NFL Score: Dallas Cowboys 38, Philadelphia Eagles 27

The Dallas Cowboys were off to a dream start against the Philadelphia Eagles on NFL Sunday Night Football and averted a near collapse after blowing a huge lead but nonetheless recovered in time to notch the 38-27 victory in a battle between the NFC East’s best squads.

Dez Bryant scored on two touchdowns after DeMarco Murray opened the game with a rushing TD to give Dallas the early 21-0 advantage. Philadelphia bounced back before the break with a Chris Polk TD and a field goal to cut the lead to 21-10 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Eagles picked up where they left off scoring two more TDs, another one from Polk plus from Darren Sproles, to grab the 24-21 lead.

But Philadelphia, courtesy of Bryant and Murray again, scored on TDs to bring the lead back to the visitors early in the fourth and they hold on for the final score. Dallas improved to 10-4 after the win, now ahead of Philadelphia, which dropped to 9-5. More importantly, the Cowboys avoid being in the company of three teams battling for two wildcard spots with two weeks to go before the end of the regular season.

Dallas is actually tied with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers but they can win the division title, and a playoff spot, if they win out in their last two games. The Cowboys finish the season versus the Indianapolis Colts (10-4) at home and the Washington Redskins (3-11) on the road. Dallas has won back-to-back games and four of their last five games.

Tony Romo had 265 passing yards on 22-of-31 completions while Bryant had 114 receiving yards on 6 catches and Murray ran for 81 yards on 21 carries. Philly’s QB Mark Sanches passed for 252 yards but had 2 interceptions.

Philadelphia is in a more difficult situation. They hope that Dallas lose at least on of their final two games or that the Packers and Seahawks do so as well. The good news is that they’ll face ran-on teams Redskins and New York Giants (5-9). The Eagles are just 4-4 in their last eight games.