Cowboys 'Statement' Over Eagles Keeps NFC Top-Seed Hopes Alive
ARLINGTON - Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys have played a series of too-close games against not-great opponents.
On a Christmas Eve Saturday at AT&T Stadium, those habits changed.
Dallas 40, Philadelphia 34 occurred with Eagles MVP candidate Jalen Hurts sitting out with a sprained throwing shoulder, and just in terms of talent-vs.-talent - no disrespect to his folk-hero replacement Gardner Minshew - that leveled the playing field.
But just as the Eagles' early-season win over Dallas came with Cooper Rush at QB subbing for the injured Dak, if this outcome springboards somebody to postseason success, nobody will remember the minutia dealt with along the way.
Thanks to a Prescott-led roller-coaster offense and a takeaway-crazy defense, Dallas bid to steal the NFC's top seed from the NFL-leading Eagles - who just dropped to 13-2 - remains alive.
Said Dak this week when asked about this being a "statement game'': ''It's about making a statement to ourselves. This is about ... proving it to ourselves in all three phases that we're a hell of a team and we can go get it done against one of the best teams in the league.''
Through it all, they did that. And yes, a "statement'' was made.
A long shot to win the division? Sure. But the Cowboys, now 11-4, spent this entire afternoon at AT&T Stadium overcoming long odds, starting with Prescott's awful pick-6 goof early and continuing with a series of gaffes that made this a lengthy uphill battle.
The Cowboys defense, though, endured the dynamic Eagles offensive weapons by forcing four takeaways, including two from "Shut-Up-And-Play!'' team leader Jayron Kearse and a key fourth-quarter interception from DaRon Bland, the rookie's team-leading fifth pick.
There were aspects of recent wins against two lowly AFC South foes, and then the OT loss last week to another in Jacksonville, that eroded the sense that Dallas belongs in Philly's class. But the Eagles have a top-rated defense and really had no solution for Dak (27 of 35 for 347 yards and three TDs), CeeDee Lamb (10 catches, 120 yards, two TDs) and Dallas' receiving group, or for the timely 1-2-3 punch of runners Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. ... and Prescott.
Going forward, one loss by Dallas (which plays at Tennessee and at Washington) or one Philadelphia victory (they host the Saints and the Giants) clinches the division title for the Eagles.
That is yet to unfold. But for this Christmas weekend? The Cowboys won a game that wasn't really "too close''; it was just right. And they did it against an opponent that can't be called "not-great'' ... but yet an opponent that Dallas believes it is equal to.
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