Cowboys Run Past Eagles 38-21, Hand Philadelphia Fifth Straight Loss
Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes and Javonte Williams ran for 155 yards as Dallas stayed alive in the NFC East and dropped Philadelphia to 2-5 on Monday Night Football
The Dallas Cowboys ran and threw their way past the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, 38-21 at Lincoln Financial Field. Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes, two of them to CeeDee Lamb, and Javonte Williams ran for 155 yards as Dallas scored on seven of its nine possessions.
Dallas improved to 3-4 and climbed to 1.5 games behind the 4-2-1 Giants in the NFC East. Philadelphia fell to 2-5 and has lost five straight since a 2-0 start.
A different-looking Eagles offense
With Jalen Hurts out and Tanner McKee making another start, Philadelphia's offense looked more like the one OC Sean Mannion was hired to run. Sean Mannion has been the play-caller all season, and Nick Sirianni stood by him last week. On Monday the Eagles mixed in more under-center play-action and leaned on the run early, and the results were better than in recent weeks.
Saquon Barkley, playing through a hamstring injury, touched the ball on three of the first four plays and finished the opening drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. It was Philadelphia's first opening-drive touchdown of the season. Dameon Pierce added a 5-yard score early in the second quarter, and the Eagles went 3-for-3 in the red zone.
Their best drive came out of halftime: 17 plays, 84 yards and 9:16 off the clock. Mannion called an under-center play-action pass to Makai Lemon on fourth-and-1 to keep it alive, and McKee finished it with a 4-yard touchdown throw to the rookie in a tight window. It was Lemon's first NFL touchdown, and it put Philadelphia ahead 21-20.
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McKee went 23 of 35 for 211 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Lemon caught seven passes for 67 yards. The Eagles played without DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, and they lost Barkley in the second half. He left with a back injury and was listed questionable to return, but he didn't come back. He finished with 62 yards on seven carries.
The defensive line didn't show up
The offense gave Philadelphia a chance. The defense couldn't hold a lead.
The Eagles didn't sack Prescott once, and Dallas ran 38 times for 204 yards at 5.4 yards per carry. PhillyVoice's Eliot Shorr-Parks noted midway through the third quarter that the defensive line had one pressure and no sacks. That's a tough look for a unit the Eagles invested heavily in this offseason. Philadelphia committed a total of $328 million to Jonathan Greenard, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis. Through seven games, those moves by GM Howie Roseman haven't produced a pass rush. Philadelphia entered the week ranked near the bottom of the league in both pressure rate and sack rate.
Prescott went 15 of 27 for 212 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, a 118.1 passer rating. His 21-yard touchdown to George Pickens late in the second quarter put Dallas back in front for good at the time, and Brandon Aubrey's 27-yard field goal at the halftime gun made it 20-14.
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How Dallas pulled away
Philadelphia's lead lasted less than five minutes. Dallas answered Lemon's touchdown with a nine-play, 61-yard drive that ended with Prescott's 16-yard touchdown to Lamb. Prescott ran in the two-point conversion himself for a 28-21 lead.
Aubrey's 24-yard field goal made it 31-21 with 9:10 left. On the next possession, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown intercepted McKee.
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After the Eagles turned it over on downs, Williams punched in a 2-yard touchdown with 2:21 left to finish it off.
Williams carried 25 times for 155 yards, including a 34-yard run. Lamb caught five passes for 74 yards and two scores, and Ryan Flournoy added four catches for 70 yards. Dallas outgained Philadelphia 416-321, went 8 of 13 on third down and didn't turn the ball over. Quinnen Williams had one of the Cowboys' two sacks.
Where this leaves both teams
Dallas is 2-1 in the division after the win, and it gets the Eagles again on Thanksgiving.
For Philadelphia, a five-game skid has the season on the brink. The Eagles are 2.5 games behind New York, and the questions now go beyond the scheme. Before kickoff, multiple insiders were already raising whether the Eagles could become sellers with a loss. With the trade deadline on Nov. 10, those questions will only get louder.
The Cowboys host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Nov. 1 (1 p.m. ET). The Eagles visit the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football that night (8:20 p.m. ET).