Cowboys Country

Can 'Classic' Cowboys Catch the Eagles in NFC? Top 10 Takes

Dallas spotted Philly a 10-0 lead but rallied for a 40-34 win behind Dak Prescott's passing and four defensive takeaways.

Richie Whitt

On a nail-biting Christmas Eve at AT&T Stadium, Santa brought the Dallas Cowboys a scintillating NFC East victory over the Philadelphia Eagles and DFW a huge sigh of relief ...

10. Biggest Play? - You know you've seen a classic when you can't pinpoint the key play of the game. 

Was it T.Y. Hilton's 52-yard catch on 3rd and 30? Was it Carlos Watkins dislodging the ball from Philly running back Miles Sanders with 2:19 remaining? Or was it just a hint of pressure from Dante Fowler that forced Gardner Minshew's desperation incompletion in the end zone as time expired? 

Pick one. You won't be wrong.

9. Same Score, Better Result - Last week the Cowboys lost, 40-34, on the game's final play. Today the Cowboys won, 40-34, on the game's final play.

8. Ten-Oh! - Cowboys did a lot of things wrong. But spotting the 13-1 Eagles - Jalen Hurts or not - 10 points and rallying to win is something to be merry about indeed.

7. T.Y. Over OBJ - While Santa apparently isn't going to deliver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cowboys for Christmas, stand-in T.Y. Hilton made quite the debut. It looked bleak after tackles Tyron Smith and Tyler Smith allowed sacks on consecutive plays with Dallas trailing 34-27 with eight minutes remaining. But on 3rd and 30 - third and thirty! - Dak Prescott threw a bomb to Hilton, who simply beat two defenders on a go route. 

The 52-yard, diving, bobbling catch set up Prescott's touchdown throw to CeeDee Lamb and allowed for the dramatic finish.

6. Deja Boo - Last time the Cowboys played the Eagles on Christmas Eve it ... wasn't great. 

In 2001 the 8-7 Cowboys lost to the 7-8 Eagles, 20-7, in a meaningless game that featured Stephen McGee vs. Michael Vick. 

Yeah, it's been a minute.

5. Momentarily Merry? - The win doesn't mean the Cowboys will win the NFC East. It doesn't change their playoff positioning. So what does it do? 

Makes Christmas sweeter. The end. 

Oh, and after facing Gardner Minshew today, next week the Cowboys get another backup in Malik Willis as they play the Tennessee Titans without injured starter Ryan Tannehill.

4. Jerry Says - On Tuesday owner Jerry Jones said of Michael Gallup: "We need to get him more involved." On Saturday Gallup obliged with four catches and a gorgeous toe-tap touchdown in the third quarter that tied the game at 27-27.

3. Dak Redemption - After throwing one of the worst passes of his career for a Pick Six and 10-0 deficit on the first possession, Prescott was almost flawless. He threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns and time and again kept Dallas in the game. 

Or, as Micah Parsons said after the game: "Dak did what he do."

2. Flawed Formula - No way did we think the Cowboys could beat the Eagles giving up 34 points, not recording a single sack in 40 drop-backs and never forcing Philly to punt. 

Moral to the story: Four takeaways covers a lot of warts.

1. Cowboys-Eagles III: Fine, the 11-4 Cowboys can beat the 13-2 Eagles without Hurts and the Eagles can beat the Cowboys without Prescott. 

Let's get to the full-strength rubber match, better known as the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 29. 

Said Prescott of the chances of a third and decisive meeting: "Very confident it will happen."

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

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