JUMP TO ;
The DALLAS COWBOYS turned the heat
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys stepped up the heat in the NFC playoff chase on Sunday night, defeating their fiercest division opponents 33-13. The Cowboys, led by quarterback Dak Prescott, never trailed and smothered the Philadelphia Eagles’ offence all night. Both teams improved to 10-3 on the season, tying them for first place in the NFC with the Niners. However, if the season ended this week, the Eagles would have to settle for a wild-card spot as the No. 5 seed in the latest playoff standings, while the Cowboys are now the No. 2 seed. The following is a detailed overview of each team’s performance
Dallas Cowboys
Is it time to rank the Cowboys among the top teams in the NFL..? With four games remaining, Sunday’s victory temporarily puts them in first position in the NFC East. If the Cowboys and Eagles both win their final four games, Philadelphia will win the division on a tiebreaker. That story is still being told, but the Cowboys’ defence dominated the Eagles on Sunday, limiting them to only two field goals while forcing three takeaways and coming up with a crucial fourth-down stop.
The only touchdown for Philadelphia came on a Prescott fumble. Dallas’ offence may not have been as finely calibrated as it has been in recent weeks, but Prescott delivered two more touchdown passes and the run game was able to wear out the Eagles’ front. Oh, and rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey just kept doing what he’s been doing all year: nailing field goals. He added four more (60, 59, 45, and 50 yards) to tie the team record for most consecutive makes with 30.
Five straight games for The dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have won five straight games and have achieved double digit wins for the third year in a row. It’s their longest such streak since they did it six successive seasons from 1991 to 1996. During that span, the Cowboys won three Super Bowls. The Cowboys may have just put themselves in that category.
QB breakdown
Prescott threw two additional touchdown passes for the seventh consecutive game, tying Tony Romo for the team’s greatest single-season streak. During the 1965 and 1966 seasons, Don Meredith had a 12-game streak with at least two touchdown passes. But this was hardly Prescott’s usual smooth night, especially in terms of accuracy. Prescott had completed at least 65.8% of his passes in the previous seven games entering Sunday. He completed 58.1% of his passes (18 of 31) through three quarters. Prescott has only completed less than 62.5% of his throws in three games this season.
Bryan Anger was forced to punt for the first time since Thanksgiving, after a three-game and 18-possession streak. His previous punt came in the third quarter of the Cowboys’ victory over the Washington Commanders. The Cowboys scored on their final three possessions in that game and did not punt on 11 drives (eight touchdowns) against the Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys scored on their first four possessions against the Eagles before Anger blew the game open in the third quarter with a 48-yard field goal.
ALSO READ ; The Shocking Truth Behind Matthew Perry Death; Exploiting Addiction
The bright side is that Stephon Gilmore, at 33, is not showing his age. Gilmore kept DK Metcalf in check in the second half after he lit up the Cowboys last week. On the Eagles’ first drive of the second half, Gilmore caused an A.J. Brown fumble. At the end of the quarter, he intercepted Brown and DeVonta Smith on successive third- and
fourth-down plays, which resulted to a Brandon Aubrey field goal, increasing the advantage to 30-13.
