No side entered Lincoln Financial Field on Monday, October 26, as a potential contending side. Both came in with identical 2-4 records, and only one left with an emphatic victory.
The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-21. The Cowboys gained 416 yards compared to their opponent's 321, and did not have any turnovers, per Sportradar data.
The situation was more than just about the rankings. Yahoo said that the losing team was bound for obscurity and that the two teams combined were only 1-7 since Week 2.
For Dallas, the game had a lot of personal implications. A loss would have meant falling to a record of 2-5, which would have come amid all the criticism following their claims of being a Super Bowl team in the preseason.
The Eagles' performance was deteriorating quickly. They had gone four games losing following their initial 2-0 start.
Problems for Philadelphia were mostly on offense, as their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, was injured reserve, while wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks were absent.
Hurts' issue is quite severe. Media reports claim that he was unable to play for an extended period of time because of deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in his lungs. Backup Tanner McKee started in place of Hurts.
One positive thing, though. Running back Saquon Barkley played after having issues with his hamstrings.
It was Dallas that scored first. In the first quarter Brandon Aubrey hit a 55-yard field goal, while Barkley ran in a touchdown from 8 yards. The team had a 7-3 lead.
Prescott did not take long to answer. He threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb, putting Dallas in the lead at 10-7 in the first quarter.
The Philadelphia team managed to take the lead again in the second quarter through a 5-yard touchdown run by Dameon Pierce. The lead would not last.
The Cowboys scored the following 13 points before halftime, with Prescott throwing a 21-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens while Aubrey scored a 27-yard field goal with three seconds left. Dallas led with 20-14.
The next score came from McKee, who got his team level at 20-20 when he threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to their rookie Makai Lemon.
This was the last lead that Philadelphia had in the entire game, as Prescott threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Lamb and added two extra points.
Aubrey kicked a field goal of 24 yards, making the score 31-21. In addition, the match was ended with the Williams’ touchdown rush of two yards, giving the score of 38-21.
Prescott gave three touchdown passes without a single interception. He also had a rating of 118.1.
As for the running game of the Cowboys, they made 38 rushes for 204 yards and 5.4 yards per carry. Their team offense has scored just 29 points in the last two games before Monday.
Defensive efforts of the Cowboys also bounced back. They sacked McKee twice and intercepted him once. While McKee threw for 211 yards in 35 attempts, his completion percentage was a modest 5.4 yards per attempt.
The Eagles were cautious before the game. CBS had Cowboys winning by a score of 24-20, while according to the writer of that prediction, there was no way for Cowboys to blow anyone out. SI gave a score of 27-17.
However, the gap is still very wide, as only the Giants boasted a winning record going into Monday at 4-2-1.
The victory now puts the Cowboys at 3-4 and the Eagles at 2-5. The Cowboys will play against Arizona on Sunday. Both teams will clash again on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, in Dallas.
