This past Sunday, Eagles and Cowboys fans alike were holding on to the edge of their seats until the late evening hours.

The week 9 Sunday Night Football game was a much anticipated rivalry match between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys, following the loss of starting quarterback Tony Romo due to a broken collarbone, who plans to return to the game November 22nd for their week 11 match against the Miami Dolphins, are now on a six-game losing streak; their hopes of winning the division shattered. Needless to say, the Eagles were favored to defeat the Cowboys, who were coming off a tough fifth loss by one point to the Seattle Seahawks the week before. Meanwhile, the Eagles have had a rather mediocre first half of the season, with a 3-4 record prior to Sunday’s game. The Eagles had lost games to two of their division rivals, the Cowboys in week 2 and the Redskins in week 4, but defeated the New York Giants week 6, leaving them second in the NFC East. Philadelphia sports talk radio is filled with controversy over the fate of the Eagles for the remainder of the season.

Following a huge completion to Dez Bryant early in the game that ended up being a 51-yard gain, a Cowboys touchdown left the score 7-0 as the first quarter approached its end. The Cowboys lead did not last long however, after Demarco Murray, whose performance in the first Eagles-Cowboys matchup of the season in week 2 was less than disappointing, ran the ball in for an Eagles touchdown. In addition to the Eagles’ score, the Cowboys’ were penalized 15 yards on the kick off that followed for Greg Hardy, who unnecessarily shoved Matt Tobin during the Eagles’ extra point kick.

Well into the third quarter, following another great completion to DeMarco Murray for 44 yards and a handoff to Ryan Matthews, the Cowboys could not stop the Eagles from taking the lead, making the score 14-7 with the extra point. However, they did not leave the Eagles’ points unanswered, scoring a touchdown just a few minutes later with a pass to Cole Beasley, who would earn 100 yards by the end of the night.

The Cowboys would not celebrate for long, as soon into the fourth quarter, a pass to Darren McFadden turned into a pick-6 for Jordan Hicks, leaving the Eagles up by seven once again. On their next drive, however, a 79-yard return by Lucky Whitehead put them in excellent field position to score a touchdown. After a Matt Cassel scramble, what appeared to have been a throw away found the hands of Dez Bryant in the end zone to tie the game once again, giving Bryant his first touchdown catch of the season.

Photo taken from: fansided.com “Dez Bryant rises up to make unreal touchdown catch vs. Eagles (Video)”

It would appear, however, that no points scored yet in the game would go unanswered; after a huge gain by Jordan Matthews, the Eagles took a 27-24 lead with a Sturgis field goal. No different than the rest of the game, the Cowboys fought back immediately. With under two minutes left in the game, following two consecutive pass interference penalties on former Seahawk Byron Maxwell, the Cowboys also scored a field goal, just by a bounce off the upright. The game was then tied, and with no time for the Eagles to respond, was set to go into overtime.

After winning the toss, the Eagles go for the first down on a 4th and 1 near midfield, and Ryan Matthews makes it, but not without losing the ball. Had he not been ruled down after a review of the turnover, the Cowboys would have come up with possession – quite a scare for the Eagles. A scare that they were obviously able to let go, as a long pass to Jordan Matthews for a touchdown in overtime ended the game without even giving the Cowboys a chance to score.

Picture taken from www.bigblueview.com “NFL Schedule 2015, Week 9: Eagles-Cowboys on Sunday Night Football”

After a seemingly never ending game of back-and-forth, the Eagles came out on top, winning by 5 in overtime with a score of 33-27. Needless to say, it was a defeat that only pushed the Cowboys further away from any hope of making the playoffs, but left Eagles fans happy for at least the night as they continue to ponder over the fate of their team.

Lenape student Brett Gallagher(’18) speculates, “I think the Eagles’ win will really help their chances of making the playoffs because they beat a division rival and finally got DeMarco Murray running well, which could get them a division title despite a slow start.”

This upcoming Sunday, the 2-6 Cowboys travel to Tampa, where they will fight the Buccaneers, and the 4-4 Eagles take on the Dolphins at home.

Sources:

Eagles vs. Cowboys Week 9 Highlights NFL

NFL Odds Week 9: Eagles favored in divisional SNF matchup against vs. Cowboys