ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys needed extra time to get the job done, but a touchdown pass to Jason Witten in overtime gave them a sixth straight win, edging the Eagles 29-23 at AT&T Stadium.
On Friday, the staff writers gave their gut feeling for Sunday's game. Check out the instant reactions from the staff of DallasCowboys.com.
David Helman:Shame on me for thinking a division opponent would be an easy out. I correctly predicted the outcome of this game, but I never dreamed the Cowboys would have to fight so hard. All credit to the Philadelphia defense – they made things tougher on the Cowboys than anyone since Week 1. Dak Prescott played the worst game of his pro career, and the special teams seemed to put this team in a hole at every opportunity. But this team bounced back every single time it was down, highlighted by overcoming a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. I missed the mark on Ezekiel Elliott's rushing total by 70 yards, but I was right in thinking the Cowboys would be able to run. I honestly think they'd have had even more success on the ground if not for some questionable play calling in the red zone. Regardless, it's a testament to this team's ability that they overcame such a sloppy effort to get an all-important division win. The Cowboys have one of the best records in football, which is simply staggering.
Nick Eatman: Never a doubt, right? I'm really not sure if I got any of the predictions right except for the Cowboys getting the win – which is really all that matters, I guess. This game reminded me of some of Romo's games back in the day when he didn't really play well throughout the game, but found a way late to make just enough plays. To me, that's the sign of a good quarterback. It's not always going to go right, but as long as it goes right in the fourth quarter, sometimes that's good enough. That's the way to describe this game against the Eagles. It wasn't all that good, but good enough. But I honestly don't think the Cowboys stole a game here. They were the better team and should've had a bigger lead throughout the game. It just took a little longer than it expected to get there.
[embeddedad0]Rob Phillips: I expected a close game decided by the offensive line's ability to control the line of scrimmage. Well, on that front, they had their hands full with a disruptive Eagles defensive line that had a lot of success bringing pressure against Dak Prescott. But Sunday's overtime win wasn't about one particular unit. This was a true team victory. The defense kept getting off the field to help the offense erase a double-digit deficit in the second half. Offensively, Ezekiel Elliott continued grinding out tough yards. Dez Bryant was dominant in his return from injury. And Prescott showed remarkable poise overcoming his mistakes and missed throws to lead the offense on two late touchdown drives – one to tie the game in regulation, the other the winning pass to Jason Witten in overtime. This team has something special going right now – a belief in each other that was evident in Sunday's second-half rally.
Bryan Broaddus: Felt like that if Dallas was going to win this game and that they were going to have to put up some big points in the 2nd half. The Eagles had come into the game only allowing 6 points in the 3rd quarter and 26 points total in the 2nd half of their six games. Those 19 points in the 2nd half were exactly what they needed. Give Jason Garrett credit for the way in which he managed this game. He pulled out all the stops and going for the 4th - 1 in overtime took a ton of guts and his team delivered a huge play and win for him.
For the initial gut feeling predictions of the staff writers posted on Friday, **click here**.
