If there was any concern that the Dallas Cowboys' comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles was a fluke, that got erased in Dallas' 31-28 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving.
If you saw that final score earlier in the season, you would probably think the defense offered little to no resistance, and the offense had to play perfectly to win the game. While Dak Prescott was marvelous after his interception on the opening drive, Matt Eberflus' unit turned in a commendable performance against an all-time great quarterback in Patrick Mahomes.
Prescott was highly complimentary of the defense after the win, and he exposed what makes that side of the ball so dangerous now.
"The biggest difference to me is just their third downs, the way they’re making plays, getting off the field on third downs, giving us opportunities, and that breeds confidence to us," Prescott said, via The Athletic's Jon Machota.
The Cowboys' defense is finally getting off the field on third downs
After allowing touchdowns on consecutive drives to open the game, the Cowboys' defense hunkered down and forced four straight punts. That is hard to do against any team, but against Patrick Mahomes and an Andy Reid-led team that had its back against the wall? That's outstanding.
The Chiefs scored their second touchdown with one second left in the first quarter. They didn't score again until the 14:51 mark of the fourth quarter. That allowed the Cowboys' offense, which had a wonky start, to find its footing without pressing to overcome a big deficit.
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Early in the season, the Cowboys would have been lucky to force one punt in a game. They allowed a Russell Wilson-led Giants offense to score 37 points. Wilson has since lost his starting job and been demoted to third-string behind Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston. They also gave up 30 points to the Panthers, 44 to the Broncos, and 27 to the Cardinals.
And now, the defense is suddenly shutting out a star-studded Eagles offense for three quarters and neutralizing Patrick Mahomes for over 30 minutes of game time.
With arguably the best offense in the NFL, all the Cowboys ever needed on defense was a couple of stops per game to win a lot of games. It is only a matter of time until the defense starts generating takeaways, but it is getting pressure and swarming to the football, and the mental lapses in coverage have seemingly vanished.
This is a group that's high on confidence right now. The offense is obviously great, but the defense's ascension is why Dallas is one of the most dangerous teams in the league.