1. Keep forcing turnovers
Throughout the first six games of the season, Dallas struggled mightily to create turnovers. They had just two interceptions and were negative in the overall turnover ratio. On Sunday Night Football, that changed.
Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert fumbled on the first drive of the game when he was tackled by Jaylon Smith. After the linebacker forced the fumble, Maliek Collins scooped it up and Dallas scored on a short field.
On the ensuing drive, DeMarcus Lawrence sacked Carson Wentz and the ball was loose again. Nose tackle Antwaun Woods landed on it this time and Dallas had an even shorter field — starting at the 14-yard line.
It took just two plays on that drive to go up 14-0 but the biggest factor was that the Cowboys needed only 59 yards for those first two scores thanks to the defense giving them a short field.
Dallas later added another turnover as safety Xavier Woods picked off Carson Wentz, but Dak Prescott gave it right back as he tried to force the ball to Tavon Austin despite doube coverage in the end zone. However, they showed back up as Kerry Hyder recovered another Wentz fumble, setting Dallas up at the 16.
Again, they scored and that gave them 21 points off turnovers. That was a huge factor in the game, and something the team isn’t used to. They even nearly made it five turnovers but Sean Lee dropped a sure pick late in the game.
The Cowboys defense is strong but if they want to be elite, they need to continue to find ways to turn the ball over. It’s hard to win in the NFL but it becomes easier when your defense sets the offense up with great field position, as they did here.