ARLINGTON, Texas 鈥 Sunday afternoon's Week 12 matchup against the Eagles was a lot of things for the Cowboys. At the end of the day, through all the mayhem, it was a win they had to have to get to 5-5-1.
And they did, overcoming a 21-point deficit to beat the reigning Super Bowl champions 24-21 on a game winning field goal from Brandon Aubrey. For Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, it was a game where he took a lot of pride in his defense, one that Dallas has made a lot of big decisions on this season and has now begun to show signs of improvement.
"I'm so proud of that defense," Jones said. "And when you really look at what that defense helped overcome for us, you've got to be excited about what we've got out here. I hope our fans are as proud of these players as I am. In four days we'll be playing again, and they can't wait and I can't wait to play again."
With six games remaining in the 2025 season, Dallas needs a lot of things to go right if they want to have any chance of making the post season. Still, a win like this gives Jones the belief that this team now has the necessary pieces to make a run late.
"Yes, very much," Jones said when asked if this game convinced him the Cowboys could dig out of the hole they're in from a record standpoint. "This game tonight, this was our season鈥 Boy, I'll tell you, when we got in this game tonight and I saw us making the kinds of mistakes we were making, then certainly that was a downtime. The players on the field didn't let it be a downtime, I'll tell you that."
"And that defense, I just can't say enough about it. They rose to the occasion. They're playing with each other, they're doing it for each other, which is what you have to do on defense. A lot of credit goes to our coaching."
Another big part that goes into it? Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who the Cowboys acquired at the trade deadline. He's made a massive impact for Dallas' defense as a whole, and Jones wasn't shy about giving him credit for it.
"Incremental," Jones said when asked how big of an addition Williams has been. "To now and the future. That incremental. We had to have something at this level of excellence on run stopping that he brought to the table. We had to have that, and we didn't need to give up a pass rush to get it, and we knew since before we left training camp he could do that."
Williams and the defense's performance, highlighted by eight consecutive stops to close the game out, allowed Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to do his thing 鈥 which included becoming the franchise's all time leader in passing yards, surpassing Tony Romo.
Postgame, Jones couldn't think of a more impactful win in the time that Prescott has been under center.
"No, no I can't," Jones said when asked if Sunday was the most important win in the Dak era. "Because obviously there was a lot more emotion of having lost Marshawn. But really the thing is that this was our show tonight."
"They were the number one. If we could show that what we are when we get in this kind of spot, I'm talking about with the return of players when we get all of our guns out there at the same time, then I think you saw a really balanced effort with anything, the defense carrying things. I wouldn't have dreamed that could come out my mouth here six games ago."
A big reason why Prescott was able to put together a heroic second-half and his 25th career game winning drive was George Pickens, who surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the season with 146 yards, catching all nine of his targets, and adding a touchdown for extra measure.
"George has been such an integral part of our story, and he has his story, to a degree that's our story," Jones said. "I'm so proud for him. Everybody on this team is, and he certainly has absolutely been the difference as we've played over the last two weeks鈥 it's something when you've got [CeeDee Lamb] and Pickens."
One of the biggest talking points surrounding Pickens is his pending free agency at the end of the 2025 season. It's no secret how Jones feels about whether or not he wants Pickens back in Dallas in 2026 and beyond.
"Of course, of course," Jones said when asked if he wants Pickens in Dallas in 2026. "We are proud to have him and I don't even want to play games with it. We'd love to have him on the team. By the way, I'd love to have [CeeDee Lamb] on the team. And I know what we're asking around here, but we sure like the way the combination is really letting us execute on offense."
"I'm proud he's having the season he's having. It exceeds anything we could have hoped for."
Now, the Cowboys will look to keep their winning streak going on a short week as the Kansas City Chiefs come to town on Thursday for Dallas' annual Thanksgiving game.
