Troy Aikman didn’t bite when asked whether the Cowboys’ 38-21 win over the Eagles meant something bigger was taking shape in Dallas.
On SportsCenter, Scott Van Pelt asked the Hall of Fame quarterback if Monday night had changed his read on the Cowboys. Aikman made it clear it hadn’t.
“Eh, not really,” Aikman said on SportsCenter. “And I don't mean that as a negative, but this is a beat-up Philadelphia team.
Coming here and winning tonight, let's not get carried away. They kind of did what you expected them to do.
“It'll bear itself out. This team's capable.
Defense did some good things. They've still got a ways to go, but that's gonna be the key to this team, is how far along can this defense come between now and when the playoffs roll around, if they get in.”
Dallas certainly looked sharper than it has in recent weeks. Dak Prescott finished 15 of 27 for 212 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and two of those scores went to CeeDee Lamb. Javonte Williams delivered a career-high 155 rushing yards and a touchdown, and the Cowboys rolled up 416 total yards, including 204 on the ground.
The victory pushed Dallas to 3-4, but the context around it matters. Philadelphia played without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is expected to miss the rest of the season because of blood clots in his lungs. Saquon Barkley got just nine touches before a back issue knocked him out, and the Eagles have now dropped five straight.
The Cowboys were also helped by a defense that has spent most of the year near the bottom of the league. Entering the night, Dallas ranked 30th in total defense at 382.5 yards allowed per game and last against the run at 149.8, according to Sports Illustrated.
DeMarvion Overshown, back from a hamstring injury, contributed an interception, a tackle for loss, a pass deflection and six tackles. Even so, Philadelphia still opened the third quarter with a 17-play, 84-yard touchdown march.
There was offensive progress, no question. Prescott bounced back after throwing two touchdowns and four interceptions over the previous two games.
Williams finally gave Dallas the kind of run game it had been missing. And Lamb and Pickens found the end zone in the same game for the first time in 2026.
Still, Aikman’s skepticism centered on what happens when the opponent isn’t so compromised. The Cowboys did get stops once Philadelphia was down to its third running back, but that is a very different test than handling a full-strength attack.
At 3-4, Dallas remains alive in the NFC East race. The Cowboys trail the New York Giants, who sit atop the division at 4-2-1, though Dallas does own a division-best two wins in the NFC East.
For now, the real question is the same one Aikman pointed to: how much better can Christian Parker’s defense get before January? Arizona visits on Sunday, and a win would get the Cowboys back to .500.
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