Cowboys hold off Eagles, win 40-34 in a shootout in the NFC East

The Dallas Cowboys just beat the Philadelphia Eagles 40-34 powered by four turnovers on defense and a 347-yard, three-touchdown game from Dak Prescott. Although this game did not have the impact most thought it would just a few months ago, it was a momentum-shifting one and a great division win for Dallas heading into the postseason.

The early Dak Prescott pick-six to Josh Sweat was just inexcusable. Plays like that will put you in holes against good teams and most of the time you will be buried quickly. Turnovers were never really a knock on him. This is his fourth season with double digit interceptions, but in two of those seasons, he had 30+ passing touchdowns.

He corrected it in a big way, though, playing his best game of the season. He threw three touchdowns on 347 yards, being the first player to throw for over 300 on the Eagles this season. All of that while being sacked six times is exactly what makes Prescott the key cog in all of this. The game he played against the Eagles is hopefully the start of a playoff push of fine play.

In the second quarter, Jayron Kearse had a really impressive interception. Awesome. The offense scored a touchdown off the turnover. Even better. The in between? Ugly for sure as they lost a combined 14 yards on two first downs, but beggars can’t be choosers. Making the most of turnovers is key for a team that knows how to force them.

To follow that, they did the same exact thing late in the third quarter. Touchdown off a takeaway. They are one of the top teams in the league this season scoring off turnovers and that is a massively important stat to be atop the league.

Michael Gallup had some costly drops and that’s not a good look. He did make a beautiful play on the ball to score a touchdown late in the third quarter, but for this offense to have success in the long term, he needs to become a true, consistent WR2. Take a look at Chris Godwin, Devonta Smith, those type of guys. Plenty of looks and the production to boot. We need that out of Gallup.

The Cowboys defense isn’t as advertised, either. What once was a strong suit of this team has become a bit of a weakness. They blitzed on third down and got exploited in the secondary. They didn’t sack Gardner Minshew a single time and have let up 74 points over the last two weeks. Devonta Smith did his best impression of Zay Jones, catching eight balls for two scores and 113 yards. The cornerback spot in opposition to Trevon Diggs is a whole that teams exploit, but even Diggs was getting exploited in this game.

The running attack has been on a decline the last two weeks, the exact time that you can’t afford for that to happen. Last week, neither Pollard or Elliott averaged more than four yards a carry. This week, neither eclipsed 3.5 yards per carry.

CeeDee Lamb had a career game, catching two touchdowns on ten receptions and 120 yards. He is WR1. He is him.

Other than that, it’s a really important win, even besides the small climb in the standings climbing in the standings. This is the time of year when good football is a must, and it carries over into January. It’s a short week against a declining Tennessee Titans team, so hopefully another win is on deck.