The Dallas Cowboys season was supposed to be a lost cause. The injuries were too much, the on-field play too embarrassing. Yet here they are, still with a chance to make the playoffs going into the final week of the ridiculous exhausting and comical 2020 NFL season.
On the strength of a dominating passing-game performance off the arm of Andy Dalton and a strong defensive effort to corral Jalen Hurts, Dallas took down the Philadelphia Eagles 37-17. The win moved Dallas to 6-9 on the season, and combined with the Washington Football Team’s 20-13 loss to Carolina puts the two teams in a tie with just a game remaining.
Dallas overcame an early 14-3 deficit after DeSean Jackson hauled in an 81-yard score that seemed to spell doom. Instead, it was just the jumpoff to another crazy Dallas comeback.
120-yard receiving games for both Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper had Dalton surpass 350 throwing yards midway through the third quarter. Both Gallup and CeeDee Lamb scored two touchdown passes. Ezekiel Elliott looked spry after missing a week, gaining over 100 yards on the ground, and the defense was able to bottle up Hurts after a strong opening.
Randy Gregory was a madman with three forced fumbles on the day and CB Anthony Brown had a fourth-quarter interception for the second game in a row.
Dallas is red-hot, winning three straight games against some of the league’s worst teams. They took out Cincinnati, then San Francisco and now the Eagles, with all three also sporting backup quarterbacks. Still, the Dallas defense has forced 10 turnovers over that stretch and for a team that was on a historically bad pace, that’s a really big deal.
Thanks to Washington sweeping Dallas, the Cowboys have to finish a game ahead in the standings to win the NFC East. Fittingly, the four rivals face off against each other.
The Eagles will host Washington, with a questionable starting QB situation as Dwayne Haskins was replaced in the second half by Tyler Heinicke. If Washington wins, they take the division. However if they lose, both Dallas and New York have a chance. The Cowboys travel on the road to face off against the Giants (5-10).
The Giants swept Washington and own the three-way tiebreaker if all clubs finish with six wins.
Right now, both games are scheduled for the Noon CT time slot.
Leading Passer: Dalton 22/30, 377 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, +17.1 EPA
Leading Rusher: Elliott 19 carries, 105 yards, 4 rec 34 yards, +2.3 EPA
Leading Receiver: Gallup, 6 rec on 8 targets, 121 yards, 2 TDs, +13.2 EPA
Leading Defender: Gregory 1.5 sacks, 6 tkls, 1 PD, 3 forced fumbles