PHILADELPHIA -- The Dallas Cowboys were able to go on the road and handle business against the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-21, on "Monday Night Football" after an impressive showing by running back Javonte Williams and the offense.
Williams finished with a career-high 155 yards, and he was able to punch in his eighth rushing touchdown of the season, tied for the NFL's lead.
If the Cowboys were going to be considered an actual threat in the NFC East, they had to start winning games. This was a start, and it looked like last season to a degree.
An offense that scored 29 points in the previous two games was able to light up the scoreboard to beat the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field for the first time since 2021. The Cowboys ran the ball as well as they had all season, finishing with 204 yards.
Quarterback Dak Prescott had three touchdown passes -- two to CeeDee Lamb, one to George Pickens -- and avoided throwing an interception.
The defense was still up-and-down but made plays against a backup quarterback, Tanner McKee, that they did not make against another backup quarterback, Tampa Bay's Jalon Daniels, two games ago.
The win moved the Cowboys (3-4) into second place in the division behind the New York Giants (4-2-1) -- with ESPN Analytics giving them a 57% chance of winning the division.
Here are the most important things to know from Monday night for both teams:
Dallas Cowboys (3-4)
What to make of the QB performance: Prescott struggled in the two games coming into this one -- throwing four interceptions while under a ton of pressure from the Tampa Bay and Green Bay defenses. The Eagles did not put up the same pressure -- just 15% of his dropbacks through three quarters -- and Prescott made them pay. It was the sixth time Prescott had at least three touchdown passes against the Eagles, and it was the ninth multi-touchdown pass game Prescott has had against the Eagles. Only Eli Manning (15) and Sonny Jurgensen (10) have more against Philadelphia. Prescott, now 39-11 versus NFC East foes, finished the night 15 of 27 for 212 yards.
Trend to watch: One way the Cowboys discussed getting Pickens more involved in the offense was moving him around the formation. His first two catches came with him in the slot. His first catch went for nine yards, aligned on Cooper DeJean. His second came with him being defended by safety Andrew Mukuba, running a wheel route down the sideline for a 21-yard score. In the first half, Pickens lined up in the slot seven times, which was as many times he had lined up in the slot in a game over the first six weeks. He ended up doing it nine times in the game.
Stat to know: The Cowboys defense must not know when games begin. For the fifth time this season -- and fourth straight game -- Dallas allowed a touchdown on the opposing team's opening possession. This time it was with a less-than-100% Saquon Barkley on an 8-yard run out to cap a four-play, 75-yard drive. The 35 points allowed on the opening drive is the second most in the league and the Cowboys' five opening-drive touchdowns allowed is tied for the most with Cleveland and Miami. -- Todd Archer
Next game: vs. Arizona Cardinals (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Philadelphia Eagles (2-5)
The problem with bad seasons is it's never just one thing.
The Eagles' offense finally got going Monday, but the defense was diced up all night, resulting in a loss that extended their losing streak to five games.
Barkley's gutty effort on a bad hamstring and rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon's first career touchdown wasn't enough as Philadelphia inches closer and closer to a lost season. He became the first starter in the last 20 seasons to play at least nine offensive snaps in a game and get a touch on all of them. The last player to do it (starter or otherwise) was Jaylen Wright for the Dolphins against the Falcons in Week 8 of last season (10 touches on 10 snaps).
Most surprising performance: The pattern through the first six weeks was the defense would put up a good fight for most of the game before succumbing in the fourth quarter, in part because they wore down playing opposite an offense that was unable to sustain drives. Monday night was a different story. Prescott faced little pressure in the pocket, the Cowboys run game met little resistance and Dallas amassed 330 yards of offense before even getting the ball in the fourth quarter. This will go down as one of the worst defensive performances in coordinator Vic Fangio's two-plus years in Philadelphia.
Trend to watch: Facing the Dallas defense helped the Eagles shake their slow-start blues. They scored 10 points and racked up 124 yards in the first quarter, both season highs. Philadelphia came in averaging 0.5 points per game and 56.7 yards per game in the opening frame. This was the third time since the start of last season the Eagles scored a TD on each of their first two drives; all three have come against the Cowboys. -- Tim McManus
Next game: at Washington Commanders (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday)