Cowboys beat Eagles 38-21 on Monday night as Javonte Williams sets career rushing high

The Dallas Cowboys shook off a third-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-21 in Monday night's Week 7 matchup at Lincoln Financial Field, with quarterback Dak Prescott throwing three touchdown passes and running back Javonte Williams rushing for a career-high 155 yards. The win moved Dallas to 3-4 on the season, while Philadelphia, playing without injured starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, fell to 2-5.

Backup Tanner McKee, starting for the second straight week in place of Hurts, briefly put the Eagles ahead 21-20 early in the third quarter on a 4-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Makai Lemon. Dallas answered less than four minutes later when Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb for a 16-yard score and then ran in a two-point conversion himself, putting the Cowboys back in front for good at 28-21. A pair of fourth-quarter scores, a 24-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal and a short touchdown run by Williams, closed out the margin.

The numbers

Dallas finished with 416 total yards to Philadelphia's 321, outrushing the Eagles 204 yards to 121. Prescott completed 15 of 27 passes for 212 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, according to the official box score. Lamb caught five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns, while George Pickens added four catches for 57 yards and a score. Aubrey made all three of his field-goal attempts, including a 55-yarder in the first quarter, and converted all three extra points.

• Javonte Williams: 25 carries, 155 yards, 1 touchdown
• Dak Prescott: 15-of-27 passing, 212 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
• CeeDee Lamb: 5 catches, 74 yards, 2 touchdowns
• Tanner McKee: 23-of-35 passing, 211 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception

McKee kept Philadelphia within reach into the fourth quarter, finishing 23 of 35 for 211 yards and a touchdown, but his only interception proved costly: linebacker DeMarvion Overshown stepped in front of a pass late in the game to end the Eagles' final serious scoring threat. Saquon Barkley, listed as questionable entering the game with a back injury, scored on an 8-yard run but was held to just seven carries for 62 yards. A crowd of 69,879 attended at Lincoln Financial Field, per NFL.com's game page.

Lamb's second touchdown catch also pushed him past 50 receptions for the season, the seventh time in his career he has reached that mark, while Dallas spread the ball further than usual through the air: Ryan Flournoy added four catches for 70 yards, and Pickens's touchdown came on a 21-yard throw in the second quarter. On defense, Overshown led Dallas with six tackles and the game-changing interception, while Philadelphia's Zack Baun led all defenders with nine tackles trying to keep the Eagles within range.

Playing without Hurts

Philadelphia has started McKee at quarterback in each game since the team placed Hurts on injured reserve on Oct. 17, two days after disclosing that he had a blood clot in his calf. The Eagles said Hurts was hurt when he took a cleat to the area during an Oct. 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams in London, and that he reported the injury to the medical staff four days later. An ultrasound found a superficial clot, and while team doctors cleared him to play that week, he was placed on injured reserve soon after, a move that rules him out for a minimum of four games with no firm timetable for his return, according to the Associated Press. It is the longest absence of Hurts's career; he had not missed more than two games in a season since becoming Philadelphia's full-time starter in 2021.

McKee, a sixth-round pick in 2023, made his third career start the week after Hurts was sidelined, a loss to the Carolina Panthers that dropped Philadelphia to 2-4, and the Dallas game was his fourth career start overall and second straight as the Eagles' fill-in starter since Hurts went down. Monday's loss was competitive for three quarters — Philadelphia trailed by only six points at halftime, 20-14, and took its only lead of the game in the third — before Dallas's running game and red-zone execution pulled the Cowboys away in the fourth quarter. Rookie fifth-round pick Cole Payton is listed as McKee's backup, and the Eagles also added veteran Joe Milton off the Cowboys' own practice squad as insurance at the position.

What it means for the NFC East

The result has real weight in a crowded NFC East. Dallas's win pulled the Cowboys to 3-4, while the Eagles, last season's division contenders, dropped to 2-5 and into last place in a division that also includes the New York Giants at 4-2-1 and the Washington Commanders at 1-4-1. Philadelphia was already missing several other contributors Monday, including receiver DeVonta Smith, who did not play because of a hamstring injury, while Dallas was comparatively healthy aside from a handful of role players. The Cowboys' ground game, which has leaned increasingly on Williams, was the difference: his 155 yards were a career high, and Dallas out-rushed Philadelphia by 83 yards for the game.

For Philadelphia, the loss extends a stretch defined by absences at the sport's most important position. The Eagles have now lost both of McKee's starts since Hurts went down, and the offense has had to lean on Barkley in a reduced role while he works through his own injury concerns. Dallas, by contrast, got balanced production all night: four touchdowns split between Prescott's arm and Williams's legs, plus three Aubrey field goals, meaning the Cowboys scored on seven of their possessions.

What's next

Both teams are off the Monday-night stage for at least a week. Dallas returns home to face the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 1 at AT&T Stadium, according to the Cowboys' official schedule. Philadelphia will have a quicker turnaround into another division matchup, traveling to face the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football on Nov. 1, per the Eagles' official schedule. Philadelphia has given no public indication of when Hurts might be activated off injured reserve, meaning McKee is set to remain the Eagles' starter for at least the next several weeks as Philadelphia tries to stabilize a season that has slipped away from its preseason expectations.