Eagles at Cowboys Week 8: 3 things we learned
By Rashawn Wong
The Dallas Cowboys look unstoppable after beating the Philadelphia Eagles in overtime on Sunday night, but what did we learn from the contest?
The marquee matchup of Week 8 saw the Dallas Cowboys come back in overtime over the surging Philadelphia Eagles. The victory was the sixth straight for the Cowboys and allowed them to take the top spot in the NFC East. A top-tier Eagles defense flexed on the Cowboys all night long, but the rookie duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott proved too much to handle.
Things looked bleak for the Cowboys through three-quarters, but Prescott was able to get the edge on rookie counterpart Carson Wentz late in the game. He led his team down field and sealed the victory on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten in overtime. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Dallas victory over the Eagles Sunday night.
Ezekiel Elliott is unreal
Coming into Sunday’s game, the Cowboys had the league leading running back in Elliott. Despite rushing for only 96 yards (the first time in five games he’s failed to eclipse 100), Elliot proved he’s becoming a force in this league. His stat line does no justice to the amount of damage Elliott was doing to the Eagles defense.
Elliott’s performance came amid lingering rumors of a pending investigation into allegations of domestic violence. If one thing has become apparent it’s that Elliott is the primary running back for the Cowboys this season, and we should take them seriously as Super Bowl contenders as long as he’s on the field.
Eagles Defense is for real
The outcome didn’t fall in the Eagles favor, but they showed they’re still a force on Sunday evening, picking off Prescott once and forcing two fumbles by the Cowboys. Despite Prescott’s 237 yards, they made him uncomfortable all night.
The Eagles may have lost, but not because of the defense. They had enough key stops to allow Wentz and the Eagles offense to attempt to run up the score on Dallas, but they just couldn’t do it. It was also encouraging that they held the league leading running back to under 100 yards.
Dez makes a difference
After spending the last three weeks injured, wide receiver Dez Bryant made his presence known. The veteran receiver caught the game-tying long bomb from Prescott, and finished the game with four receptions for 113-yards and a touchdown.
Bryant instantly made a difference on offense, providing Prescott with a new target and taking some of the defensive pressure off the other guys. Despite only grabbing four pass, Bryant was targeted 14 times, showing that Prescott has the utmost confidence in his receiver coming off an injury. It will be scary if Prescott and Bryant continue to develop their chemistry, and it will just allow Elliott more opportunity.
In Week 9, the Eagles will have their hands full attempting to contain Odell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants, who’ll be coming fresh off a bye. The Cowboys will be able to continue their dominance, they face off against a struggling Cleveland Browns team. It will be interesting to monitor if Prescott will continue to get the nod at the quarterback position, with regular starter Tony Romo creeping back to 100 percent health.