It almost happened again. The Cowboys nearly blew another golden opportunity in a season trying so hard to break through. Dallas should lead the poor NFC East with an expensive offense and a defense that has received several repairs since the blockbuster Micah Parsons trade 14 months ago. But the Cowboys struggled again in prime time against a team with a losing record and without their starting quarterback. This time, the Cowboys found a way not to blow it against the Tanner McKee-led Eagles, prevailing 38-21 during Monday Night Football. However, the ups and downs probably won’t stop stadium workers from shouting “disgraceful” in Dak Prescott’s direction. To put it bluntly, it was a victory against a team that seems reduced to playing spoilsport in October. With Jalen Hurts sidelined for the rest of the season, the Eagles could be more interested in landing a higher draft pick. The Cowboys traded to Philadelphia, which was missing wide receiver DeVonta Smith and running back Saquon Barkley, who barely played due to a lingering hamstring injury. But it doesn’t take much to get Cowboys owner Jerry Jones excited about his team. With the way he celebrated from his suite Monday night, sitting next to legendary Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, Jones is likely eager to make another trade before the Nov. 10 deadline despite his team’s 3-4 record. In the NFC East standings, the Cowboys rank behind only the first-place Giants, who have a 4-2-1 record and have one win against Jones’ team. The Cowboys are probably not one step away from ending their 30-year drought without advancing to an NFC title game, but they are in the race for the NFC East, and they are probably the healthiest team in the division. They should try, especially now that the Eagles folded before Halloween and the one-win Commanders have a long list of problems. Dallas also has a favorable schedule ahead with games against Arizona, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Tennessee and Philadelphia for the second time. Perhaps the Cowboys can revisit a trade for star running back Maxx Crosby, who could be back on the trade block now that the Raiders have lost four straight games. However, that would require giving up more draft capital, even though they were supposed to have a large number of picks after trading Parsons to Green Bay. Jones already gave up one of the two first-round picks he got from the Packers after acquiring Quinnen Williams from the Jets at the deadline last year. Well, sort of, because the Jets get the lowest pick between Dallas and Green Bay. Anyway, here’s the point: The Cowboys have lost a lot of the resources they gained in the Parsons deal to fix the defense, but the moves of Williams, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Jerry Porter Jr., who cost the team a 2028 second-round pick in a trade with the Steelers earlier this season, and first-round rookies Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, haven’t led to promising results for the defense. Jones also hired defensive coordinator Christian Parker in hopes of turning the unit around. But there were signs of hope in a strong second half in Philadelphia. The offense ran the ball well behind Javonte Williams, who had a career-high 155 rushing yards, and the defense turned up the pressure on McKee. Maybe coach Brian Schottenheimer showed his team at halftime the video of Jones speaking before the game with Pat McAfee and Jason Kelce on the ESPN broadcast. Jones told them two truths about the team he helped build: His Cowboys love playing in prime time, but they haven’t played well under the bright lights either. (The same could be said for many of the teams Jones has built this century.) But let’s not paraphrase because Jones had a great quote after those two accolades, saying, “The last time we played a team that didn’t have their starting quarterback, we got our asses kicked. Seriously, seriously.” That was followed by an ugly loss against the Packers, who did not have Parsons available for the Sunday Night Football game. Despite all that, and the blown seven-second lead against the Ravens in Rio, the Cowboys are still in the race. That will be enough to make the Cowboys buyers at the deadline, even if the results won’t change much. This season is actually playing out like last year when the 3-5-1 Cowboys acquired Williams on Nov. 4, which was the day after an embarrassing loss to the Cardinals on Monday Night Football. Dallas, of course, went nowhere last season after the welcome move. But there is more hope this season. The Cowboys only embarrassed themselves for half of Monday night. All signs point to another eye-catching trade with Dallas. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
