Dallas Cowboys take NFC East quest into Week 17 on strength of huge win over Eagles
The Dallas Cowboys have gone from dismal and seemingly on the edge of implosion to the brink of what was once thought to be impossible.
That’s what three straight wins will do for you along with the dreadful play in the NFC East.
But this is not just about Washington (6-9) losing to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, putting the Cowboys (6-9) within another Washington loss and a Cowboys win of claiming the division title after starting 3-9 and being in last place just three weeks ago.
It’s about the Cowboys continuing to improve and finally looking somewhat like the team they hoped they’d be at the start of the season before a litany of injuries and struggles to adjust to a new scheme.
The result was the finest performance of the season in Sunday’s 37-17 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles before 30,131 fans at AT&T Stadium.
The turning point came at the tail end of the first half and immediately after the second started to spark what would be a 34-3 run to end the game after falling behind 14-3 in the first quarter.
Quarterback Andy Dalton hit Michael Gallup with a 21-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds to go in the first half to lead 20-17. He then connected with CeeDee Lamb on a 52-yard score to open the third quarter to make it 27-17.
It was Dalton’s finest performance of the season in his eighth start in place of Dak Prescott, passing for 377 yards and three touchdowns.
Dalton had more passing yards at halftime Sunday than in five of his previous seven starts
Gallup caught six passes for 121 yards and two scores and Amari Cooper had four catches for 121 yards.
Lamb added a 19-yard run in the fourth quarter to make it 37-17.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott, who sat out with an injury during last week’s victory against the San Francisco 49ers, to rush 18 times for 101 yards. It was his second 100-yard game of the season.
And after giving up two touchdowns on the first two drives, the maligned Cowboys defense shut Eagles out in the second half.
The fourth quarter included a stop on fourth down, an interception in the end zone by cornerback Anthony Brown, a forced fumble by Randy Gregory that was recovered by Jaylon Smith and an interception by cornerback Trevon Diggs. Gregory had three forced fumbles and a sack in the game.
The Cowboys will go on the road for their final regular-season game next Sunday against the New York Giants. A win combined with an Eagles’ victory over Washington will give the Cowboys the division title.
This story was originally published December 27, 2020 at 6:44 PM.
