Eagles survive Cowboys' final drive to win thrilling NFC East battle
The Philadelphia Eagles' defense held off a final push from the Dallas Cowboys to beat their NFC East rival and move to 8-1 on the season.
The latest chapter of the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys rival in the NFC East went to the birds. And this one came down to the wire.
The Eagles had a 28-23 lead late in the fourth quarter when they were forced to punt to the Cowboys, who had 46 seconds to get the job done.
Philadelphia’s defense helped the Cowboys on this crucial drive, with cornerback James Bradberry being called for pass interference on the first play followed by edge rusher Haasan Reddick being called for roughing the passer of Dak Prescott on the next snap. Those two penalties put the Cowboys on the Philadelphia 25-yard line in two plays after starting on their own 14.
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The Cowboys would get the ball all the way down to Philadelphia’s 6-yard line with 27 seconds left and no timeouts. But the Eagles’ defense came through with a huge play as Josh Sweat sacked Prescott, pushing the Cowboys back to the 22-yard line.
Prescott would try to find CeeDee Lamb with a desperation throw at the end of the game for the win, but he was well short of the goal line. The Eagles survived the division battle and moved to 8-1 on the season. Dallas is now 5-3.
The second half was where the Eagles started pulling away from the Cowboys in what was the shootout everyone expected between these bitter rivals. Jalen Hurts found DeVonta Smith deep down the left sideline on a perfectly thrown ball for a 29-yard touchdown to make it 21-17.
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Then, after forcing a punt on the Cowboys, Hurts and the Eagles charged downfield, going 87 yards on 11 plays that was finished off by star wide receiver A.J. Brown on a four-yard score to tack on to the lead, 28-17.
It looked like Prescott and the Cowboys were able to respond when they were on Philadelphia’s 1-yard line on 4th-and-goal as rookie tight end Luke Schoonmaker caught a pass and referees signaled for the first down. However, upon review, Schoonmaker’s knee had been down before the ball crossed the goal line, turning it over on downs.
But after forcing a three-and-out, the Cowboys got into the colored paint thanks to Prescott finding Jalen Tolbert for a seven-yard catch. The Cowboys tried the two-point conversion with Prescott rushing to the right. However, Prescott was ruled out and the score remained 28-23.
That was the difference in this game as the Cowboys could’ve kicked a chip shot field goal if they wanted to, forcing overtime. Instead, it was a tough loss to swallow on the road.
Prescott finished 29-for-44 for 374 yards with three touchdowns and no touchdowns in arguably his best game of the season. Lamb was his top target and exploded with 191 yards on 11 catches for a game-high in both categories.
Meanwhile, Hurts was a modest 17-for-23 with 207 yards and two touchdowns along with his rushing score and 36 yards on the ground. Brown snapped his streak of games with 150-plus receiving yards after finishing Sunday with 66 on seven catches. Smith also had 51 yards on three catches.
Philadelphia got off to a hot start right away in this one, driving 77 yards on 13 plays for Kenneth Gainwell to run 12 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead early. But this game would quickly become the shootout it was expected to be.
Prescott and the Cowboys responded to the Eagles’ first touchdown drive with their own as tight end Jake Ferguson (seven catches, 91 yards) caught a four-yard pass to cap a 53-yard drive to tie the game. And Dallas would take its first lead of the game after forcing a three-and-out, with KaVontae Turpin finding the end zone this time on another short Prescott pass.
The Eagles were able to score another touchdown before the first half ended thanks to a "Tush Push" on Hurts for a one-yard score, making it a 14-14 game. Philadelphia, once again, was able to come away with the big plays in the second half in the end.
Philly heads into its bye week followed by a much-anticipated matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 20. The Cowboys will look to rebound against the New York Giants, who have been reeling this season at 2-7.