1) Can't say enough about the job this Cowboys secondary did against the Philadelphia passing game. The Eagles put so much pressure on your coverage with their exchanging of routes and how they like to run receivers across the field. Philly prides itself on causing confusion with its scheme, but there was none of that from this Dallas secondary.
2) Good to see Terrance Williams start early in this game with a couple of big catches, but it was even better to see him finish the game the way he did. His slant against Byron Maxwell was executed so well that the Eagles cornerback didn't even react to the play. Big-time throw from Brandon Weeden and catch from Williams to seal the victory.
3) There is a reason why Danny McCray does as well as he does on special teams. His punt-rush technique was textbook. He put his body in perfect position to avoid the punter, but then worked his hands back to the foot in order to get the ball.
4) Cole Beasley took one for the team in this game. By drawing coverage out of the slot against Malcolm Jenkins, it allowed Jason Witten to work his routes against defensive backs that could not cover him. Jenkins was the only one that could have covered Witten and Romo, knowing this, took full advantage of the situation.
5) Byron Jones was outstanding in his performance against difficult tight end Zach Ertz. I believe it was the work Jones got in practice covering Witten that prepared him for this matchup. Jones was safety physical in his coverage, but also cornerback savvy in the way that he played Ertz. The J.J. Wilcox interception was all from the effort of Jones running with Ertz to make that a contested play.
6) There was no doubt that it was going to be difficult for the Cowboys to run the ball against this Philadelphia defensive line. Bennie Logan and Fletcher Cox are loads to deal with, but give credit to Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden for finding space, keeping their balance and finishing runs. There were plenty of snaps where there was nothing there and they were able to find something. There were plenty of dirty runs.
7) Sean Lee and DeMarco Murray are outstanding friends off the field, but on the field? That's a whole different story. Lee made Murray's life difficult from his Will linebacker spot. Every time that Murray touched the ball, Lee was right there to make the stop before Murray had a chance to get going. Lee played the game as if he was two steps ahead of the Eagles blockers. His interception of Sam Bradford in the end zone was vintage Lee with his awareness and positioning on the route.
8) When things were going poorly for the Cowboys offensively early in this game, it was Chris Jones' clutch punting that not only pinned the Eagles back, but never allowed Philly to flip the field on the Cowboys with all of their three-and-outs. His net of 46 yards kept the game where it needed to be until the offense could get going.
9) This Cowboys defense couldn't have played Darren Sproles any better than they did. When you face the Eagles, you always have to worry when he is on the field because of his ability to not only run the ball, but also catch it out of the backfield as well. There were several times when the defense got bodies to the ball to gang up on him, but they also did a nice job of tackling him one-on-one in space.
10) I was expecting to see Kyle Wilber play more as a defensive end in this game than as a nickel rusher, but it appeared that the defensive coaches stayed with their normal rotation, using DeMarcus Lawrence, Jeremy Mincey and Jack Crawford.
11) My initial feeling is that La'el Collins didn't play badly in his first action of the season. He was in the game on the drive where the offense had the ball on the 1-yard line and couldn't punch it in. Without watching the tape, he passed a couple of stunts and held his own with Fletcher Cox to his side. Will be interested to see if he gets more opportunities next week against the Falcons.
12) Remember what I said last week after this team lost Dez Bryant to his foot injury – nobody in this league feels sorry for you. This is not the 2001 Dallas Cowboys, there is more depth here. You find ways to make it work.
