NFL Week 14
Cowboys stun Eagles; standings, summaries
ARLINGTON, Texas – Dallas outlasted Philadelphia for a 2923 overtime win to improve to 8-5. With the Giants’ 40-16 manhandling of Washington earlier Sunday, the Cowboys hold a two-game lead in the NFC East. Here are three things we learned in the Cowboys’ fifth consecutive win:
The Amari Cooper trade worked:
Does a 200-yard game mean the Cowboys have a No. 1 receiver? The Cowboys traded their 2019 first-round pick to the Raiders for Cooper after a close loss to the Redskins in October. Cooper exploded for 180 yards and two scores in the Washington-Dallas Thanksgiving rematch to send Dallas atop the NFC East. Against the Eagles on Sunday, Cooper confirmed the Cowboys are the best team in the division. When the Eagles tied the score at 16 in the fourth quarter, Cooper responded with a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the next drive. In overtime, he scored the winning 15-yard TD, catching a deflected ball. He caught 10 passes for 217 yards while opening up running back Ezekiel Elliott for 114 rushing yards and 79 receiving.
Still, Dak Prescott needs to protect the ball better:
Credit Philadelphia’s defensive line, in part. The vaunted front seven helped the Eagles win their first Super Bowl in February. Prescott allowed an injury-depleted secondary to pick him off twice. He lost a third ball to a Michael Bennett strip-sack recovered by Brandon Graham. Prescott succeeded Tony Romo as the Cowboys’ quarterback in 2016 in large part because of his ball security. His 23-touch- down, four-interception rookie year is now a distant memory. Prescott has thrown five interceptions and fumbled 12 times (six lost) through 13 games. The Eagles returned his third-quarter interception to the Dallas 2.
The Eagles’ defense unleashes its offense:
After the Cowboys held Philadelphia scoreless for the first 38:56 of the game, Prescott’s interception and the prime field position set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. Even with Jake Elliott’s missed extra point at- tempt, the Eagles pulled within three points. Dallas hasn’t allowed more than five first downs before halftime in four weeks. It allowed the Eagles just 70 total yards in the first two quarters. But tight end Dallas Goedert and running back Darren Sproles found the end zone in the fourth quarter as the Eagles pitched in 17 points to a quarter featuring 31 combined. As the Cowboys’ defense limited Philadelphia to 1 of 9 on third down and half (16) the first downs Dallas (32) gained, the Cowboys’ offense did enough.