Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes, two of them to CeeDee Lamb, Javonte Williams ran for a career-high 155 yards, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-21 on Monday night, October 26, at Lincoln Financial Field.
Dallas improves to 3-4 and is the only NFC East team with two division wins. Philadelphia falls to 2-5 and has lost five games in a row, its longest losing streak since 2016. The New York Giants, at 4-2-1, still lead the division, but the Cowboys head home with a win that keeps them firmly in the race.
A shootout early
The first half went back and forth. Brandon Aubrey opened the scoring with a 55-yard field goal on Dallas’ first drive. Saquon Barkley, back after missing more than two games with a hamstring injury, answered right away: he gained 37 yards on a four-play, 75-yard drive and finished it with an 8-yard touchdown run to make it 7-3.
Prescott then led a nine-play, 82-yard drive and hit Lamb for a 9-yard touchdown on third-and-2. Philadelphia came back with its longest drive of the half, 13 plays and 76 yards over 7:07, and Dameon Pierce scored from the 5 to put the Eagles ahead 14-10 early in the second quarter.
Dallas went back in front with a 14-play, 81-yard march that ate 7:48. Williams converted a fourth-and-1 at the Philadelphia 44 with a 4-yard run, and Prescott finished the drive with a 21-yard touchdown to George Pickens, who got behind safety Andrew Mukuba in the back of the end zone and dragged his foot to stay in bounds. Before halftime, Prescott moved the Cowboys 78 yards in 1:14, and Aubrey kicked a 27-yarder on the final play of the half for a 20-14 lead.
McKee’s long drive, then Lamb again
Tanner McKee, starting again because Jalen Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season with blood clots in his lungs, gave the Eagles their best stretch of the night to open the third quarter. Philadelphia ran 17 plays, went 84 yards and used 9:16. McKee converted a fourth-and-1 with a 15-yard pass to rookie Makai Lemon, and Lemon later caught a 4-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal for a 21-20 lead with 5:44 left in the quarter. It was the first touchdown drive Philadelphia has put together in a third quarter all season.
The lead lasted a little over four minutes. On the next Dallas drive, a Prescott throw was first ruled a backward pass and returned 73 yards for an apparent Eagles touchdown by Tariq Woolen, but replay changed it to an incomplete forward pass. Two plays later, Prescott floated a 16-yard pass to Lamb in the left corner of the end zone, then ran in the two-point conversion himself to make it 28-21 with 1:30 left in the third.
Overshown closes the door
Aubrey added a 24-yard field goal with 9:10 to play after Dallas stalled at the Philadelphia 6, his third make of the night. The Eagles still had time, and they reached the Dallas 32 on their next possession. On first down, McKee threw for Dallas Goedert, and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown stepped in front of the pass for an interception. It was Overshown’s first game back since a hamstring injury in Week 1.
Philadelphia got one more chance, but Quinnen Williams sacked McKee for an 8-yard loss and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs at their own 17. Six plays later, Javonte Williams ran in from the 2 with 2:21 left to finish the scoring. “Come out, get a division win on the road in a hostile environment right before we get to go home for a couple of weeks, I think it was massive,” Prescott said after the game.
The numbers
- Dak Prescott: 15 of 27 for 212 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and no sacks, plus the two-point run.
- Javonte Williams: 25 carries for 155 yards and a touchdown. It is the first 150-yard rushing game by a Cowboy since Ezekiel Elliott in 2018. Tyler Goodson added 38 yards on 10 carries.
- Cowboys receivers: Lamb had five catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns, Ryan Flournoy four for 70, and Pickens four for 57 and a score.
- Brandon Aubrey: 3 of 3 on field goals (55, 27 and 24 yards) and 3 of 3 on extra points.
- Tanner McKee: 23 of 35 for 211 yards, one touchdown and one interception; sacked twice.
- Eagles skill players: Lemon caught seven passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, Goedert had five for 48, Barkley ran seven times for 62 yards and a score, and Pierce had 47 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
- Defense: Overshown had six tackles and the interception. Quinnen Williams had a sack and three tackles for loss. Zack Baun led Philadelphia with nine tackles.
Dallas outgained Philadelphia 416-321 and ran for 204 yards at 5.4 a carry. The Cowboys converted eight of 13 third downs, did not turn the ball over and did not allow a sack. Philadelphia scored on all three of its red-zone trips, but it had only nine possessions and could not get a stop when it mattered. The Eagles have now allowed at least 375 yards in every game of their losing streak.
Barkley, Covey and the Eagles’ injuries
Barkley looked like himself on the opening drive, but he spent long stretches being treated for his back and hamstring and finished with only seven carries. Kick returner Britain Covey hurt his knee in the first quarter, and Philadelphia also played without receiver DeVonta Smith. The Eagles are now 3-6 without Hurts since he became their starter in 2021.
Before the game, owner Jeffrey Lurie was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame, and he spoke briefly at halftime with Brian Dawkins and Donovan McNabb beside him. “Football is going to deal you some tough hands at times,” Nick Sirianni said afterward. “Can you get up and keep fighting?” The questions about the pressure on the Eagles’ coaching staff are only getting louder.
What comes next
Dallas hosts the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, November 1, at 1 p.m. ET. Philadelphia visits the Washington Commanders in the Sunday night game on November 1 at 8:20 p.m. ET.
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