ARLINGTON, Texas- The Dallas Cowboys dominated the Philadelphia Eagles 37-10 in week seven. The Cowboys keep their lead in the NFC East as a result and broke their third-straight losing streak/slow start woes with the victory.
Dallas scored 27 points in the first half of the matchup against the Eagles, the most points in a half by the Cowboys’ offensive unit since 2015 vs. Atlanta.
The Cowboys’ defense forced takeaways on consecutive drives to open the game, both leading to scores for a 14-0 start. On the Eagles opening drive, Jaylon Smith forced the fumble recovered by Maliek Collins for a Dallas first down. The offense capitalized with a Tavon Austin 20-yard touchdown run. On Philly’s second drive of the night, DeMarcus Lawrence sacked Carson Wentz and caused the fumble. Antwaun Woods recovered the ball to put the Cowboys offense back on the field. They once again responded with a touchdown. This time, with an Ezekiel Elliott one-yard TD rush after his14-yarder was reversed on the previous play.
The defense recorded four total takeaways in the ballgame, the most since 2013 against the Giants. Xavier Woods intercepted a pass intended for Alshon Jeffery in the fourth quarter and on the Eagles next drive, Kerry Hyder shot straight through the gap to get to Wentz. He then knocked the ball out and recovered it. Dallas’ offense capitalized with Prescott’s eight-yard touchdown run.
I spoke with Hyder following the game on the play and he stated, “ I was playing fast. The ball hit the ground and I came out on top of it to help the team.” He added that leading up to the game, Rod Marinelli preached, “ Play fast. Be physical. Come out and give it all you’ve got.” The defense certainly did in the must win division game.
Dallas amassed three different players with a rushing touchdown (Prescott, Austin, and Elliott), the first since 2016 against Chicago. With Dak’s rushing TD in the fourth quarter, he broke a tie with Roger Staubach (20) for the most rushing touchdowns by a Cowboys’ quarterback in franchise history. He completed 21 of 27 attempts for 239 yards passing, one touchdown, and one interception for a 100.5 QBR.
Following the game Prescott remarked, “ Best complimentary football we have played all year…something we have been trying to get to this season.”
The Cowboys showed what the team is capable of on both sides of the football. After a week of the word ‘execution’ floating around, Dallas put the phrase into action on the field.
