The Dallas Cowboys picked a huge win on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles in blowout fashion 41-21. Ezekiel Elliott was the spearhead as he rushed for 95 yards on 17 carries and added 21 more yards and three receptions.
Elliott wasn't the only Cowboy that had a big night against the Eagles. They got contributions on both sides of the ball in a game that wasn't even as close as the score indicated. Dak Prescott threw three touchdowns, the Cowboys ran for 160 yards as a team, and the defense forced two more turnovers, giving them a league-leading eight on the season.
Speaking of turnovers, Elliott spoke about one in particular that slammed the door on the Eagles for good and showed that the Cowboys have playmakers everywhere.
“As soon as Diggs had that pick coming out of the half, I saw their whole energy low and the whole momentum shift,” Elliott said. “When you've got contagious energy, and everybody is excited to see each other make those type of plays. It's hard to come back from that. That's one thing that I like about this team. Everybody can eat. It's not just one person out there making plays. There's a whole bunch of people making plays. It's just so contagious right now and I just like the momentum we've got going on. We've got to keep it going one week at a time.”
Second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs is tied for the league lead in interceptions (3) and is the only player with an interception in every game this season. Tight End Dalton Schultz had a breakout season with 615 yards and four touchdowns on 63 receptions. Currently, he's on pace to surpass all those numbers in 2021.
Rookie Linebacker Micah Parsons is as good as advertised. After seven tackles in his NFL debut, Parsons has 13 quarterback pressures and 1.5 sacks in his last two games. Fellow rookie Osa Odighizuwa is becoming a force at defensive tackle. He has 10 pressures, seven hurries, and 1.5 sacks. This is an encouraging sign for when Neville Gallimore gets back on the field soon.
Elliott's 199 rushing yards lead the Cowboys but Tony Pollard isn't far behind with 183 yards. The two-back system has worked wonders for the Cowboys as Elliott's grinding style coupled with Pollard's explosiveness has worn down defenses, as the Eagles experienced on Monday night according to Elliott.
“You can definitely tell,” Elliott said. “You can tell with the O-line pushing them all back five yards. You can tell when we're going hurry-up and they're still on the ground cramping up. They definitely felt us.”
The Cowboys have been explosive on offense for quite a while. Now, as Elliott has explained, they're getting guys on defense to match them, and if it continues, the Cowboys will be a tough team to beat in 2021.
