What a football game we got to witness yesterday afternoon on Christmas Eve.
The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles in a back-and-forth contest that resulted in Dallas pulling out the victory 40-34.
This was one of the best games Dak Prescott has played in a very long time for the Cowboys.
Before we get to the, they played a backup quarterback crowd. So did the Eagles in the first matchup, and it was a three-point game in the 4th quarter. Let’s remember that… But Jalen Hurts doesn’t play defense, does he?
Prescott has his first 300-yard passing game of the season, and he did it against the No. 1 pass defense in the league. The Eagles had not allowed a 300-yard passer all season, and Kyler Murray was the highest this year, throwing for 250 before Prescott’s performance yesterday.
After starting the game with a pick-6 on a throw that made me scratch my head, he dialed in big time—making play after play to keep the Cowboys in the game after the defense struggled most of the afternoon.
Prescott completed 27 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns. His only mistake was the early pick-6 that put the Cowboys in a hole.
My favorite play of the game came when the Cowboys trailed by seven in the fourth quarter. Dallas found themselves in a third-and-30, and you could feel the game nearly slipping away.
T.Y Hilton’s first catch of a Cowboy came on a 52-yard bomb that kept the drive alive. The Cowboys finished that possession with a CeeDee Lamb touchdown.
TY HILTON ON 3RD AND 30! #DallasCowboys
(Via: @NFL)pic.twitter.com/0rpXUW8B1C
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 24, 2022
After Prescott threw the early interception, I won’t lie to you and say I wasn’t concerned, but man Prescott locked in and played nearly a perfect game to help the offense score 40 points.
It is crazy to think that a team that was carried for most of the year by the defense (holding opponents too much lower point totals) is now one that, unless they force a turnover, can’t get off the field for some reason.
Injuries are killing them on defense, but when they needed a takeaway, they got it.
Prescott and the offense turned those turnovers into 20 points, which helped them unload 40 points.
We talk about balance and staying with it; the Cowboys needed Prescott to win this game. They threw the ball 35 times to only 25 runs between Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.
Look, I am a fan of Prescott, but I also understand that the turnovers have been an issue this season, no doubt about it; but for someone who gets talked about not being able to win the game without a great run game, he did just that yesterday. The Eagles took away Zeke, and Pollard. They made Prescott beat them, and he did.
With two games left in the season, the Cowboys are pretty much locked into the 5-seed for the playoffs. The Eagles need to win one of their two remaining games to lock the division and the No. 1 seed.
The Cowboys would play the winner of the NFC South if they ended up with the 5-seed – the worst division in football.
This game gave me some confidence in Prescott. You don’t have to like him, but he balled out yesterday, let’s hope he can keep it going.
