ARLINGTON, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys are still in their race to reach the postseason, which will determine their East Division Representative of the National Conference in the final week of the regular season.
The Cowboys went the extra mile by beating the Philadelphia Eagles 37-17 and the Carolina Panthers lending a hand with their victory over the Washington Football Team this Sunday.
Dallas played one of his most complete games of the season, including on the defensive side of the ball, where they again stopped at the moments that mattered most and cleared their opponents’ balls, including two interceptions and one fumble.
More importantly, as it’s rarely seen in more recent seasons, the Cowboys were able to adapt to the game on defense.
“It’s not always about the team that has the best record in the regular season, but the team that is the hottest,” said Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton after his team’s third straight win. “We just want a chance to come in. If you make it to the playoffs, you have the chance to make it to the race.”
Mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the Eagles scored in their first two offensive series, in which quarterback Jalen Hurts appeared indefensible and led his team first 75 yards with 11 plays and second with an 81 yards pass. to the newly reactivated recipient Wish Jackson.
From there, the Dallas defense responded, despite linebacker Leighton Vander Esch being absent due to an ankle injury and his replacement, veteran Sean Lee, playing increasingly limited.
But defensive end Randy Gregory put down his best game of the season, far more than six tackles, his 1.5 sacks and the fumble he triggered in the fourth quarter, when the game was still at stake …
Statistics aside, Gregory was constantly on the defensive at Hurts and against the Philadelphia flight attack.
“We looked completely different from two weeks ago and the credit goes to the players,” said Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. “As long as we have the chance, we will compete. All we can control is our work and there is a lot to do in the coming week.”
On offense, Dalton played as they intended, when he was hired as a backup for Dak Prescott before the start of the season.
Dalton passed 377 yards with three touchdown passes and only one interception. He was accurate in several passes, especially the two scoring passes to Michael Gallup, who gave another recital on the position.
Gallup and Amari Coope had identical 121 yards, including receipts of 55 and 69 yards, respectively. Cee Dee Lamb added another 65 yards on just three completes; one of 52 yards in addition to his touchdown.
And all that covered by the second game of the season with over 100 yards (105) for Zeke Elliott, who, after missing out the week before due to injury, had one of his most complete games of the season this Sunday.
“The easiest thing for us to do would have been to give up five or six weeks ago,” Elliott said. “We never did, even though a lot of things didn’t go to our liking. But we are competitors. The whole team is competitive. Now we need to win next week and get a little help from the guys we just beat.”
The Cowboys played their last game of the 2020 regular season in front of 30,141 fans, bringing them an average of 27,378 over the eight games they played, all with audiences in the stands of their AT&T Stadium.