‘Linemen Lead The Way’: Dallas Cowboys Beat Philadelphia Eagles 38-21 As Javonte Williams Runs For Career-High 155 Yards

PHILADELPHIA — Javonte Williams carried 25 times for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown Monday night, and the Dallas Cowboys ran for 204 yards in a 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak and moved Dallas to 3-4. Philadelphia fell to 2-5 with its fifth straight loss.

Dak Prescott went 15-of-27 for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception, good for a 118.1 passer rating. Two of the touchdowns went to CeeDee Lamb, and Prescott ran in a two-point conversion late in the third quarter that put Dallas ahead to stay. Prescott credited a pregame message from defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

“Linemen lead the way,” Prescott said. “Q did a great message to the team before the game, just talking about the O-line and the D-line, right, going and controlling the game. And on offense, that’s exactly what it was. We knew we had to create some balance. We had to stick to the run. Even if some are negative or not as efficient as we want, and we’re able to do that.”

“And you saw they got better as the game went on,” Prescott continued. “Those 2-yard runs turned to 6-yard runs, from 6 to 12. And from there, we’re able to stay balanced and then pass off of that. And so that’s kind of the attack we have to continue.”

Dallas entered the night last in the NFL in carries per game at 20.9, and its 76 rushing yards per game ranked 30th, according to the Cowboys. Monday’s 38 attempts produced 5.4 yards per carry for a team that came in averaging 3.7.

Williams’ 155 yards were the most by a Cowboys running back since Ezekiel Elliott ran for 159 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 18, 2016, the team said. Prescott also passed Tony Romo for the most multi-touchdown games in franchise history with 80.

Dallas scored on 7 of its 9 possessions and finished with a season-high 416 total yards. The Cowboys had lost to Tampa Bay 24-16 on Oct. 8 and to the Green Bay Packers 23-13 on Oct. 18 before the trip to Philadelphia.

“We played really good tonight, second half,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “Had nothing to do with desperation. Our guys just played good.”

Schottenheimer called the offense solid, with good balance.

“I’m going to start with the offensive line. They were outstanding. Great run plan,” Schottenheimer explained. “But Javonte, man, the power. The acceleration was there tonight. It looked great. And then I’m going to talk about Goody as well. I mean, great change of pace overall. I thought the run game was really good. Receivers blocked well. It was a good night.”

Tyler Goodson added 38 yards on 10 carries. Dallas converted 8-of-13 third downs and did not allow a sack.

“I felt good. I thought Dak played awesome. I thought we were good on third down,” Schottenheimer said. “204 yards rushing, that’s pretty good. So I thought it was good.”

Dallas Cowboys Answer Every Early Philadelphia Eagles Score

Brandon Aubrey opened the scoring with a 55-yard field goal on Dallas’ first possession. Philadelphia needed four plays to answer. Saquon Barkley, back from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the previous two games, ran 29 yards on the drive and scored on an 8-yard run with 10:25 left in the first quarter.

Dallas went 82 yards in 9 plays on its next possession. Prescott found Ryan Flournoy for 35 yards on third-and-8, and Lamb caught a 9-yard touchdown pass on third-and-2 for a 10-7 lead.

The Eagles started Tanner McKee for the second straight game with Jalen Hurts on injured reserve and expected to miss the rest of the season because of blood clots, according to The Associated Press. McKee led a 13-play, 76-yard drive that ran 7:07 and carried into the second quarter. Quinnen Williams recovered a McKee fumble on fourth-and-1 at the Philadelphia 44, but he was flagged for offside on the play. Later on the drive, a roughing-the-passer penalty on a third-and-7 incompletion gave Philadelphia a first down at the Dallas 5, and Dameon Pierce scored from there with 13:25 left in the half.

Goodson returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a holding penalty on Justin Barron brought it back to the Dallas 19. From there, Dallas went 81 yards in 14 plays and 7:48. Williams converted a fourth-and-1 at the Philadelphia 44 with a 4-yard run, and Prescott hit George Pickens in the corner of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown on third-and-3 with 5:37 left in the half.

George Pickens’ Fingertip Touchdown Puts Cowboys Ahead

The catch put Dallas ahead 17-14. Pickens said it was all fingertips.

“I think it was like an inside go, inside fade, or whatever you want to call it,” Pickens said. “But the rest is history.”

Prescott said the Eagles defender tried to reroute Pickens on the route. Pickens finished with 4 catches for 57 yards on 6 targets.

“Once again, these guys are no different than a lot of these other teams. They’re going to put two guys on him, cloud to his side, and they understand and respect his big playability and the way that he ignites our offense,” Prescott explained. “So credit to them. I mean, I’m sure he wants more out there, but made a great touchdown play.”

“The guy did a good job trying to reroute him, but I saw George still headed to the back of the end zone, being physical on his route,” Prescott continued. “And I just tried to give him a chance, and he went and made one of the best catches and toe taps I’ve seen in a long time.”

Lamb was targeted 12 times and caught 5 passes for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns. Other opponents had shown Dallas coverages it had not prepared for, according to Pickens.

“I just definitely feel like the shots were thrown, and the defense that they came out in was more of what we were seeing,” Pickens said. “Cover six, bracketing both guys. We’ve seen that before, rather than some of the other teams we played. They’ve just been playing completely different coverages [than] we’ve been prepared for.”

Schottenheimer said Dallas wanted to run it more Monday and did.

“Solid. Again, spread the ball around. We wanted to run it some more tonight. We did that,” Schottenheimer said. “But any time those two guys get ops, especially one-on-one, talking about CeeDee and George, they’re tough to defend.”

An Eagles punt pinned Dallas at its own 2 late in the half, and the Cowboys punted it back. Taking over at its own 13 with 1:14 left, Dallas went 78 yards in 8 plays. Lamb’s 30-yard catch reached the Philadelphia 9, and Aubrey kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-14 halftime lead.

Dak Prescott And CeeDee Lamb Retake The Lead After Halftime

Philadelphia opened the second half with a 17-play, 84-yard drive that lasted 9:16. McKee’s 4-yard touchdown pass to rookie Makai Lemon gave the Eagles a 21-20 lead with 5:44 left in the third quarter. It was the Eagles’ first third-quarter touchdown of the season, The Associated Press reported.

Dallas answered with a 9-play, 61-yard drive. On third-and-9 from the Dallas 40, Prescott’s throw to Lamb fell incomplete, but a defensive holding call against Philadelphia extended the drive. Prescott took an elbow to the stomach on the play.

“It was third-and-long. Almost scrambled when I got out of the pocket, but I saw CeeDee open and saw the pull. But different than last week. Last week, I got my ribs hit,” Prescott said. “This week, it was just like an elbow right to the middle of the gut. And so I just couldn’t breathe there for a second or so.”

“And by the time I got back to the huddle, I realized there was no injury. There was no pain. I just needed to catch my breath,” Prescott continued. “Kind of made sure I did that, slowed down. Yeah, and great play call. We were able to execute it. Fortunately, we got the penalty. Probably if we don’t, then CeeDee catches and we move on.”

Later on the drive, a Prescott throw was ruled a backward pass and returned 73 yards for a Philadelphia touchdown before replay reversed it to an incomplete pass. Goodson converted the third-and-1 that followed, and Prescott threw a 16-yard touchdown to Lamb with 1:36 left in the quarter. Prescott then ran in the two-point conversion for a 28-21 lead.

A 17-yard pass interference penalty on Philadelphia and a 34-yard Williams run set up Aubrey’s 24-yard field goal with 9:10 remaining. Aubrey made all 3 of his attempts. Philadelphia’s next drive ended with a DeMarvion Overshown interception at the Dallas 30 with 7:55 left. After a fourth-down stop at the Philadelphia 17 with 4:48 remaining, Williams carried on six straight plays, the last a 2-yard touchdown with 2:21 left.

Javonte Williams Gets The 25 Rushes Cowboys Wanted

Getting back to a balanced offense was the focal point coming in, Williams said.

“It was good. I mean, just to give [Schotty] the confidence to keep calling the runs,” Williams said. “He made a big emphasis on that this week to get at least 25 rushes in the game. And I feel like we executed at a high level.”

Williams averaged 6.2 yards per carry, with a long of 34.

“They did a great job. I mean, the holes was wide open, and I was just running through it,” Williams explained. “And shout out to TG, too. I mean, great running back.”

The touchdown was Williams’ eighth rushing score of the season. He entered the night as the second player in Cowboys history with seven rushing touchdowns through six games, according to The Associated Press.

“It was coming. I knew, like I said, we got a high-level, high-power offense,” Williams said. “And, I mean, when you got GP, CeeDee, Jake Ferguson, those guys on the outside, I mean, it’s going to open up the run [game].”

Prescott said the offensive line does a hell of a job week in and week out.

“We’ve just got to stick to the run. You’ve got to call it and keep calling, and [Schotty] knows that, and he’s going to continue to do that,” Prescott said. “And I think when we do, you get games like this. I mean, I wish I would have even been cleaner more in the past game, right? But from there, what happens when you stick to the run, you make them respect the run, you get the boxes you want, and that allows us to [attack] with the playmakers we have.”

The Cowboys ran 38 times and threw 27 passes. Prescott pointed to the 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards, along with the touchdowns from Pickens and Lamb.

“The numbers would say so. You go 200 and 200. Obviously, that shows balance. George scores a touchdown, CeeDee scores a couple. Javonte was dominant. Goodson came in and had a great day in his reps and [spelling] Javonte,” Prescott said. “Yeah, I would say the numbers would say so, but this is one game. We’ve got to build on this. We’ve got to show that we can continue to do this.”

“So we’re not going to be complacent and say this is it,” Prescott continued. “We’ve got to go get better this week and do it again next week.”

Philadelphia blitzed Dallas early. The Cowboys’ tempo in and out of the huddle, the quick play calls, and the commitment to the run brought the play-action game to life, according to Prescott.

“They did a good job of still trying to play over the top and taking that away, clouding George and rerouting CeeDee here and there when they could,” Prescott said. “And so, yeah, even [though] they [blitzed] us early, we had the answers for it. And that allowed us to stay balanced all throughout the game.”

CeeDee Lamb Sees 200 On The Ground And 200 Through The Air

Lamb looked up at the scoreboard during the game and saw both totals.

“We were able to get the run game started, for one, and then we were very balanced,” Lamb said. “I looked up at the scoreboard, and I saw we had 200 on the ground and 200 in the passing yards.”

The offensive line does not get the kudos it deserves, according to Lamb.

“I feel like there’s so many people inside now. The box is stacked, and it’s like, oh, it’s just you and me out here? I think we like that,” Lamb explained. “But to be honest, I feel like just watching [Javonte] break, that’s a great sight to see as a receiver, and I feel like the O-line did a great job. They don’t get as much kudos as they should. Them guys, they held it down today.”

Receivers have to get more involved in the run game and give more effort, according to Lamb, who said Dallas has the depth to rotate.

“Maybe sometimes we can get a little fatigued. That’s what we have a Rolodex of receivers for,” Lamb said. “So just using our depth and overall just doing what we got to do and executing.”

Lamb said what the offense can be is pretty self-explanatory.

“Once we get going, I don’t think there’s a … no, I know for a fact there’s not a person in this league that can stop us,” Lamb said.

When the game tightens, Lamb said, everybody on offense has to tighten up with it, from picking up the safety to the line doing its job.

“I would just say that, I mean, the energy of the game always exposes who we are because I feel like once the game gets tight, everybody’s tight. It’s time to tighten up as far as us picking up the safety or O-line having to do what they got to do,” Lamb said. “Dak making adjustments, calling checks. Just everybody being on their P’s and Q’s, and I feel like once we do that, we’re scheduled to be great.”

Schottenheimer said Prescott’s two-point conversion was great.

“Outstanding. Just the patience and poise in the pocket I thought jumped off the film. Anytime you throw the three touchdowns like that,” Schottenheimer said. “The two-point conversion was great. He looked like he was in control out there all night.”

Cowboys Defense Settles In After Early Penalties

The Eagles scored on three of their first five possessions, and their 21 points came on drives of 75, 76, and 84 yards. Philadelphia did not score after Lemon’s touchdown, and its final four possessions ended in a punt, an interception, a turnover on downs, and the end of the game.

Barkley finished with 62 yards on 7 carries and was listed as questionable to return early in the fourth quarter. Pierce ran 14 times for 47 yards, and Lemon caught 7 passes for 67 yards. McKee went 23-of-35 for 211 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception and was sacked twice.

Dallas was flagged 8 times for 47 yards. The Cowboys kept shooting themselves in the foot early, according to linebacker Shemar James, who started and tied for the team lead with 6 tackles.

“We just had to figure out where the team would be. I mean, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot, kept getting penalties. They kept converting on third downs,” James said. “And we just had to come together as a team and just be like, we got to get off the field on third down. We got to get after the quarterback. We got to get turnovers.”

Philadelphia went 5-of-12 on third down. Cornerback DaRon Bland said the defense had to slow itself down after the Eagles’ first drive.

“It was really just us coming out too fast, just slowing ourselves down, just reading our keys, and really just slowing ourselves down,” Bland said.

Dallas did not have many clean drives, according to James, but the defense stood up when it needed to.

“That was a great team. I mean, there’s going to be blows. I mean, we’re going to score, they’re going to score. I mean, those things happen in division games, especially with a team great like Philly,” James explained. “I mean, we didn’t expect to come in here and blow them out. I mean, so we’re just rolling with the punches.”

“I mean, we maybe didn’t have so much clean and so much pretty drives throughout the game, but at the end of the day, we came out with the win, and we stood up when we needed to,” James continued. “Keep chopping. Keep chopping. Eventually the tree is going to fall, and that’s what happened tonight.”

DeMarvion Overshown Picks Off Tanner McKee In His Return

Overshown played for the first time since Week 1 after missing five games with a hamstring injury. He tied James for the team lead with 6 tackles and added a tackle for loss, 2 passes defensed, and the interception. Cornerback Cobie Durant also returned from a hamstring injury.

On the play before the interception, Overshown said, Philadelphia ran the same route concept, and he and safety Malik Hooker adjusted their technique for the next snap.

“Really the play before that, we kind of ran the same kind of route concept, and me and Hook communicated on the next play that we was gonna kind of play a different technique to it. I have been watching film all day,” Overshown said. “Coach [Schottenheimer] had us prepping those out routes all day in certain position when you see the tight end do this and when he do that. And then knowing the situation, like end of the game, they trying to get the ball out quick and get out of bounds, save as much clock as they want.”

“And then with McKee, we knew he was gonna be quick game. They didn’t want him back there holding the ball. So it’s just about trusting my instincts,” Overshown continued. “That’s what CP sent me before the game. He’s like, ‘Bro, you a dog. I’m happy to have you back. You don’t have to do nothing spectacular. Just trust your instincts.’ And that’s exactly what I did on that play call.”

CP is defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Overshown went the length of the field to celebrate with the defense after the pick, and the group bowled.

“Look, I actually, when we huddled up, we came up with it. Like, we was going to do something else, but then I felt like the clock was running out. So I was like, ‘You know what, let’s just bowl.’ I like bowling. I’m a bowler,” Overshown explained. “So I feel like bowling [pins] the first day back, that was a good one. But we’re gonna practice, so there’s gonna be some more takeaways to come.”

The pick was the first interception McKee had thrown this season, and it gave Dallas its first takeaway of the night. Bland called it an energy boost.

“Oh, that was big. Energy boost, and having somebody on the defense having another pick. So you’re always excited when that happens,” Bland explained.

Bland has been with Overshown since Overshown was a rookie in 2023.

“Oh, definitely missed a lot. The type of guy he is, he brings a lot of energy the way he plays,” Bland said.

Outside linebacker Rashan Gary had a nickname ready for Overshown: Agent Zero.

“Man, I just want to talk about [his] road to recovery. Just him being hurt from Week 1, just him coming in early morning, leaving late, just grinding, seeing his passion every day that we’re on the practice field,” Gary said. “He’s on the side coaching guys up, just being very attentive, coaching the guys up and just having a guy with that type of play style, that type of swagger, that type of juice, the defense needed.”

“Cuz as you see, man, he’s able to get tip balls, make tackles, fly around the field, and be a big playmaker for us,” Gary continued. “But having Zero back, man, Agent Zero on that field was great, and it was great seeing him have some energy and come back to the defense.”

Schottenheimer said the interception put Dallas into a four-minute situation.

“The catch was awesome. Put us into a four-minute situation, and it was awesome seeing him back out there, along with Cobie Durant and guys like that,” Schottenheimer said.

Overshown said the hardest part of the stretch was watching from the sideline after everything the team went through together in the offseason and camp.

“Hey, it felt great. Anytime you’re on the W side of the win-loss column, it always feels good. But the best feeling about it is just being out here with my brothers,” Overshown said. “We go through so much in the offseason of grinding with each other, training camp, grinding with each other, the blood, the sweat, the tears. So sitting on the sideline is not fun for me because I know what we went through. I know the goals that we got, that we want to achieve.”

“So being back out there on the field is a blessing, and I know it’s going to help us accomplish the goals we want to as a team,” Overshown continued.

Overshown did not know how much he would play coming into the night. He played 43 snaps, 65% of the defensive plays.

“Just being out there is a testimony itself. But when you make a play like that, when you finish a whole game, all you can do is just thank God. Because I know it’s just stuff that I pray for. I pray for an interception,” Overshown said. “I wanted [it] to be a pick-six, but God gave me the interception. That’s good enough in the box score. So it’s just like just being thankful for everything. Like I said, I was prepared this week. Didn’t know how much I was going to play, but I felt like I played the whole game. So I feel great. I feel good.”

James named Overshown, Quinnen Williams, and defensive tackle Kenny Clark as the players who make his job easier.

“Most definitely, yeah. I mean, when you [have] this guy, I mean, it makes your job so much easier. I mean, you just tell him to play and he go do it,” James said. “So, I mean, just having Demo, having Q, having KC on the defensive line, I mean, it just makes my job easier. I just tell those guys what to do, and I just do my job and watch them thrive.”

Quinnen Williams Leads The Push Up Front

Quinnen Williams finished with 4 tackles, 1 sack for 8 yards, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 quarterback hit. His sack came on second down of Philadelphia’s next-to-last drive, which ended on downs. Donovan Ezeiruaku had the other sack, along with 2 quarterback hits.

“It’s huge. It’s huge to get in that win column. Got to go definitely watch the film, learn from it, grow from it, and move on from it,” Quinnen Williams said. “We didn’t, especially as a defensive unit, we didn’t put together a perfect game or to our standard. We got to go learn from it and grow from it. But it’s amazing to get a win. We play this game to get a win, and I’m just super happy to get it.”

The Eagles ran for 121 yards. Schottenheimer said Dallas tightened up on third down in the second half.

“Again, we gotta be a little bit better against the run. Third down, we tightened up a little bit in the second half. But all in all, you hold the team to 21 points, that gives us a chance,” Schottenheimer said. “Guys were excited, it’s been a couple weeks coming, but they were excited. But we’re ready for Arizona. We play here in a couple days.”

Cowboys Climb Back Into NFC East Race

The New York Giants lead the NFC East at 4-2-1. Gary said the outside noise around the team crept in a little bit during the week.

“As a team, us coming together from OTAs all the way to camp, we understand the blood, the work, the sweat, the tears that we put into this and what type of team that we are on three phases of the ball when we lock in and play our fashion of the ball,” Gary explained. “But outside noise, this week [it] probably creeped in a little bit just hearing [guys] speak on the defense, [guys] speak on the special teams, people speaking on offense, things like that.”

“But at the end of the day, we all control what we need to control, and that’s coming out with the right mindset, taking it one play at a time, one stage at a time,” Gary continued.

Prescott called Monday a must-win. If Dallas lost another game, he said, the Cowboys would be checking on New York.

“We’ve lost two games. I mean, I don’t know if it’s much more than we’ve lost two games. We say the division’s right in front of us. It is as long as we win. And if you lose another game, then you’re probably checking to see what New York’s doing,” Prescott said. “You’re probably watching the other teams more than we should. So, yeah, can’t. I mean, you got to win the games. You got to win division games.”

Schottenheimer said the win gets Dallas right back into the NFC East hunt.

“No, I thought it was the next championship opportunity,” Schottenheimer said. “But again, I think it gets us right back into the hunt in the NFC East.”

Schottenheimer is the head coach, Prescott said, and the team is going to follow him.

“Definitely hungry, pissed-off version of [Schotty]. It’s not like he’s naive. It’s not like he hadn’t heard some noise about him, whether it’s the call[ing] in the games or whatever doubt that’s been out there,” Prescott said. “But we’ve got his back. He knows that. He’s a guy that takes a lot of pride in his job, a lot of pride in his team.”

Prescott said he joked with the quarterbacks that Lincoln Financial Field felt like an SEC environment.

“I heard a lot of trash talk, I heard a lot of comments, some funny, some were up to par with probably a lot what everybody else says. And it’s just a great environment,” Prescott said. “I joked or was mentioning to the quarterbacks, just being from the SEC, right, like this feels like that environment. These people love football. They’re going to let you know how they feel. They love their team, and they hate anybody that’s playing them, particularly us and any rivals.”

“And so I just think that makes it fun,” Prescott continued. “Played here year after year, so it’s a lot of familiarity with it. And it’s just a great environment. Love being here.”

Paid attendance was 69,879. Williams said the talk around the team lit a fire.

“Like I said, we knew we had it in us. And we heard everybody talking and everything that everybody was saying,” Williams said. “I mean, it just lit a fire up in us, and we just got to keep it going through the rest of the season.”

Prescott said the moment to celebrate was in the locker room, and that it would not last with a short week ahead.

“That’s the time to celebrate. I mean, all the work that you’ve put in. Hard week of preparation. You take them one by one. You understand that you haven’t won in a couple of weeks and some letdown games,” Prescott said. “It’s the culmination of all your hard work and you winning that game, just coming together, and that’s the brotherhood showing, and that’s what makes it special is it’s just that group in there. It’s just a group that sweats together, sacrifices together, and they get to celebrate together.”

“And so that’s what makes it fun, but that time doesn’t last,” Prescott continued. “Short week, being this is a Monday. Take care of our bodies, and we’ve got to be just as hungry as we were and approaching this week.”

Prescott Answers Celebration Question As Arizona Cardinals Visit Next

Prescott is in his 11th season. He said he expected to win Monday and celebrated with his teammates in the locker room.

“I mean, it wasn’t still in the game. The game was over with. I just expect that. Obviously, I’ve been in the league 11 years now, and understanding where this team is, what we need to do, the importance. Yeah, when you expect to do something, yeah, you should celebrate it. Don’t get me wrong,” Prescott said. “The work that we put in, and it’s not like I didn’t celebrate with my guys in the locker room [or that] I’m not happy about it. But, yeah, I don’t know if you wanted me to be happy, or [you’re] the same one who said we were the happiest 2-3 team when we were that. So I don’t really know what you want from us.”

Dallas hosts the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Prescott said only this week matters.

“Momentum’s real, especially in this league. Especially in what we do and just understanding the parity and how tough this league is. When you get a win, the confidence it gives your group, the confidence it gives this team, and just being able to build off of that and the benefit of also going home, having a couple of home games in a row,” Prescott said. “Only this week matters. So it’s Arizona, right? And we’ve just gotta make sure we have a great week of preparations to make sure that translates into a big win. And from there you get two in a row, you start stacking them.”

Kickoff against Arizona is set for noon CT on FOX. The Cowboys visit the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 8, and Philadelphia visits Dallas on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26.