NFL Old School Game of the Week: Cunningham Leads Eagles Back from 20-Point Deficit to Fly Past Cowboys

The Eagles celebrate with Anthony Toney after he caught what would be the game-winning touchdown.

 In Week 8 of the 1988 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Dallas Cowboys for the first time almost one year since an infamous episode in their bitter NFC East division rivalry.

In that game, the Eagles appeared to be just running out the clock as they had the ball at the Dallas 33-yard-line leading 30-20 with 11 seconds left.

That is when Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham faked taking a knee and fired a pass for Mike Quick toward the end zone.

The pass fell incomplete but the Eagles drew a pass interference penalty which gave them a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line when Cunningham handed the ball off to running back Keith Byars, who punched it in for an one-yard touchdown as time expired with the Eagles winning 37-20, angering Cowboys head coach Tom Landry but pleasing Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan

As the two teams prepared to meet for the first time since the "fake kneel" incident, winning the game was trumpeted over revenge as both teams needed a win.

The Eagles came into the game with a 3-4 record after Philadelphia dug itself a hole following a three-game losing streak in September while the Cowboys came in with a 2-5 record having lost their previous three games.

 The Cowboys got the ball to start the game as they drove 71 yards in nine plays primarily on the right arm of quarterback Steve Peuller, who completed all six of his passes for 66 yards on the drive, culminating with a 18-yard touchdown pass to Ray Alexander to put Dallas ahead 7-0 with 10:25 to go in the first quarter.

Following a Philadelphia punt, the Cowboys got the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Peuller remained perfect as he completed three passes for 48 yards on the drive with the biggest completion going to Alexander whose 26-yard reception set up Timmy Newsome's one-yard touchdown run which increased the Dallas lead to 14-0 with 4:39 left in the first quarter.

It seemed like a blowout was brewing especially after the Cowboys forced a three-and-out to get the ball back at the Philadelphia 42-yard-line when Peuller handed the ball off to running back Herschel Walker who exploded for a 29-yard run to put Dallas at the Eagles' 13-yard-line.

But it was here that the Eagles' defense showed some signs of life as it did not allow another 1st down and forced the Cowboys to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Roger Ruzek which increased the Dallas lead to 17-0 with just four seconds left in the first quarter which had been dominated by the Cowboys.

Cowboys quarterback Steve Peuller completed 32 of 46 passes for 342 yards and threw one TD.

As the second quarter began, the Eagles had the ball at their 37-yard-line when the offense started to move the ball as Cunningham completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Keith Jackson and a five-yard pass to Byars that put Philadelphia at the Cowboys' 43-yard-line when Cunningham was picked off by Dallas cornerback Ron Francis, who returned the pick 29 yards to the Eagles' 42-yard-line.

From there, the Cowboys would drive 26 yards in five plays to set up another Ruzek field goal, this one from 34 yards out to push the Dallas lead to 20-0 with 9:26 to go in the second quarter.

Despite having only played 20 minutes, the Eagles seemed be down for the count as up to that point they had only overcome a deficit of at least 20 points two times in team history and not since 1959.

However after an exchange of punts, the Eagles put together their best drive of the first half as Cunningham completed four of six passes for 65 yards with the biggest completion being a 33-yarder to Byars on an eight-play, 83-yard drive that was capped with Cunningham's 11-yard touchdown pass to Byars that cut the Cowboys' lead to 20-7 with 2:07 left before halftime.

The Cowboys would begin its next possession at their 31-yard-line following a 20-yard return by Cornell Burbage to give Dallas 1:58 left to score some points before halftime.

Peuller was able to complete passes of 13 yards to Newsome and a pair of passes to Alexander that totaled 30 yards to drive the Cowboys to the Eagles' 26-yard-line with 25 seconds left in the half.

Peuller found Kevin Martin over the middle for 13 yards and a 1st down at the Philadelphia 13-yard-line as the Cowboys scrambled to the line of scrimmage to stop the clock as they had used up all three of their timeouts in the first half.

Peuller threw an incomplete pass but it came as time expired leaving the Cowboys at the Eagles' 13-yard-line with zero points to add to their 20-7 halftime lead.

The inability to stop the clock would come back to haunt the Cowboys.

The Eagles got the ball to start the second half as they took over at their 16-yard-line as Cunningham would catch fire as he completed his first six passes of the half for a total of 55 yards to lead Philadelphia to the Dallas 14-yard-line until an incomplete pass and a quarterback sack forced the Eagles to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Luis Zedejas to cut the Cowboys' lead to 20-10 with 9:13 left in the third quarter.

Dallas would get the ball back at its 32-yard as Peuller completed a 17-yard pass to Martin on a 2nd & 14 then ran for 11 yards on 2nd & 6 to drive the Cowboys to the Eagles' 31-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1.

Landry decided to go for the 1st down which did not pay off as Walker was stopped for no gain by Eagles defensive tackle Doug Bartlett to give Philadelphia the ball back at its 31-yard-line.

However, the Eagles would turn it over one play later as fullback Anthony Toney lost the football after a hit by Dallas defensive end Jim Jeffcoat which was recovered by linebacker Ron Burton to give the ball back to the Cowboys at the Philadelphia 33-yard-line.

Four plays netted 21 yards until back-to-back incomplete passes led to another field goal by Ruzek, this one from 30 yards out which increased the Cowboys' lead to 23-10 with 3:46 left in the third quarter.

That was still the score as the game moved into the fourth quarter as Cunningham would throw eight straight incomplete passes on the Eagles' next three possessions which all resulted in punts while the Cowboys were trying to milk the clock.

It seemed hopeless for the Eagles especially after a Cowboys punt was downed at the Philadelphia one-yard-line with 9:27 left in the game and the Eagles needing to drive 99 yards for a touchdown.

Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham accounted for 332 yards of total offense.

Cunningham would hand the ball off to Byars, who ran for four yards on 1st down, which was followed by a 15-yard pass to Gregg Garrity to get the Eagles some room as they had a 1st down at their 20-yard-line when a late hit penalty was called on Cowboys linebacker Garry Cobb at the end of a Cunningham six-yard run which put Philadelphia at its 41-yard-line.

After two incomplete passes, Cunningham would use his legs on 3rd & 10 as he scrambled for 15 yards and a 1st down in Dallas territory at the Cowboys' 44-yard-line.

A seven-yard pass to Garrity followed by an incomplete pass set up 3rd & 3 when Cunningham connected with Toney for 11 yards and another 1st down at the Cowboys' 26-yard-line.

Two plays later, the Eagles were faced with another 3rd down situation, this time needing 11 yards as Cunningham hit Byars for 20 yards to give Philadelphia a 1st & goal at the Cowboys' seven-yard-line.

Following another incomplete pass, Cunningham would hand the ball off to Toney on a draw play up the middle that resulted in a seven-yard touchdown to cap off the 14-play, 99-yard drive which brought the Eagles to within a touchdown at 23-17 with 6:18 to go.

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 35-yard-line as Dallas would overcome three penalties  as Peuller completed five of his next six passes for 57 yards to put the Cowboys at the Eagles' 23-yard-line where they faced a crucial 3rd & 3.

It was here that Landry lost track of where his team as he thought they were still at the Eagles' 30-yard-line needing at least 10 yards for the 1st down instead of just three.

The confusion lead to the Cowboys calling a pass play instead of a run as Peuller dropped back to pass where he fired a desperation pass in hopes of avoiding a sack which drew an intentional grounding penalty and pushed Dallas back 12 yards to the Philly 35-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 15.

Instead of attempting a 52-yard field goal, Landry had the Cowboys punt the ball back to the Eagles, who took over at their 15-yard-line with 2:11 left on the clock and just one timeout in their pocket.

A holding penalty on right tackle Ron Heller pushed the Eagles back to their eight-yard-line where they faced a 1st & 17 as Cunningham found Toney for nine yards then threw two straight incomplete passes to force a do-or-die 4th & 8 at the Philadelphia 17-yard-line.

That is when Cunningham hit backup tight end Jimmie Giles for 10 yards and a 1st down at the Eagles' 27-yard-line when following another incomplete pass, Cunningham connected with Garrity for 20 yards and another 1st down at the Philadelphia 47-yard-line.

Cunningham would then ran for five yards to put the Eagles in Dallas territory at the Cowboys' 48-yard-line when Cunningham found Ron Johnson for 19 yards and another 1st down at the Dallas 29-yard-line.

Two incomplete passes later, Philadelphia faced a 3rd & 10 when Cunningham threw a pass intended for Giles, which fell incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty on Cowboys free safety Michael Downs that gave the Eagles an automatic 1st down at the Dallas 20-yard-line.

A five-yard pass to Toney and two more incomplete passes set up another 4th down situation as the Eagles needed at least five yards to keep their chances for victory alive as Cunningham found Garrity for 13 yards to give the Eagles a 1st & goal at the Cowboys' two-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass to stop the clock, Cunningham would roll to his right, stop, and fire a pass for Toney in the end zone who made the catch to tie the game at 23 with just four seconds to go.

All the Eagles needed was Zendejas, who had been cut by the Cowboys two weeks into the 1988 season, was to make the extra point which he did to give Philadelphia its first lead of the game at 24-23.

The Cowboys could do nothing with the ensuing kickoff as time ran out with the Eagles coming away with the stunning 24-23 victory.

Anthony Toney catches the game-winning touchdown pass with four seconds to go.

Dallas would never recover from the loss as they would lose their next six games as they finished with a 3-13 record, their worst record since their inaugural season back in 1960 when the  Cowboys went winless.

In the offseason, the Cowboys would be bought by Jerry Jones who just one day after purchasing the franchise, fired Landry as head coach.

Landry would be replaced by Miami Hurricanes head coach Jimmy Johnson as the Cowboys selected Troy Aikman with the #1 pick in the 1989 NFL draft, setting some of the pieces of what would be the Dallas dynasty of the 1990s.

As for the Eagles, they would go on to finish the season with a 10-6 record which included a 27-26 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-eagles.html)as the Eagles made the playoffs for the first time since 1981 as they clinched the NFC East division title with a 23-7 win over the Cowboys in the final week of the regular season.

The Eagles' Super Bowl hopes would evaporate in the infamous "Fog Bowl" as they were defeated by the Chicago Bears 20-10 in the NFC divisional round.