The Dallas Cowboys faced Philadelphia on Sunday with their backs against the wall. Already on the outside looking in, a loss would all but eliminate them from playoff contention while handing the Eagles the division. With a fast start, Philly went up 21-0 early in the 2nd quarter, and the Cowboys were reeling. From that point on, the Eagles would punt five times and gain just 107 yards on seven possessions (ignoring a kneel down into halftime).
The Dallas Cowboys, who hold the third-worst defense by PFSN’s Defensive Impact (64.4), managed to completely stuff the Eagles’ momentum and shut them out in the second half. Was it simply playing with nothing to lose, or had trade deadline additions strengthened the unit?
Breaking Down the Cowboys’ Comeback
In my preview piece of the game, I mentioned that the Cowboys were better built to come from behind. The offense had to do their part and managed to do so with an off game from CeeDee Lamb. His ill-timed drops should have been daggers in the Cowboys’ chances, but Dak Prescott and George Pickens salvaged the day.
Each side missed a field goal, swinging momentum in the other’s favor. While the Eagles would punt following Brandon Aubrey’s rare miss, the Cowboys would capitalize with a score after Jake Elliott’s miss at the start of the fourth quarter.
Of course, two fumbles by Philly didn’t hurt, either. Oddly enough, two fourth-quarter recoveries by Dallas did little else than disrupt momentum and keep the ball out of Jalen Hurts’ hands.
The first fumble resulted in Dallas going nowhere and punting, to which the Eagles would fumble again. With a chance to take the lead, the Cowboys could not convert on fourth down. It’s a small miracle that Dallas didn’t fumble the game away themselves by failing to turn those turnovers into points.
However, the turnover on downs did pin the Eagles back against their own endzone. Even after moving the ball to start the drive, they’d eventually stall out and give Dallas one last chance to win. His earlier miss didn’t shake Aubrey at all, as he sank the kick and completed the Cowboys’ comeback.
The Changes that Turned the Tables
It shouldn’t be understated how much of a difference one player can make. In the two weeks since the bye and acquisition of DT Quinnen Williams, the Dallas defense has held both opponents to the least points they’ve allowed on the season. The scoring defense that was allowing 30 points per game before the bye has held its last two opponents to just 18.5.
While neither the Raiders nor the Eagles boasts excellent run games, holding the talents of Ashton Jeanty and Saquon Barkley to just 29 combined rushing yards is an incredible achievement.
The teams combined, largely aided by QB rushing, totaled 90 rushing yards over the two games. For context, the least rushing yards the Cowboys had allowed a team to before that was 84 to the Giants. More challenging tasks lie ahead, but this correction has gone far beyond simple regression.
This is substantial. Prior, teams could count on the run game not only to control the clock but to beat the Cowboys outright. The Cowboys had to win through Prescott and the passing game, so taking it out of his hands and bleeding the clock was an obvious game plan for opponents. For example, Prescott had 261 yards and three touchdowns against the Panthers, but the defense allowed 216 rushing yards en route to a 30-27 victory.
The run game and time of possession dried up for the Eagles. After going up 21-0, their drives had possessions of:
- 3 plays, 2:09, punt
- Kneel
- 3 plays, 1:27, punt
- 6 plays, 2:09, punt
- 3 plays, 2:16, punt
- 7 plays, 3:53, missed field goal
- 6 plays, 4:12, fumble
- 5 plays, 2:03, punt.
That combined for 33 plays, 18 minutes of possession, three 3-and-outs, and no points over two-and-a-half quarters.
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The true test lies ahead in two weeks in Detroit against the Lions, but otherwise, the Cowboys have a favorable schedule against rushing offenses. Dallas can afford very few missteps if they want to make a late run into the playoffs, but their newfound success on defense gives them a shot to compete in every remaining game.
We’ll see how well this formula works against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving.
