At halftime on Sunday night, for all competitive intents and purposes, the Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 season seemed to be over. Dallas trailed Philadelphia 21-0, and its lackluster first half looked like the nail in the coffin of its bleak playoff hopes.
To everyone’s surprise, the Cowboys climbed out of the 10-foot hole they had dug themselves, putting together a spirited performance in the second half. Dallas tied the largest comeback in franchise history, scoring 24 unanswered points in a win that will live on in Cowboys’ lore forever.
There were many reasons for the second-half comeback, and offensive players like Dak Prescott and George Pickens deserve tons of credit for the impressive effort, but there is one main reason the Cowboys were able to win that game: their new-look defense. When they were needed most, Dallas’ defense stood tall, earning the unit this week’s game ball award.
The Cowboys’ defense did give up 21 first-half points, but some of that was due to the tough positions they were put in. On the first offensive drive of the game, Dallas went for it at the 50-yard line and failed to convert, giving the talented Eagles’ offense the ball at midfield to start their afternoon. On Philadelphia’s second offensive possession, Dallas’ defense forced a three-and-out, but a botched roughing the punter penalty on Ryan Flournoy extended the drive and led to another touchdown.
Coming out of halftime, the Eagles knew that if they could score just one offensive touchdown in the second half, the Cowboys would have a hard time making it a competitive game. Dallas’ defense was up to the tall task, putting together a dominating second-half performance and holding the Eagles scoreless.
Below are how all six of the Eagles’ second-half drives ended.
Punt
Punt
Punt
Missed FG
Fumble
Punt
Multiple Cowboys defenders came up huge in the third and fourth quarters of this pivotal matchup. Sam Williams, who has had a very rough season up to this point, made one of the plays of the game, forcing a Saquon Barkley fumble when the Eagles were driving late in the fourth quarter.
Just a few minutes later, after Dallas’ offense failed to take advantage of a first-and-goal opportunity, Osa Odighizuwa came through when the Cowboys needed him most, recording a third-down sack that led to Dallas’ offense getting the ball back and converting the game-winning field goal.
On that Odighizuwa sack, DaRon Bland, who had one of his best performances of the season, had lockdown coverage on Eagles’ wide receiver A.J. Brown, forcing Jalen Hurts to hold the ball and ultimately take the sack. Dallas’ secondary as a whole played their butts off as Sunday’s game wore on, and the unit did not allow a single explosive passing play in the final two quarters.
The tests are only going to get harder from here, but if this Cowboys team can play with the kind of energy and spirit they did in the second half of Sunday’s matchup, who’s to say they can’t defy the odds and make an improbable postseason run?
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