It nearly happened again. The Cowboys almost squandered another golden opportunity in a season trying its hardest to break their way.  

Dallas should be leading the subpar NFC East with an expensive offense and a defense that has received several repairs since the blockbuster Micah Parsons trade of 14 months ago. But the Cowboys were back to struggling in prime time against a team with a losing record and without its starting quarterback. 

This time, the Cowboys found a way not to screw it up against the Tanner McKee–led Eagles, prevailing 38–21 during Monday Night Football. However, the up-and-down performance probably won’t stop stadium workers from shouting "embarrassing” in Dak Prescott’s direction.  

To put it bluntly, it was one win against a team that seems reduced to playing spoiler in October. With Jalen Hurts sidelined for the rest of the season, the Eagles might be more interested in landing a better draft pick. The Cowboys went back-and-forth with Philadelphia, which didn’t have receiver DeVonta Smith and running back Saquon Barkley, who hardly played due to a nagging hamstring injury. 

But it doesn’t take much for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to get excited about his team. With the way he celebrated from his suite Monday night, sitting next to the legendary Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, Jones is likely itching to make another trade ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline despite his team’s 3–4 record. In the NFC East standings, the Cowboys sit behind only the first-place Giants, who have a 4-2-1 record and hold a win against Jones’s team.

The Cowboys likely aren’t a move away from ending their 30-year drought of not advancing to an NFC title game, but they’re in the NFC East race, and they’re probably the healthiest team in the division. They should go for it, especially with the Eagles checked out before Halloween and the one-win Commanders having a lengthy list of issues. Dallas also has a favorable schedule ahead with games against Arizona, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Tennessee and Philadelphia for a second time.

Perhaps the Cowboys can revisit a trade for star edge rusher Maxx Crosby, who might be back on the trading block now that the Raiders have dropped four consecutive games. However, that would require giving up more draft capital, even though they were supposed to have an abundance of picks after trading Parsons to Green Bay. Jones already gave up one of the two first-round picks he gained from the Packers after acquiring Quinnen Williams from the Jets at the deadline last year. Well, sort of, because the Jets get the lower pick between Dallas and Green Bay. Anyway, here’s the point: The Cowboys have lost many of the resources they gained in the Parsons deal to repair the defense, but the moves for 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 yards rushing, and the defense turned up the pressure on McKee. Maybe coach Brian Schottenheimer showed his team at halftime the video of Jones talking pregame 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 also haven’t played well under the bright lights. (You could say that about a lot of the teams Jones has constructed this century.) 

But let’s not paraphrase because Jones had a great quote after those two acknowledgements, saying, “The last time we played a team that didn’t have their starting quarterback, we got our ass kicked. Seriously, seriously.”

It’s true, the Cowboys were embarrassed by undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels during a Week 5 loss against the Buccaneers during Thursday Night Football. That was followed by an ugly loss against the Packers, who didn’t have Parsons available for the Sunday Night Football game.

Despite all that—and the blown lead in seven seconds against the Ravens in Rio—the Cowboys are still in the race. That will be enough for the Cowboys to be 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 splash move. 

But there’s more hope this season. The Cowboys only embarrassed themselves for one half on this Monday night. All signs point toward another splashy Dallas trade.