Eagles vs. Cowboys: Score and Twitter Reaction for 'Sunday Night Football'

Philadelphia Eagles fans are thanking the NFL for instituting a replay system years ago after their team's 33-27 overtime victory over the archrival Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.

The Eagles took the opening possession of overtime and drove near midfield when Ryan Mathews appeared to fumble the ball back to Dallas. However, a replay review overturned it, and Sam Bradford hit Jordan Matthews over the middle on the next play for the game-winning touchdown. 

SNF on NBC provided a look at how close the Cowboys were to gaining possession:

The NFL shared the walk-off victory for Matthews and the Eagles:

The loss marked Dallas' first six-game losing streak since Troy Aikman's rookie season in 1989, according to ESPN Stats & Info. While the 2-6 Cowboys are now fading in the playoff race without quarterback Tony Romo, Bradford, Matthews and running back DeMarco Murray put the Eagles offense on their backs during the win.

Bradford ended up with 295 passing yards and the winning touchdown toss. Murray ran for 83 yards and a score along with six catches for 78 yards, and Matthews hauled in nine catches for 133 yards and the clincher. Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com praised the Eagles' offensive playmakers:

Even though Romo's absence is an easy scapegoat from Dallas' perspective, quarterback Matt Cassel was impressive with 299 passing yards and three touchdowns. However, he threw a critical pick-six in the fourth quarter that halted the Cowboys' momentum just minutes after they tied the game at 14.

Despite the fireworks at the finish, neither team established much momentum in the first half, although Dallas took an early lead behind Cassel's five-yard touchdown pass to Cole Beasley. Philadelphia responded with a touchdown of its own when Murray pounded it in from the 1-yard line on fourth down. 

The NFL shared the final touchdown of the first half as the teams went to the locker room tied 7-7:

Dallas started the second half with the ball, but the Eagles forced a punt. ESPN's Skip Bayless highlighted one issue from the Cowboys' perspective:

Things took a turn for the worse for Dallas on the subsequent Philadelphia possession. Star linebacker Sean Lee went down after suffering an injury, which Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News reported was a concussion. Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus described the play:

The Eagles wasted little time, with Bradford hitting Murray on a 44-yard wheel route. It was the longest catch of the running back's career, and Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News pointed to Lee's injury as the main culprit:

Philadelphia finished the 95-yard drive—the longest Dallas has allowed all season, according to Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News—with a six-yard TD run from Mathews. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram recognized a weakness in the Cowboys defense: "Nobody is setting the edge at right end. Eagles doing work around that side."

Dallas answered with an 80-yard drive of its own to tie the score at 14-14 late in the third quarter. Cassel hit Beasley once again from 17 yards out, which had to be frustrating for Philadelphia because the receiver hadn't caught a pass in the last two games. Nick Fierro of the Allentown Morning Call reacted to Beasley's second score:

The Cowboys had plenty of momentum in the early stages of the fourth quarter, but rookie linebacker Jordan Hicks ran an interception back 67 yards to halt a drive and help put the Eagles up 21-14. Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ Advance Media was impressed by the youngster:

Gosselin made a cruel connection for Cowboys fans following the game-turning play:

The Cowboys responded in a major way when Lucky Whitehead ran the kickoff back 79 yards to the Philadelphia 24-yard line. Cassel then spun out of pressure and threw a ball up for grabs in the back of the end zone, and Dez Bryant outjumped the defenders and came down with what was essentially an 18-yard Hail Mary, as the NFL highlighted:

Todd Archer of ESPN.com approved of the strategy: 

Philadelphia took a 24-21 lead with a field goal from Caleb Sturgis, but Dallas drove back into Eagles territory on the next possession with less than four minutes remaining. Philadelphia's defense held, but Dan Bailey tied the game at 24-24 with a field goal of his own.

The Eagles needed only three plays, including a 34-yard catch from Matthews, to get within field-goal range on the next drive. Troy Hughes of 105.3 The Fan came to an alarming realization for Dallas:

Tired or not, the Cowboys defense held Philadelphia to another field goal and gave the ball back to the offense with less than two minutes remaining, trailing 27-24. Dallas drove into Eagles territory on the back of two pass-interference flags (one of which was questionable, at best) and a holding call and sent Bailey out to tie the game with seven seconds left.

He hit the post but received a game-saving bounce through the uprights, and the contest went to overtime tied at 27-27. Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com was not pleased with the officiating that set up the field goal:

The Eagles won the coin toss and took the ball, but Mathews almost fumbled the game away on a fourth-down play. However, it was overturned by review, and Philadelphia scored on the next play on a 41-yard pass to Matthews to win 33-27.

In the course of two plays, Dallas watched its flickering postseason hopes take a crippling hit.

What's Next?

The 5-4 New York Giants still sit atop the division, but the 4-4 Eagles are within striking distance after their third win in four tries.

Philadelphia now enters a crucial stretch of winnable games on the immediate horizon. The next three contests come against the Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions, who are a combined 7-17 on the season.

Road showdowns with the New England Patriots and the Giants and a home game against the Arizona Cardinals await in the last five weeks, so the Eagles likely need to rack up victories in the upcoming sequence to have any hope of winning the division.

As for Dallas, it needs Romo back if it wants to make a late charge. He was throwing at a recent practice and is eligible to return in Week 11, but it remains unclear whether he'll be ready to go by then. The Cowboys also face the Buccaneers and the Dolphins in the next two games and must make a move before they play the Carolina Panthers and the Green Bay Packers in a subsequent three-week stretch.

Dallas has a long uphill climb, but being in the mediocre NFC East is a good place to start.

Postgame Reaction

Discussion naturally turned to the game-winning touchdown catch from Matthews after the victory from Philadelphia’s side. Matthews himself said, “This is kinda like my job. I'm supposed to do this ... I have to flip the page and go back to work,” per the Eagles.

The play was no accident. According to Bowen, “Bradford says during fumble review, he told Matthews: I’m coming to you. Win right here.”

It proved to be a prophetic decision, and the Eagles are now tied with the Giants in the loss column in the division.

Another reason Philadelphia came away with the win was the pick-six from Hicks. The linebacker said, “I guess that’s their problem” when told Dallas probably doesn’t like facing him after he injured Romo earlier in the year and turned in the momentum-swinging interception Sunday, per Tim McManus of 97.5 The Fanatic.

As for Dallas, injuries played a factor in the outcome (and the season as a whole). Coach Jason Garrett discussed the setbacks on defense, per Jeffrey Kahn of 247Sports:

"

Sean's a good football player and we all know that. He's a guy that helps get our defense lined up. He's a guy who makes a lot of plays both in the run game and the pass game. He was productive early on in this ball game.

That's the nature of things. The next guys' got to go in there. [Anthony Hitchens] went in there for a little bit, he got banged up, and then [Andrew Gachkar] played…If you're part of the 46-man roster going into the ball game, everybody's got to be ready to play.

"

Even with the physical limitations, Dallas was right there at the end of another game. However, tight end Jason Witten said, “There are no moral victories, I just want the fans to know that,” per Brian Gosset of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

That’s unfortunate for the Cowboys because those are the only victories they seem to get nowadays.