Dallas Cowboys Stun Philadelphia Eagles 29-23 in Overtime Comeback
By Reid Hanson
![Oct 30, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) celebrates with Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) after the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium. Dallas Cowboys won 29-23. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports Oct 30, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) celebrates with Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) after the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium. Dallas Cowboys won 29-23. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/791001dc354f27428f150e98302b631e039c35b170932ce2b5a9d0309adbcfe6.jpg)
The battle of the NFC East hit full stride when then Dallas Cowboys hosted the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.
The clash of the NFC East titans took place on the national stage when the Dallas Cowboys took on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football. The overtime thriller featured three of the hottest rookies in the NFL in Dak Prescott, Carson Wentz, and Ezekiel Elliott.
The back-and-forth contest featured highs and lows for the Dallas rookies. At times it was tough sledding for Zeke who had 96 yards on 22 carries. His streak of consecutive 130 yard games ended but the six game winning streak continued.
Dak Prescott fell back to earth as well. Going 19 for 39 for a sub-50% completion percentage, Prescott stepped up when it mattered the most, coming back from 10 points down to force overtime and win the game.
It was, without a doubt, Dak Prescott’s worst game of his NFL career. He failed to see open receivers, missed easy targets, and threw a costly interception in the endzone. Yet, he kept the controversy alive by coming through in the clutch.
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Speaking of coming through in the clutch, the Dallas defense looked like a top-5 unit late in the game and in OT. The no-named squad has perfected the bend but don’t break strategy and saves their best for last.
The Cowboys stole one on Sunday night but that’s exactly what good teams do.
Let’s hear from the Sport DFW Staff:
Stephen Francis, Sport DFW
This game came down to coaching, experience and a gutsy fourth down call by Jason Garrett. With all due respect to first year head coach Doug Pederson, this was Garrett’s night.
Despite falling behind by 10 at one point, Garrett made some calls late in the game that brought Dallas back and eventually over the top. The biggest one, and the play that seized all control was the very risky fourth down in overtime to let Dak keep it up the middle.
Honorable mention goes to the Cowboys defense, which really put pressure on Wentz in the fourth quarter and made him try to beat them. In the end, he couldn’t pull it off.
Dan Ruppert, Sport DFW
The Dallas Cowboys had no business winning this game. Coming off of a bye week, to play this sloppy was unacceptable. Even Dak looked shaky for most of the game.
That being said, good teams find ways to win games they shouldn’t, and Dallas did just that. they did make some in-game adjustments, took chances, and played smart when it mattered.
Dallas needs to clean up their game, but a win is a win, even if it is ugly. All this did was drive the QB controversy in high gear. Garrett gets a bad grade for how Dallas played, but the team gets an A for playing through to the end.
Dink Kearney, Sport DFW
The Dallas Cowboys played their toughest game of the season as they won a close overtime game to the Philadelphia Eagles! Dak Prescott passed for 284 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, 42 rushing yards & a TD to lead the Cowboys to a 29–23 overtime victory for the Cowboys !
Dak played his worse game of the season as he overthrew and underthrew receivers throughout the game, even throwing his second interception of the season. On 4th & inches, Dak got the first down and a few plays later found Jason Witten for the game winning touchdown to give the Cowboys sole possession in first place in the NFC East!
Dak led the Cowboys to a victory over a tough divisional foe, but what’s more important is that he played a bad game and still led his team to victory after being down 23–10. Dak has shown that he can rebound from an awful performance and win a game that matters.
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Zeke rushed for less than 100 yards but it was well earned. Now that these two rookies have been battled tested, the Cowboys can exhale, regroup, and focus on beating the Cleveland Browns next week!