‘Very Intentional’: Dak Prescott Explains Dallas Cowboys’ Run-First Reset After 204-Yard Night vs. Eagles

FRISCO, Texas — Dak Prescott said Thursday that the Dallas Cowboys were not committed enough to the run in the weeks before Monday’s 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, and that sticking with it in Philadelphia was a deliberate choice.

Dallas ran 38 times for 204 yards and threw 27 times. The Cowboys entered the night last in the NFL at 20.9 carries per game, according to the team’s website.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said before the game that the offense still had to develop an identity and was searching for one, WFAA’s Ed Werder reported.

Getting away from the run had put Dallas into passing situations earlier than the Cowboys planned, Prescott said.

“I guess, yeah, I mean, Klayton said it, so … yeah, it was an attempt at, yeah, re-identifying who we want to be. I mean, we obviously know we love our run actions and throwing the ball like that, but you’ve got to get the run going,” Prescott said. “We weren’t committed enough to it the last couple of weeks before last, and I think that obviously hurt us. We got us into more of a passing situation than we wanted to be earlier than we planned.”

“Yeah, it was a very intentional approach of making sure that we’re going to stick to the run. Trust those guys. Watch those, like I said, one-yard, two-yard runs turn into four and fives, and then even those turn into 10 and 12s. And so it was a great start,” Prescott continued.

Javonte Williams Carries The Load In Philadelphia

Javonte Williams ran 25 times for a career-high 155 yards and 1 touchdown. He is the first Cowboys player to run for 150 yards in a game since 2018.

Dallas had 101 rushing yards on 18 carries in the first half, with Williams accounting for 67 yards on 10 carries, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The Cowboys handed the ball to Williams on six straight plays on their final scoring drive, and he finished it with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Eagles did not record a tackle for loss.

Prescott threw for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. He had thrown 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions across the previous two games, both losses.

Dak Prescott On Taking The Offensive Line For Granted

Talent can tempt an offense into airing it out, in Prescott’s view, and Dallas had to reestablish what it was this season rather than count on last year carrying over.

“I don’t think we’re necessarily struggling creating it. We know we want to be … when you’ve got the weapons, when you’ve got the talent we have, sometimes, right, you can get caught up and trying to air it out, right, knowing that how great we are, and in the [passing] game, and [want] to just take advantage of that,” Prescott explained.

“Not forgetting, but taking for granted what those guys do up front, them controlling the line of scrimmage, controlling the time of possession, just running the ball and that opening up our play actions,” Prescott continued. “And so, yeah, everybody returned, but things don’t just happen. It’s not like last year just rolls over into this year. And so we’ve got to reestablish everything, find out exactly who we are, and get comfortable in improving that.”

Dallas led the NFL in rushing success rate in 2025, excluding quarterback scrambles, in Adams’ first season as offensive coordinator, CBS Sports reported.

The Cowboys (3-4) host the Arizona Cardinals (2-5) on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT on FOX.