ARLINGTON, Texas 鈥 Culture, a word that's thrown around often in sports. The scope of what it means is fairly subjective, but what is completely objective is evidence of it when it takes center stage and, for the 抖阴视频 and head coach Brian Schottenheimer, it did exactly that against the Philadelphia Eagles 鈥 in the most unfathomable way possible.
Touchdown, touchdown, touchdown; those were the results of each of the Eagles' first three possessions in the Week 12 showdown at AT&T Stadium. Turnover on downs, punt, lost fumble; those were the very contrary outcomes of the Cowboys' first three possessions.
And there it was: the Cowboys facing a 21-0 deficit on their own field to the defending champs and owners of the best record in the NFC, on national TV, and on the precipice of a collapse that would all but end their 2025 season 鈥 then Schottenheimer's culture showed up, and out.
"Yeah it's what we've talked about from the beginning," he said following the game. "You know, you've heard me say it 1,000 times. You can't win the game in the first quarter, second or third, but you win the game in the fourth quarter. Man, we just talked about that. We shot ourselves in the foot.
"I told them that, but I told them to believe. Believe in each other, believe in the fact that we'll find a way to do it. And I think today really epitomized a lot of things that those guys have been believing and doing, and it's great to get that win against a damn good football team."
Led by a gutsy effort from unheralded players like Sam Williams and undrafted rookie safety Alijah Clark, driven by Quinnen Williams and the defensive line, the unit clamped down and allowed zero points for the remaining 48+ minutes of regulation.
Doing so provided plenty of opportunities for All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott to use an explosive outing by George Pickens, and chunk plays from CeeDee Lamb, Javonte Williams, Malik Davis, Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford and KaVontae Turpin to rack up 24 unanswered points over the final 41 football minutes in an improbable victory that tied a franchise record for largest comeback in Cowboys' history.
"Just take it one play at a time," said Prescott. "We have to find that unique place that I was talking about 鈥 being down. We've had it almost going with every game with that mindset. We have to win every game. With that being said, you can only do that by winning every play and giving it your best every play. When you do that, can stay focused, and finish with elite execution, you're going to feel confident and good about what you've done.
"We just have to find that, and it really starts at practice and at these walkthroughs in the next couple of days getting ready for Kansas City. Tons of confidence in this group and team. It starts with our defense. They're the reason we were able to come back in this game and have a chance to win it. We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot and this game could've been completely different."
Saquon Barkley was held to just 22 rushing yards with no touchdowns, his lowest production since his 2023 season with the New York Giants, and a sequence of forced punts, Williams' forced fumble, and the late fourth quarter sack by Osa Odighizuwa that took the ball out of Jalen Hurts' hands for the final time, all played a part in the storybook win over the Eagles, to Prescott's point.
It's also true he and the offense overcame a slew of their own self-inflicted wounds, similar to the defense's, to find their groove when it mattered most, punctuated by Pickens and the game-winning boot from All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey who himself, as unthinkable as it might be, missed a 51-yard field goal earlier in the game.
Resiliency, the greenest of flags housed within the category of culture.
"We realized that all those other possessions, we just hurt ourselves." Prescott said. "The turnover in the red zone, the interception, the fumble in plus territory, we were only hurting ourselves. I was like, 'Let's stop shooting ourselves in the foot.'
"Damn near shot the whole foot off. We gave them a 21-point lead, but we knew we had the upper hand. It was about just sticking together. It's all about brotherhood. You could tell it was resonating and the guys were feeling it. 鈥 It gives you confidence on our side of the ball, and we went out there and did it."
With that, an instant classic of a comeback that also saw Prescott overtake Tony Romo as the franchise's all-time leader in passing yards, also delivering his 25th career game-winning drive, the Cowboys move to 5-5-1 on the season with a short week to prepare for Patrick Mahomes' return to Texas with his Kansas City Chiefs.
The road gets no easier for the Cowboys, but they just showed they have the culture to never wave the white flag as they desperately try to find a way to make it to the checkered one.
