George Pickens Electrifies in Dallas Cowboys’ Comeback Win

Cover photo: Dallas Cowboys’ wide receiver George Pickens against the Green Bay Packers in Week 4. Photo credit: Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images.

Things looked bleak for the Dallas Cowboys early on against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon in Arlington as the team dug itself a hole in the form of 14-0 first quarter deficit and a 21-0 second quarter deficit. The Cowboys then picked things up and emerged victorious 24-21 in a home thriller to improve to 5-5-1. The Eagles with the loss are now 8-3. 

The Cowboys found themselves down 14-0 after a first quarter in which their offense struggled mightily and Eagles’ receiver AJ Brown got involved on the other side. 

On their first drive of the game, the Cowboys went for it on 4th down and 3 at midfield and did not convert. On their second drive, receiver Kavonte Turpin fumbled and the Eagles recovered, leading to a Jalen Hurts touchdown run. On the next Cowboys’ drive, Dak Prescott threw an interception on a pass into the end zone intended for CeeDee Lamb. The call of going out of the shotgun formation on 2nd and Goal from the five-yard line seemed rather inexcusable. The Cowboy defense did hold though, and with 21 seconds remaining in the half Prescott found George Pickens for a one-yard touchdown reception. 

Speaking of Pickens, the free agent-to-be more than earned his money on Sunday afternoon, outshining any and all players on both sides. Pickens finished with nine catches for 146 yards and a touchdown, no grab more spectacular than a leaping superhuman effort over blanketing coverage from Eagles’ safety Cooper DeJean. Tom Brady, providing the game’s color commentary for FOX, likened the catch to a vintage Randy Moss play. 

With 2:02 remaining in the third quarter, Prescott found backup tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford for a four-yard touchdown, making the score 21-14. Eagles’ kicker Jake Elliott missed a 56-yard field-goal, leading to a Prescott scramble touchdown with 11:40 remaining in the game. 

The Cowboys then forced a turnover, with defensive end Sam Williams (who bluntly had not been having a very good season to this point) stripping Saquon Barkley of the ball from behind. Cowboys’ linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. recovered the ball. 

After the Cowboys punted, Alijah Clark and Markquise Bell laid a high quality hit on Eagles Xavier Gipson, and the ball was recovered by Cowboy long snapper Trent Seig. The Cowboys inexplicably were unable to score, failing to convert on 4th down and Goal from the one-yard line. The team’s defense then rose up, forcing the Eagles to punt, and it was Pickens who came up with a 24-yard reception from Prescott to move the Cowboys into field-goal range where Brandon Aubrey, who inexplicably missed from 51 yards earlier in the game, converted from 42 yards for the game-winning field-goal. 

The exhilarating win for the Cowboys marks their second consecutive victory and their first win in their last four tries against the Eagles. The offense started slow, but picked up, in no small part due to Pickens’ outstanding play. The defense also flew around and although the secondary had its issues, the unit was able to get turnovers and stops when it mattered. It is clear that the Quinnen Williams acquisition and the return of Demarvion Overshown has reinvigorated the unit. 

Prescott completed 23-of-36 passes for 354 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while Jalen Hurts completed 27-of-39 for 289 yards and one touchdown. Brown, with eight catches for 110 yards and one touchdown, got off of a cold streak from the last two weeks that saw him catch just nine passes for 62 yards. His 110 yards on Sunday was his second most of the season. He caught four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7. DeVonta Smith caught six passes for 89 yards against the Cowboys on Sunday, but Barkley was held in check on the ground, just 22 yards on 10 carries. The Cowboys are much improved up front since the Williams trade. Williams and James Houston registered one quarterback pressure each on Hurts, while Osa Odighizuwa registered four quarterback hits and a sack. Nakobe Dean tallied the only Eagles’ sack of the day, on a nasty bull rush against the Cowboys’ running back Williams. The Cowboys’ back ran 20 times for 87 yards but did not reach the end zone. 

The story of the game though is the tremendous play of Pickens. He is a big target with exceptional hands who makes up for some of Lamb’s drops. A free agent at the end of the season, some believe that the 6 foot, 3 inch 24-year-old Georgia product will command $30 million per year. The Cowboys can in fact afford to keep both Pickens and Lamb, which would be advantageous to keep this offense together and keep Pickens the playmaker on the roster. 

The Cowboys are on a short week, hosting the Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) on Thursday afternoon on Thanksgiving in Arlington. The Chiefs are coming off of a thrilling 23-20 overtime win against the Indianapolis Colts.