PHILADELPHIA
While it was sloppy for about two-and-a-half quarters, the Dallas Cowboys settled into a Monday night divisional clash with the Philadelphia Eagles and pulled away with a 38-21 win on the road.
The offense saw a much-needed bounce-back after back-to-back weeks of stagnant play, and the defense settled into its matchup against almost all reserves on Philadelphia’s offense to help power the win.
Let’s take a look at how each position group performed and assign grades based off the initial watch.
Grades possible: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, F
Quarterback – B+
Dak Prescott had a lot more control of the offense tonight, whether it was by design or not. He was communicative at the line, dictated the pass game and helped put the offense into favorable run game situations. He left some throws on the table, indicated by his 15-of-27 completion rate, but overall it was a solid night at the office.
Running Back – A+
After a back-to-back game stretch that saw the Cowboys put together 98 total rushing yards, Javonte Williams exploded for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown. His 4.2 yards before contact per rush signified his decisiveness and ability to find and create space throughout the night. To add to it, backup running back Tyler Goodson got his most burn as a Cowboy, rushing for 38 yards on 10 carries.
Wide Receiver – A
The pass game quite literally went through the trio of CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Ryan Flournoy on Monday night. The trio combined for 201 of the 212 yards through the air and all three touchdowns. Pickens’ night saw him haul in a very difficult touchdown grab on a third down in the red zone while helping the offense sustain drives despite not grabbing a reception in the first quarter. Flournoy made some tough grabs downfield, and Lamb punctuated the night with two touchdown grabs.
Tight End – B
The blocking from Brevyn Spann-Ford, Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker helped open up some holes in the run game, as a big part of the run-game plan saw success in 12- and 13-personnel packages. Spann-Ford was the only one who got involved in the pass game though, hauling in two receptions for 11 yards.
Offensive Line – A
Against that defensive line in its own home stadium, the offensive line had its best performance all season. It helped pave the way for 204 yards on the ground, and it kept Dak Prescott off the grass. Pointing back to that Williams stat of having 4.2 yards before contact per rush, the offensive line gets credit as well.
Defensive Line – C+
Quinnen Williams and Donovan Ezeiruaku tallied sacks to make things look good on the stat sheet for the defensive line, and the unit settled in as the game went along, but there was still too much given up to start the game on the ground. The Cowboys gave up 121 rushing yards, and they allowed Eagles backup quarterback Tanner McKee to settle into the ballgame without consistent pressure.
Linebacker – B+
If Monday was a sign that there will be more Shemar James Sr. in the lineup moving forward, then that might not be such a bad choice. The second-year fifth-round pick started at the MIKE spot and handled green-dot responsibilities on his way to recording six tackles and being active throughout the night. DeMarvion Overshown made his return, and while there were some plays left on the field, he had some splash highlights, including a fourth-quarter interception that helped put the game away.
Secondary – C+
There is still work to be done to consider this group an average unit, but the addition of Joey Porter Jr. looks to really be adding a lot of value to the secondary. McKee did find rookie Makai Lemon throughout the night and picked apart the secondary at times, but there is gradual improvement showing out of the unit. It might see a bigger uptick once safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke are healthy.
Special Teams – B+
Brandon Aubrey had a perfect night with makes from 55, 27 and 24 yards. And while the return game without the injured KaVontae Turpin was efficient, it’s hard to overlook a Tyler Goodson touchdown being wiped off the board because of a Justin Barron holding penalty — his second on a kick return on the night. The kick coverage had a solid night.
Game schedule dates, times, locations Sept. 13 N.Y. Giants 28, Cowboys 20 Sept. 20 Cowboys 37, Washington 20 Sept. 27 Baltimore 34, Cowboys 31 Oct. 4 Cowboys 34, Houston 30 Oct. 8 Tampa Bay 24, Cowboys 16 Oct. 18 Green Bay 23, Cowboys 13 Oct. 26 Cowboys 38, Philadelphia 21 Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA Aug. 29 North Carolina 15, TCU 10 Sept. 12 TCU 63, Grambling State 7 Sept. 19 TCU 31, Arkansas State 7 Sept. 26 Central Florida 21, TCU 13 Oct. 3 BYU 17, TCU 10 Oct. 17 TCU 17, Baylor 6 Oct. 24 West Virginia 24, TCU 20 Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, 2:30 p.m., FS1 Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN Sept. 5 Indiana 52, North Texas 16 Sept. 12 North Texas 44, UNLV 6 Sept. 19 Texas State 49, North Texas 35 Sept. 26 North Texas 63, Houston Christian 14 Oct. 1 North Texas 45, Tulsa 44 (OT) Oct. 10 North Texas 50, Charlotte 10 Oct. 24 North Texas 49, Navy 39 Oct. 29 vs. Florida Atlantic, 6:30 p.m., ESPN Nov. 7 vs. Rice, 3 p.m., ESPNU Nov. 14 at UTSA, TBA Nov. 21 at Tulane, TBA Nov. 28 vs. UAB, TBA All home games at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium Aug. 27 Central Oklahoma 59, Texas Wesleyan 7 Sept. 5 McNeese State 52, Texas Wesleyan 0 Sept. 12 Texas Wesleyan 56, Texas College 20 Sept. 26 Texas Wesleyan 41, Nelson 16 Oct. 3 Texas Wesleyan 34, Arkansas Baptist 27 Oct. 10 Louisiana Christian 42, Texas Wesleyan 27 Oct. 17 Mary Hardin-Baylor 38, Texas Wesleyan 22 Oct. 24 Texas Wesleyan 69, Langston 25 Oct. 31 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at Ottawa (Arizona), 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Wayland Baptist, 2 p.m. Oct. 21 Houston 128, Mavericks 110 Oct. 23 Mavericks 121, Indiana 105 Oct. 24 San Antonio 122, Mavericks 106 Oct. 26 Mavericks 113, Miami 109 Oct. 28 vs. Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, KFAA, MavsTV+ Oct. 30 vs. Houston, 7 p.m., ABC, KFAA, MavsTV+ Nov. 2 vs. Sacramento, 7 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV+ Nov. 4 at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m., ESPN Nov. 6 vs. Utah, 7 p.m., ABC, KFAA, MavsTV+ Nov. 2 vs. Lindenwood, 7 p.m., ESPN+ Nov. 6 vs. Southern, 7 p.m., ESPN+ Nov. 10 vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 8 p.m., ESPN+ Nov. 13 vs. Milwaukee, 7 p.m., ESPN+ Nov. 19 vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m., Peacock Nov. 3 vs. Oral Roberts, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ Nov. 5 vs. Le Moyne, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ Nov. 8 vs. Tarleton State, 2 p.m., ESPN+ Nov. 10 vs. Iona, 4 p.m., ESPN+ Nov. 12 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ Oct. 14 Stars 3, Colorado 2 (SO) Oct. 17 Stars 4, Chicago 0 Oct. 20 Stars 3, Boston 2 (OT) Oct. 22 Stars 3, Winnipeg 2 (OT) Oct. 25 Stars 6, N.Y. Islanders 3 Oct. 27 vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 29 vs. Montreal, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 31 vs. Columbus, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Nov. 3 at Washington, 6 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Nov. 5 at Columbus, 6 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Sept. 26 FC Dallas 1, LAFC 0 Oct. 10 Charlotte 3, FC Dallas 2 Oct. 14 FC Dallas 1, Seattle 0 Oct. 17 FC Dallas 2, Houston 2 Oct. 24 FC Dallas 3, San Jose 0 Oct. 28 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 31 at Kansas City, 2 p.m., Apple TV Nov. 7 vs. Colorado, 6 p.m., Apple TV End of regular season Oct. 29-31 POWRi Racing Nov. 5-7 POWRi Racing Nov. 12-15 Southwest RV Supershow Dec. 5 Team Texas: David Starr’s Racing School Dec. 12 NASCAR Racing Experience April 30 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 May 1 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 May 2 NASCAR Cup Series Wurth 400
This story was originally published October 27, 2026 at 12:19 AM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.