Dak Prescott had a hand in all three touchdowns and made the big throws on the drive to the winning field goal as the Dallas Cowboys erased a 21-point deficit to beat the defending champion and NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles.
The star quarterback knew where to begin while trying to explain the improbable rally that kept Dallas (5-5-1) in the playoff conversation entering a short week before a Thanksgiving meeting on Thursday with Kansas City (6-5), last season’s other Super Bowl team.
“Defense, defense, defense, defense,” Prescott said after he broke Tony Romo’s club record for yards passing in the 24-21 victory over the Eagles on Sunday. “We wouldn’t have won this game without the opportunities they gave us over and over again.”
Imagine Prescott saying that a month ago after the Cowboys let a middle-of-the-pack Denver offense score six touchdowns in a span of seven full possessions during the Broncos‘ 44-22 win and finished that week ranked last at 32nd in passing defense and 31st in scoring defense and total defense.
Of course, something significant has changed since. The Cowboys used one of the two first-round draft picks acquired in the trade that sent star edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers a week before the season to get standout defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets at the trade deadline.
Dallas is 2-0 with Williams, starting with last week’s 33-16 victory over Las Vegas in which the Cowboys recorded season bests by allowing just 236 yards and holding the Raiders to a 25% conversion rate on third down. Dallas still has the league’s worst third-down defense.
The Cowboys followed that by shutting out the Eagles over the final 41 minutes.
“We’re hitting our stride and it’s all coming together,” Williams said. “I can’t go out there and do everything on my own. Nobody can. I just think we’re all putting our heads together and executing as one.”
Odighizuwa had the third-down sack of Jalen Hurts that gave the Cowboys the chance to drive for Brandon Aubrey’s game-ending field goal after Prescott and company failed to take advantage of two fourth-quarter fumbles by the Eagles. The fifth-year player who was drafted by the Cowboys will say he has more room to roam with Williams around.
“Offense has been rolling all year,” Odighizuwa said. “So we know just getting some stops, getting them the ball back, giving them as many opportunities as they can to score, they’re going to get the job done. Being able to do that and have a complementary win like this, especially in a comeback like that, I feel like it just speaks to our play style and our character. We’re going to be fighting, scratch, claw, every play, until it’s over.”
What’s working
The connection between Prescott and George Pickens is something to behold after the receiver was added in an offseason trade with Pittsburgh. Pickens’ spectacular leaping catch for 43 yards set up Prescott’s tying 8-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Eagles. Pickens has tied his career high of nine catches three times and already has a career-best 67 grabs this season. His 1,054 yards receiving are 86 shy of his best, and he’s on pace for more than 1,700.
What needs help
Pickens’ sidekick, CeeDee Lamb, needs a boost of confidence after drops plagued him against the Eagles, just as they did in the NFL season opener, a 24-20 Philadelphia victory that might have been a Dallas win if Lamb had hung on to any one of three crucial drops. Lamb did have a big catch on the drive that got the Cowboys within a touchdown, but the drops are a bad look when Pickens keeps making crazy catches.
Stock up
TE Brevyn Spann-Ford stumbled coming out of a break on a route in the end zone with Prescott watching him the whole time, hoping he wouldn’t fall. Spann-Ford stayed on his feet and ended up with his first career TD on a 4-yard catch.
Stock down
Receiver and kick returner KaVontae Turpin lost a fumble after taking a handoff out of the backfield and was penalized when he half-heartedly signaled for a fair catch on a punt and ran anyway. The penalty cost Dallas field position on the final drive, but the Cowboys overcame it.
While Turpin is fourth among qualifying kickoff returners a year after being named All-Pro, he’s nowhere to be found on the punt return list. Without value in those areas, ball security could threaten the diminutive Turpin’s job security.
Injuries
The biggest concern was Williams staying down after a play and saying after the game that Saquon Barkley got a shot to his ribs on a pass rush. Williams did return, though. … LT Tyler Guyton injured an ankle and was replaced by Nate Thomas for almost half the game.
Key number
34,378 — Prescott’s career yards passing after beating Romo’s previous record of 34,183. The next big number is TD passes. Prescott would have to average two TD per game the rest of this season to beat Romo’s mark of 247. He has 236.
Next steps
The first winning streak of the season gives Dallas a chance against the Chiefs to get over .500 for the first time. The Cowboys are 0-3 when playing for a winning record this season.
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