ARLINGTON – Electric. Absolutely electric. That was the feeling in the closing moments of the Cowboys’ epic comeback over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, 24-21.
Early in the fourth quarter, when George Pickens made a leaping 43-yard catch over two Eagles defenders, the roar of the crowd was deafening, arguably the loudest moment of the season at AT&T Stadium thus far. Until two plays later when Dak Prescott hurdled headfirst into the end zone on an 8-yard scramble to tie the score 21-21 with 11:40 remaining.
For sure, Dak’s score was the loudest cheer … until special teams delivered a forced fumble by Alijah Clark that was recovered by long snapper Trent Sieg at Philly’s 8-yard line with just over 5 minutes to play. The crowd went bananas because, with that field position, certainly the Cowboys would score and take the lead. Until they didn’t, turning the ball over on downs to the Eagles at the 2-yard line with 3:38 remaining.
That was when the Kelly-green clad Eagles fans in attendance (and there were many) awoke from their second-half coma because, as poorly as the Eagles played in the third and fourth quarters, they had a chance to engineer a game-winning drive.
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Four plays later, coming out of the two-minute Warning, it was DT Osa Odighizuwa delivering a decibel-defying shockwave following his sack of Jalen Hurts that forced the Eagles to punt and gave Dak and Company a chance to drive down the field for the game-winning score. OK, that was the loudest moment, for sure.
Passes to Pickens and TE Jake Ferguson and Pickens (again) ensued, and all that was left was to bleed the clock and ask special teams to please pass the butter.
It was Brandon Aubrey time. As his 42-yard field goal cleared the crossbar, it was equal parts jubilation and relief for the Cowboys, knowing they had saved their season, at least for now, and remain relevant in the postseason hunt.
As deep a hole as the Cowboys dug for themselves by falling behind 21-0 early in the second quarter, there was never any panic or finger-pointing on the home sideline.
Would anyone at that time have predicted the Dallas defense would keep the Eagles from scoring on any of their remaining eight possessions? No, not necessarily. But the Cowboys’ Dak-to-Pickens 1-yard TD connection with 21 seconds remaining in the first half gave the team a lift heading into halftime, and it felt like momentum was swinging toward the home team.
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If only they could get a couple of defensive stops, or maybe steal a possession or two in the second half with takeaways, this could be a barn burner of a second half. And boy, was it ever!
The Cowboys’ 21-point come-from-behind victory tied the largest comeback in team history, the last time occurring in St. Louis in 2014 versus the Cardinals. Here are some gameday sideline notes from the Cowboys’ win:
Cornerback shuffle: Caelen Carson started for the second straight week at cornerback along with DaRon Bland, but rookie Shavon Revel and Reddy Steward got a lot of playing time, too. Carson cramped up in the opening series of the third quarter and headed to the locker room for an IV. He missed the next two defensive series. When he returned to action, it lasted only a couple of plays before he went down again. When he reached the bench area, he slung his helmet onto the turf and sat with a towel over his head before conferring with the doctors. He did not return to action and played only 25 of 63 defensive snaps.
Carson’s injury meant more snaps for Revel, who, in his debut last Monday at the Raiders, was limited to 19 snaps as he saw his first NFL action following a knee injury in college in September 2024.
The plan entering Sunday’s game was to keep Revel on a snap count because of an upcoming short week heading into the Thanksgiving Day game versus the Chiefs. Revel was going to play in some nickel packages (Revel on the outside, Bland sliding to the inside) as well as third down packages. But the Carson injury led to more snaps for Revel (39 total) as well as rookie Trikweze Bridges (12 snaps), who played outside corner. Steward this week got a heavier dose in the slot beginning in the first quarter. Steward’s 36 snaps are the most he has played since the Packers game in September.
If you didn’t see the NFL transactions list on Saturday, the Cowboys waived Kaiir Elam, one of their starting corners to open the season. The Cowboys needed the roster spot for RB Malik Davis, who needed to be added to the 53-man roster because he had already been elevated from the practice squad the maximum of three times this season.
Five-man defensive front: The Cowboys started in a five-man front in their first defensive series and featured it throughout the game. The five starters were Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Odighizuwa, Jadeveon Clowney and rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku.
Williams (46), Clark (40), and Osa (42) played the most, but Solomon Thomas was able to work into the rotation for 19 snaps after missing the previous game in Las Vegas due to a calf injury. Dante Fowler, James Houston and Sam Williams all got 20-plus snaps in the defensive end rotation, so the line was able to stay fresh, which worked to the Cowboys’ advantage late in the fourth quarter when Osa was able to get the sack of Hurts.
Clowney, who missed practice time the previous week with neck/shoulder injury designations, was a gameday decision. He came onto the field for an early pregame workout with athletic trainers. Giving the thumbs up, he was good to go, which meant that Perrion Winfrey, who hoped to make his 2025 Cowboys debut after missing the first 10 games of the year with a back injury, will have to wait until at least Thursday to get into game action. Winfrey has already been activated from Injured Reserve, but has not had a chance yet to play in a game.
Moving parts at linebacker: Just as rookie Revel was on a snap count, so was LB DeMarvion Overshown who, like Revel, was playing in only his second game of the season coming off season-ending knee surgery in 2024.
Last week, the plan was to give Overshown 30 to 35 snaps. On Sunday, he was to get a few more. Mission accomplished: Overshown ended up with 39.
Like last week, the plan at MLB was for Kenneth Murray to start the game and have Logan Wilson play the next series, and so on. Unlike last week, Murray (39) actually finished with more snaps than Wilson (24). Murray also made one of the key defensive plays of the second half by recovering the Saquon Barkley fumble forced by Sam Williams. That’s two big plays in two games for Murray since Wilson was acquired via trade from Cincinnati. Last week versus the Raiders, he broke up a pass that led to Markquese Bell’s interception.
Injury watch: Starting left tackle Tyler Guyton injured his right ankle midway through the third quarter, leading Nate Thomas to step in and play 31 of 74 offensive snaps. Guyton never went to the blue medical tent as the athletic training staff taped up his ankle. At first it appeared as though he would try to re-enter the game, but after a second tape job, Guyton remained in the bench area and Thomas played the final five series. Coach Brian Schottenheimer will presumably give an update on Guyton’s injury status during the Monday afternoon press conference.
Sunday inactive: WR Jalen Tolbert was a gameday inactive (coach’s decision) in favor of WR Jonathan Mingo, who made his 2025 debut. Mingo was on the field for three snaps but recorded no stats.
Chewing ‘em out: As much as teammates and coaches love OL Brock Hoffman for his tenacity and willingness to mix it up with opponents, Schotty did not appreciate Hoffman nearly drawing a personal foul penalty on the extra point following Dak’s TD run.
Hoffman plays guard on extra points. He gave a little extracurricular show to DT Jalen Carter who flopped as if he’d been punched by Mike Tyson. Yes, the official recognized that it was mostly a flop and luckily no flag was thrown. But there was still a shove and a flag would have moved the ensuing kickoff and possibly given the Eagles good field position. As players walked off the field following the PAT, Schotty let Hoffman know in no uncertain terms that it could have been a costly mistake. That was the most I’ve seen Schotty get in a guy’s face during a game so far this season.
Kristi Scales is the sideline reporter for the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. She writes this column for The Dallas Morning News after each Cowboys game.
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