The Monday Night Football game between the Cowboys and Eagles was billed as a 2-4 against 2-4 meeting that both teams needed. Dallas won it 38-21 at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cowboys are 3-4 and the Eagles are 2-5.
The preview coverage had a clear theme. Blogging The Boys' Dyllan Rivers listed three keys for Dallas, and the first was "Run. The. Ball." Rivers wrote that if the run game is working, coach Brian Schottenheimer needs to stay with it. Dallas did. The Cowboys rushed 38 times for 204 yards, 5.4 a carry. Javonte Williams had 25 of those carries for 155 yards and a touchdown. Dallas also controlled the ball for 30:39, converted 8 of 13 third downs, and had no turnovers.
Blogging The Boys' Dan Rogers framed the game as a path to "salvage a collapsing season." Yahoo Sports said it was "huge for the Cowboys." Dak Prescott was efficient in that setting. He went 15 of 27 for 212 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, a 118.1 rating. CeeDee Lamb caught two of the touchdowns, five catches for 74 yards on 12 targets. George Pickens added a third touchdown.
Bleeding Green Nation's Alexis Chassen noted that the Eagles' injury list covered nearly half of the active 53-man roster. Tanner McKee started at quarterback. He completed 23 of 35 for 211 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and was sacked twice. Philadelphia averaged 5.4 yards per pass attempt and 5.2 yards per play, against 6.4 for Dallas. Saquon Barkley ran seven times for 62 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles got only 25 carries in total, partly because they trailed. The box score gives no reason for the low carry count.
The standings changed in a way ESPN's preview did not anticipate. ESPN described a "wide-open NFC East" with both teams looking "far from formidable" behind the 4-2-1 Giants, and its record for the Giants differs from ours. BenchScout's table has the Giants at 4-2 and in first place. Dallas is second, 1.5 games back, and Philadelphia is third, 2.5 back. The Eagles' run differential is minus-48. The Cowboys' is plus-9.
The Eagles have lost five straight. They lost 25-14 to Carolina and 19-17 at Jacksonville before this game. Dallas had lost 23-13 at Green Bay and 24-16 to Tampa Bay before it. Both teams play Sunday, Nov. 1. The Eagles visit Washington, and the Cowboys host Arizona.
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