It was an unreal win for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Nobody in that stadium could believe what they were watching as Dallas erased a 21-point deficit against the defending Super Bowl champions. After the game, Dak Prescott explained exactly how the Cowboys flipped the script.
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When he was asked about the early 21-0 hole and the team’s response, Prescott made it clear that he wasn’t interested in personal milestones or congratulations while the rally was still ongoing. Teammates had begun telling him he’d passed Tony Romo’s franchise record for career passing yards, but Prescott waved it off with a simple message: save it for the win. What mattered to him was keeping the offense locked in and pushing through the avalanche of early mistakes that put them in that position.
Prescott did exactly that. He threw two touchdown passes, ran for the tying score, and orchestrated the composed, methodical final drive that set up Brandon Aubrey’s 42-yard game-winner as time expired. Only then did Dak allow himself to acknowledge the magnitude of what he’d done. Breaking Romo’s yardage record, ending the night with 354 yards and a career total of 34,378, hit him harder than he expected: “There was a little emotion that hit me that I damn sure wasn’t ready for,” he admitted. He also broke a tie with Romo by notching the 25th winning drive of his career when tied or trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime.
For Prescott, the victory carried a deeper meaning. In the locker room, he dedicated the win to Marshawn Kneeland, the Cowboys’ defensive end whose recent passing still hangs heavily over the team. “Like I said, it’s about the brotherhood,” Prescott said. “We’re always going to do it for Marshawn. He was felt tonight, and I’m sure he was playing right there alongside with us.”
The Cowboys extended Prescott’s home winning streak against NFC East opponents to 19 in their first game back at AT&T Stadium since Kneeland’s death, making the night’s emotion even more powerful.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, watched a 21-0 lead slip away, something that hadn’t happened to the Eagles since 1999. Despite the loss, they remain in a strong position to defend their NFC East crown, but their offense once again showed the inconsistency that has frustrated A.J. Brown throughout the season.
For Dallas, the comeback doesn’t change their standing; they entered Week 12 in 10th place in the NFC and remain there, but it does change their trajectory. The win tightens the race: the Cowboys now sit just two games behind the 49ers for the final Wild Card spot, with San Francisco yet to play Carolina on Monday night.
The next stretch is critical. Dallas will host the Chiefs on Thanksgiving after Kansas City’s overtime win over Indianapolis, then get a mini-bye before facing Detroit on Thursday Night Football in Week 14.
If the Cowboys can ride the momentum of this stunning win, beat Kansas City, and survive a schedule that closes with very winnable road games against Washington and the Giants, they’ll keep themselves alive deep into December. They don’t need perfection, just enough to slip into the NFC’s top seven. Sunday’s wild comeback didn’t launch them into a playoff spot, but it did something arguably more important: it proved this team still has a pulse, still has leadership, and still has a shot.
