The Cowboys beat Eagles 38-21 on Monday Night Football on October 26, 2026, at Lincoln Financial Field, pulling away in the second half to close Week 7 and move ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East.
How Cowboys beat Eagles in the second half
The game changed hands six times before Dallas took control for good late in the third quarter. With 1:30 left in the third, Dak Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for a 16-yard touchdown and then ran in the two-point conversion himself, giving Dallas a 28-21 lead it did not give up. Dallas added a field goal and a late Javonte Williams rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, while Philadelphia was held scoreless after halftime’s opening drive. Dallas led 20-14 at halftime and 28-21 after three quarters.
Prescott, Lamb and Williams led the Cowboys offense
Prescott completed 15 of 27 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. Lamb caught five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns, and George Pickens added four catches for 57 yards and one touchdown. The bigger shift came on the ground: Williams carried 25 times for a career-high 155 yards and one touchdown, as Dallas ran 38 times for 204 yards against 27 pass attempts. Williams became the Cowboys’ first 150-yard rusher since Ezekiel Elliott in 2018.
An injury-hit Eagles side kept fighting, then ran out of answers
Philadelphia started without quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is expected to miss the rest of the 2026 season, and without wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks. Tanner McKee, starting for a second straight week, completed 23 of 35 passes for 211 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Saquon Barkley, returning after missing two games with a hamstring injury, ran seven times for 62 yards and a touchdown before leaving with a back injury. Dameon Pierce added 47 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries before leaving in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury. Rookie Makai Lemon led Philadelphia in receiving with seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Philadelphia’s defense finished with no sacks and no tackles for loss, a telling measure of how little pressure it put on Prescott.
What the result means in the NFC East
The win, the night Cowboys beat Eagles, ended Dallas’ two-game losing streak and lifted the Cowboys to 3-4. Philadelphia fell to 2-5 after a fifth straight loss. After the game, the NFC East standings had the New York Giants at 4-2-1, Dallas at 3-4, Philadelphia at 2-5 and Washington at 1-4-1. That leaves Dallas closer to the division lead, while Philadelphia’s margin for error is now very thin.
Analysis: Dallas finally matched its run game to its passing threat
Analysis: Before the night Cowboys beat Eagles, Dallas had scored only 29 points across its previous two games, both defeats, so the balance on Monday night mattered as much as the total. By running effectively, Dallas kept Philadelphia’s defense honest and gave Prescott cleaner looks to Lamb and Pickens. For Philadelphia, the concern is not only the scoreline but the depth chart: a team already without its starting quarterback finished the game without its two main running backs as well. That combination makes the next injury updates at least as important as any tactical adjustment.
What to watch next
Watch for injury updates on Barkley and Pierce, and for whether Dallas can repeat this run-heavy balance in its next game. For Philadelphia, the immediate question is how it protects McKee and finds enough offense while so many starters are unavailable. The November 10 trade deadline is also approaching, which could shape how Philadelphia approaches the rest of its season.
Sources
This report is based on the Philadelphia Eagles’ official game recap and NBC Sports’ Monday Night Football report, both published October 26-27, 2026, with standings confirmed in USA Today coverage of the game.
