All-Pro players.
From standout individual performances to unexpected developments that could shape the weeks ahead, the biggest winners and losers from the Cowboys victory
in Philadelphia offer plenty to unpack.
Winner - RB Javonte Williams
The Cowboys were criticized for their lack of commitment to the run game but against the Eagles, Dallas shifted their philosophy allowing for running back Javonte Williams to turn in a career day.
His 25 carries against Philly was the most times he's ever carried the ball in the NFL while his 155 rushing yards were also acareer-high besting his previous mark by 20 yards. His 2-yard TD run with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter tied him for the NFL lead with eight TD scores.
Javonte Williams had the best rushing game of his NFL career running all over the Eagles on Monday night.
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) October 27, 2026
25 CAR, 155 RUYDS, 1 TD, 6.2 YPC vs Eagles
Dallas finished with a season high 204 rushing yards in the 38 to 21 win. pic.twitter.com/plP1jdI8Bi
Midway through his second season in Dallas, Williams has already accumulated 19 rushing touchdowns and three receiving scores. Not bad for a player who initially signed a one-year, $3 million dollar deal to come to Dallas.
The Cowboys eventually gave him a three-year, $24 million extension.
Williams averaged 6.2 yards per carry against Philadelphia and now ranks 12th in rushing with 472 yards, but is only six yards shy of being in the top 10 in that category. In terms of average annual salary, he is the 20th highest paid player at his position makes Williams one of the best value contracts in Dallas and the biggest winner this week.
Loser Brian Schottenheimer
Dallas head coach Brian Schotteneheimer was under fire from Cowboys Nation after declaring himself an elite play caller and on the surface, putting up 38 points against a Vic Fangio led defense may be enough evidence to support his claim.
While his play calling is debatable, his game management on the other hand has had some head-scratching moments.
With :43 seconds before halftime and armed with two timeouts, quarterback Dak Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for a 14-yard pickup giving Dallas 1st and 10 at the Eagles 39-yard line. Instead of using a timeout, Dallas rushed to the line where Prescott found Lamb again for a 20-yard gain.
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, that left them with only 12 seconds left setting up a debate if Schottenheimer should have called timeout after the first Lamb reception. After questionable calls in Rio and Tampa, Schotty has lost the benefit of the doubt — not to mention a historically slow start to begin his career.
Number of games it took each Dallas Cowboys head coach to reach 10 regular season wins:
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 28, 2026
- Tom Landry, 45
- Jimmy Johnson, 36
- Barry Switzer, 12
- Chan Gailey, 16
- Dave Campo, 31
- Bill Parcells, 15
- Wade Phillips, 11
- Jason Garrett, 19
- Mike McCarthy, 21
- Brian…
Another example was on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys were up 28-21 with 9:55 remaining. The ball was on the Eagles 9-yard line with the game still undecided, Schotty called a run to fullback Hunter Leupke instead of going for a TD.
The play call irked many people including play-by-play commentator Joe Buck, who said it was a 'strange play call' live on air.
After the game, Schottenheimer was not his normal self giving short answers to the media creating a narrative, true or not, that he did not appreciate the things written about him in the papers after a two-game skid.
Whether or not he is on the hot seat, the leash has shortened according to fan consensus and anything he does wrong in the future will be amplified beyond normal occurrences making him the biggest loser of the night.
Winner - Offensive Line
The big boys up front paved the way for running back Javonte Williams to have a career night and QB Dak Prescott was not sacked, giving up just three pressures earning the Cowboys line the highest grade across the NFL in Week 7.
The Cowboys offensive line probably had their best day as a starting unit after dominating the Philadelphia front. In fact, it was the most plays ran without yardage lost since they did so during the 2015 season against the Giants.
Impressive stat of the game: the Cowboys ran 65 plays and did not have one lose yards.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) October 27, 2026
According to ESPN Research, it’s the most plays the Cowboys have had in a game without a negative play since 2015 when they ran 69 in a loss to the Giants.
Collectively, the starting unit had an average PFF grade of 81.8 against Philly with right guard Tyler Booker grading the highest with an 92.4 overall grade.
For the season, left tackle Tyler Guyton and left guard Tyler Smith are PFF's second-highest graded run blockers at their positions. Cooper Beebe is their third-highest overall graded center, and right guard Tyler Booker is the third-highest graded run blocker and sixth highest graded guard overall.
Don't get it twisted, Philadelphia may have a plethora of injuries but neutralizing their front seven consisting of interior defensive lineman and Pro Bowler Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis along with All-Pro linebacker Zach Baun, is an impressive feat.
Loser - TE Jake Ferguson
Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson inked a four-year, $52 million contract extension back in July of 2025 but appears now to be in danger of losing his starting spot to Brevyn Spann-Ford. Ferguson failed to catch a pass against Philly and his only target was a scramble drill in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
In fact, their usage over the past few weeks has gotten so close that it may just be a matter of time before Dallas must address the depth chart updating facts with a foregone conclusion.
Snap counts (offense) last night...
— Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) October 27, 2026
Jake Ferguson = 56%
Brevyn Spann-Ford = 53%
The passing of the torch that everyone wants appears to be happening slowly.
Spann-Ford signed athree-year $18 million extension back in September but his numbers exceed his modest deal. Spann-Ford has a higher PFF grade than Ferguson (46.3) by almost 20 percentage points (65.5).
Ferguson's run blocking effort and execution has come into question as of late and although both players have dipped in that department, both are better pass protectors than given credit.
Either way, after the front office declared changes would be on the horizon following a losing streak, Ferguson, amongst all the presumed starters, has been the one player whose playing time has decreased significantly pointing towards an awkward offseason.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys deliver against Eagles: Who stepped up and who fell short?
