ARLINGTON, Texas — DeMarco Murray put Philadelphia in position to win in his return to Dallas. Sam Bradford and Jordan Matthews finished off the Cowboys.
Bradford threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Matthews in overtime and the Eagles sent the Cowboys to their longest losing streak in 26 years with a 33-27 victory Sunday night.
Matthews broke away from rookie defensive back Byron Jones and ran past safety J.J. Wilcox on the first possession of overtime to hand Dallas (2-
6) its sixth consecutive loss. The last time Dallas lost that many in a row was in 1989 when it dropped eight consecutive and finished 1-15.
“Me and Byron had been competing all game,” said Matthews, who had nine catches for 133 yards. “He doesn’t play like a rookie, and he’s so aggressive. We said let’s try and go with a double move. Sam threw it right on the money.”
Jordan Hicks had a 67-yard interception return for a touchdown at the start of the fourth, giving the Eagles (4-4) a 21-14 lead.
EAGLES 33, COWBOYS 27, OT
Regulation ended with the teams tied at 27-27, leading into the second overtime game between two teams that have met 114 times.
The Cowboys have lost every game without quarterback Tony Romo, who will miss at least one more with a broken left collarbone.
Murray had 161 total yards
— 83 rushing and 78 receiving — in his first game on his old home field after winning the NFL rushing title with the Cowboys last season.
Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (Pulaski Oak Grove, Arkansas Razorbacks) had 122 total yards — 117 rushing on 27 carries and 1 reception for 5 yards.
“They’re a tough opponent. They’re like family to me,” said Murray, who broke Emmitt Smith’s Dallas franchise record with 1,845 yards last season and is starting to churn out yardage after a slow start this year. “This one’s special. A lot of emotion.”
Dallas All-Pro receiver Dez Bryant had his first touchdown catch of the season in his second game back after missing five with a broken right foot.
Dallas defensive lineman Greg Hardy had a sack and two penalties, including an unsportsmanlike conduct call.
It was the second time during its losing streak that Dallas lost by giving up a touchdown to start overtime. New Orleans’ Drew Brees threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Spiller on the second play of the extra period in Week 4.
Murray had a 20-yard run to get the drive going after Philadelphia won the toss and received the kickoff. Bradford’s winning pass came a play after officials originally ruled a fumble at the end of a fourth-and-1 run by Ryan Mathews. But replays showed his knee was down before the ball came out.
“Jordan did a great job running that route,” Bradford said. “It was something that we worked on all week. Best birthday present ever.”
The Cowboys forced overtime with a 54-yard drive that led to Dan Bailey’s 44-yard field goal that caromed off the left upright and went through. Byron Maxwell was called for pass interference twice against Bryant on the drive.
Bryant had 104 yards on five catches, and Cole Beasley had career highs with 9 catches for 112 yards with 2 touchdowns, which matched his total from a victory against Chicago last year.
Matt Cassel threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, including an 18-yarder to Bryant in the end zone when he threw up a jump ball after a Romo-like spin out a potential sack. But the big mistake to Hicks left him with an 0-3 record, just like Brandon Weeden had, filling in for Romo.
“You see our team coming closer and closer together each week, and we’re trying to figure out a way to get it done,” Cassel said. “That’s not to say this doesn’t hurt. I’m not trying to minimize what happened.”