‘A Big Key’: Jerry Jones Says Dallas Cowboys Need To Be Run-First Team After Javonte Williams’ 155-Yard Night

FRISCO, Texas — Jerry Jones thinks the Dallas Cowboys need to be a run-first team. The Cowboys owner and general manager said so Tuesday morning during his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan. Less than 12 hours earlier, Javonte Williams had run for a career-high 155 yards in Dallas’ 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Williams carried 25 times, a season high, for 155 yards and a touchdown. Dallas finished with 204 rushing yards on 38 carries. Dak Prescott went 15-of-27 for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception.

Jones spoke with hosts Shan Shariff, RJ Choppy, and Bobby Belt. Dallas overcame some serious penalties early in Philadelphia and was still in a position to stick with the running game.

“That lets us have the opportunity to get Dak under center a lot more,” Jones said. “And that’s a big key, too. That presents a different defensive challenge for the opponent if he can get under center a lot, and we saw that happen exceptionally well.”

Two of Prescott’s touchdown passes went to CeeDee Lamb, who caught 5 passes for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 targets. George Pickens had 4 catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, getting both feet down inside the boundary on a 21-yard score in the second quarter. Ryan Flournoy caught all 4 of his targets for 70 yards. The Cowboys scored on seven of their nine possessions and finished with 416 total yards, a season high.

Dallas entered Monday last in the NFL at 20.9 carries per game, and its 76 rushing yards per game ranked 30th. The Cowboys had dropped two straight, 24-16 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were winless at the time, and 23-13 to the Green Bay Packers. Those 29 combined points were the lowest two-game total for Prescott since 2019, according to The Associated Press.

Javonte Williams Gets 25 Carries In Philadelphia

Williams gave the Cowboys their first 150-yard rushing game since Ezekiel Elliott in 2018, according to the AP. Dallas topped 200 rushing yards for the second time since Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer took over the job and the play-calling in 2025.

The Cowboys ran nine times on their first 15 plays across the opening two possessions, gaining 61 yards. Williams broke a 15-yard run early and a 34-yarder on a fourth-quarter drive that ended in a 24-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey. After Philadelphia turned the ball over on downs, Dallas handed it to Williams on six straight plays, and he finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 2:21 left. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Williams said after the game that Schottenheimer made a point during the week of getting him at least 25 rushes, and he finished with exactly that many.

“It was good to give [Schottenheimer] 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 a game. … And the [offensive line] did a great job. The holes were wide open, and I was just running through it. And shout out to [Tyler Goodson], too. He’s a great running back.”

Dallas re-signed Williams this offseason on a three-year, $24 million contract after he carried 252 times for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025, his first season with the Cowboys. Prescott said Williams is a back who has to get into a groove, which he had not been able to do over the previous couple of weeks.

“He’s a true pro,” Prescott said. “One of the best teammates, the guy that does everything right, a smart football player, and a physical football player. He’s a guy you gotta get in a groove, and I think that’s probably one of the frustrating things for him in the last couple of weeks, is not getting that chance again and again to get in that groove.”

“He can turn some of those two-yard runs into six-yard runs and so on, and tonight, he had that chance,” Prescott continued. “And when you follow that offensive line, trust them, trust those blocks, that’s the product you’re gonna get.”

The team’s game recap listed Williams’ 155 yards as the most by a Dallas running back since Elliott ran for 159 against Tampa Bay on Dec. 18, 2016. Jones said Monday was a great night for Williams and for the team.

“It reminds me, the way that he can find soft spots and power through tackles, make things happen, it reminds me of the strength and power that Emmitt Smith showed,” Jones explained. “You always get in trouble when you start making these comparisons, but that was a great night for him, great night for us.”

Defense Ranks Last On Third Down As Jerry Jones Backs Brian Schottenheimer

Dallas is last in the NFL in third-down defense, with opponents converting 52.9% of the time, according to the AP. Philadelphia opened the third quarter with a 17-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that took more than nine minutes. The Eagles went 4-of-5 on third down on that possession, converted a fourth-and-1, and took a 21-20 lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass. Jones said on the show that the defense is not where the Cowboys expected it to be.

“The answer is play like we played on the offensive side of the ball,” Jones said. “That is our answer. The defense is really not where we expected it to be, but we can win and we can get where we want to go with that offensive side of the ball.”

“That’s where we’ve got a real emphasis on proven players that can do things that we know how to do,” Jones added. “We also have an outstanding offensive play caller in our head coach. And that’s our strength.”

Schottenheimer’s play-calling drew criticism during the week leading into Monday, and the AP reported that his postgame answers in Philadelphia were noticeably short. Prescott said Schottenheimer takes a lot of pride in his job and in his team.

“It’s not like he’s naive,” Prescott explained. “It’s not like he hadn’t heard some noise about him and whether it’s the call in the games or whatever doubt that’s been out there, but we’ve got his back. He’s a guy that takes a lot of pride in his job, a lot of pride in his team. Everybody handles everything different, so I don’t blame him to an extent.”

Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and cornerback Cobie Durant both returned from hamstring injuries Monday. Overshown had missed five games and Durant had missed four. Overshown intercepted a pass midway through the fourth quarter with Dallas ahead 31-21, and he finished tied for the team lead with 6 tackles.

Dallas (3-4) hosts the Arizona Cardinals (2-5) at noon CT Sunday at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys visit the Indianapolis Colts, who are also 2-5, on Nov. 8.