Why Cowboys' offensive revival could launch an NFC East run

The Dallas Cowboys (3-4) were down in the dumps after consecutive primetime losses against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers. Their offense had become stale while  Brian Schottenheimer and George Pickens traded barbs during the week. Panic levels were at a fever pitch after Dallas scored below 20 points in consecutive starts for the first time in seven years with Dak Prescott.

All of that is now washed away after the Cowboys' 38-21 road victory at the Philadelphia Eagles (2-5) on "Monday Night Football" that all but buried their hated rival this season and put Dallas back on track in their pursuit for their first NFC East division title since 2023. 

The Cowboys got everything they could have hoped for on Monday in a get-right game against the two-time defending division champs, albeit a battered version of them, quarterbacked by backup Tanner McKee and led by Saquon Barkley on one leg with a hamstring injury. Prescott threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns. Javonte Williams totaled a career-high 150 yards rushing and a touchdown on 25 carries for a 6.2 yards per carry average. CeeDee Lamb led the way with 74 yards receiving and two receiving touchdowns on five catches while Pickens caught a 21-yard diving touchdown. For as beat up as the Eagles were, most of those injuries were on their offense. With Williams rolling, the Eagles had no answer for Prescott, Lamb, Pickens and Dallas' passing game. 

W-L

0-2

1-0

PPG

14.5

38

Rush YPG

49.0

204*

Turnovers

5

0

* Dallas' most rushing yards against the Eagles since 2000

Edge rusher Nolan Smith (concussion) was the only Philadelphia defensive starter out on Monday, but a limited Barkley, no Jalen Hurts and no DeVonta Smith led to an environment where an outmatched Eagles squad couldn't keep pace with Dallas' high-flying, locked-in attack. The Cowboys should feel good about their ability to put Philadelphia out of their misery at Lincoln Financial Field. Oft-injured linebacker DeMarvion Overshown overcame a hamstring that had him sidelined since Week 1 to return Monday night in Week 7 to tally his first interception since 2024. Everything the Cowboys could have hoped for came to fruition while they were able to avoid an avalanche from Barkley, who finished with 62 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Barkley pulled up after an apparent hamstring reaggravation at the tail end of his 29-yard run on the Eagles' opening drive. 

DEMARVION OVERSHOWN INT

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— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2026

DEMARVION OVERSHOWN INT

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Why the Cowboys can make a run the next few weeks 

Dallas' schedule now parts like the Red Sea as they take aim at overtaking the first-place New York Giants (4-2-1) for the NFC East lead. The Cowboys' next five opponents have a combined 13-22 record, with their only game against a team with a winning record from Weeks 8-12 coming in the friendly confines of AT&T Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10. 

Week 8

vs. Cardinals

2-5

Week 9

at Colts

2-5

Week 10

vs. 49ers

6-1

Week 11

vs. Titans

1-6

Week 12

vs. Eagles 

2-5

Plus, Prescott rediscovered his connection with both Lamb and Pickens. He had no touchdowns and two interceptions when targeting his dynamic wide receiver duo in Week 6 against the Packers, but against Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's unit on Monday night, he threw three touchdowns to no interceptions when targeting Lamb and Pickens. Dallas' face-of-the-franchise quarterback now has 39 victories in his first 40 starts against the NFC East with 98 touchdown passes to 24 interceptions. That's tied for the most wins in a quarterback's first 50 divisional starts since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger with Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. 

After all the handwringing about Pickens' offensive involvement, he's now up to 260 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns across the last three games after just 225 yards and no touchdowns in Dallas' first four games. Prescott, Schottenheimer and the rest of the Cowboys' offense waved a magic wand and seemingly fixed all their offensive issues in a week. As long as Prescott is upright, the J.J. McCarthy-led Giants shouldn't get too comfy atop the NFC East because no team in the division can rival the ceiling Dallas' offense provides the Cowboys.  

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