Defense suffocates Eagles' run game; offense ignites second-half surge. Explore how the Cowboys rallied for a stunning, all-time comeback victory.
And ... breathe everyone.
The Dallas Cowboys produced a comeback for the ages against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium to keep their faint playoff hopes alive with a stunning 24-21 win on Sunday.
In a game that was a classic tale of two halves, the Cowboys couldn't get out of their own way in the first half, and in the second half, played near-perfect football on both sides of the ball as the Eagles mentally disintegrated.
And Dallas' mentality?
Insisted Dak Prescott: “That game was needed. Never blinked. Never had any doubt. 1,000-percent believed from the beginning. I’m telling guys, ‘Believe. Believe.’
Before the game, I highlighted five things the Cowboys had to do to produce a win over the Eagles.
Let's see how they did.
1 - Defense make the Eagles one-dimensional - Grade A
Saquon Barkley had just 10 attempts for 22 yards. Yeah, the Eagles were one-dimensional as Jalen Hurts finished his day going 27 of 39 for 289 yards.
Dallas completely shut down Barkley, and in the second half, Philadelphia's offense produced four punts, a missed field goal, and a fumble as Sam Williams punched the ball out of Barkley's hands.
Osa Odighizuwa got a huge third-down sack in fourth quarter to get Dak Prescott the ball back to complete the comeback.
This defense has life, folks.
2 - Offense come to the party - Grade B
The first half was as bad as it can get, with a failed fourth down, CeeDee Lamb drops, Dak's red-zone interception and KaVontae Turpin's fumble.
Dallas' first-half possessions were as follows: turnover on downs, punt, fumble, interception, and touchdown.
But after half time? Sheesh, the tables turned.
Prescott morphed into the All-Pro we know he can be, ending his day with 354 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, plus he had the rushing touchdown to bring his team level.
George Pickens was a demon, having nine receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown, while CeeDee Lamb (four receptions, 75 yards), Jake Ferguson (five receptions, 60 yards) and Javonte Williams and his 20 rushing attempts for 87 yards pushed the Eagles around.
3 - Contain Hurts - Grade C
Hurts had a touchdown run and then a "tush push" touchdown and while he had seven rushing attempts for just 22 yards, Jalen did pick up a couple of first downs.
But he didn't have the impact he did in Week 1 as the Cowboys were ready for it, as Jadeveon Clowney and DeMarvion Overshown were among those who showed speed to halt the Eagles QB.
4 - Win the red zone battle - C
The Eagles were 3/3 in the first half, but didn't get into the red zone at all in the second half, as the Cowboys were 3/5 on their trips to the red zone.
The fourth-down call after the Cowboys' special-teams unit forced a fumble and recovered ended with no points, but Dallas got out of jail.
Getting into the red zone five times against this Eagles defense is nothing to sneeze at, either.
5 - Exploit Eagles weakness with Javonte Williams - Grade A
I said the Eagles could be run on, and Javonte powered all game, with several decent runs, which included a 20-yard run in the first half.
Williams would finish with 87 yards from 20 carries, as he averaged 4.4 yards per carry, with the Eagles struggling to contain Dallas' run game.
With each passing week, Williams is proving to be the exact sort of back Dallas needs.
Oh, and don't forget about Malik Davis' lighting 21-yard run, either, all part of Dallas' wild climb to 5-5-1 and a thread of hope of playoff contention.
And they "never blinked'' and always "believed.'' ... even if the rest of us didn't.