ARLINGTON -- The line between elite and average is razor thin in today's NFL.

The Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott straddled that line for much of Sunday evening. But in a game in which little seemed to go the Cowboys' way, in which it had to overcome one mistake after another in a way it hasn't all season, this group rose to the occasion.

Sunday's 29-23 overtime victory over Philadelphia wasn't the most artistic or dominant victory the Cowboys have enjoyed during this six-game win streak, but in terms of fight and resilience, it was the most impressive.

The Cowboys overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 14:10 of regulation to send the game into overtime. Prescott then led the Cowboys on a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the team's first possession of overtime to capture the victory.

Something special is taking place here. If you don't believe that, you didn't see the celebration that erupted at AT&T Stadium when Prescott found a wide-open Jason Witten for the winning score.

This team has now gone 49 days without a loss to establish itself as the best team in the National Football Conference. It has earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as New England as the top teams in the NFL at the moment.

Every team in the NFC East finds itself at least two games behind the Cowboys in the loss column.

If the Eagles had held on to win this game, the scenario would have been much different. Dallas and Philadelphia would have been tied for the division lead, but the Cowboys would actually have trailed based on the head-to-head tiebreaker. It also would have given the Cowboys two division losses with road games remaining against the New York Giants and Philadelphia.

There's that razor-thin line the Cowboys straddled.

"This win was huge," Prescott said. "Coming off a bye week to play a team like that, the way we finished it, it was awesome.

"It was a special moment."

Overtime came down to the luck of the coin toss -- the Cowboys won -- a gutsy call by head coach Jason Garrett to go for it on fourth-and-1 and crisp execution. But it took an inspired response in the fourth to get into that position.

The Cowboys trailed by 10 points early in the fourth but chipped three points off that deficit after converting a turnover into a Dan Bailey field goal. The Cowboys did next to nothing on offense in the second half. But what they did in one, isolated burst altered the outcome and underscored why this should be regarded as the best team in the conference at the moment.

Dallas trailed by seven points when it got the ball on its own 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. A slant to Cole Beasley picked up 12 yards before Ezekiel Elliott rambled for 63 yards, giving the Cowboys a first down on the Philadelphia 15-yard line.

There was just one problem. Center Travis Frederick was called for a hold on the play. The penalty cost the Cowboys 73 yards in field position and put the ball back on their own 10-yard line.

Remarkably, the Cowboys weren't broken. Prescott came back to hit Dez Bryant for 15 yards then hit Beasley for 10 on third-and-5. A 19-yard completion to Brice Butler, two runs for a total of 10 yards by Elliott and a Prescott scramble for 12 yards gave the Cowboys life.

Bryant, as he often does against the Eagles, came up big. His 22-yard touchdown reception culminated an 11-play, 90-yard drive and allowed the Cowboys to tie the score at 23.

This performance was uncharacteristic for the Cowboys on several fronts. It began with Prescott, who wasn't nearly as efficient as he had been during the first six games of the season. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw a red-zone interception late in the first half.

But he came through at the end.

"He has shown he can handle any situation with poise and composure," Garrett said. "He was outstanding at the end of this ballgame.

"It was a great team win for us. To overcome the different adversities that we did, to keep battling, to keep picking ourselves up ...

"The thing that stood out was the fight and the will to win."

What stood out is that this team found yet another way to separate itself from the pack.

"We were sloppy at times," Prescott said. "But we got it right when we needed to."

Bold calls

Jason Garrett continues to show the confidence he has in this young team with the calls he makes at key moments. The decision to go for it on fourth-and-one in OT was the most significant. But his fake punt after the team had gone three-and-out on its first two possessions of the second half was also significant.

Home sweet home

The Cowboys have rarely enjoyed much of a home field advantage at AT&T Stadium. Even during the team's 12-4 season, it went 4-4 at home. Well, the Cowboys won their third consecutive home game Sunday to equal their longest streak over the last five seasons.

Not so special

A lot of mistakes were made by Cowboys on this evening. The majority of them came on special teams. This unit easily had its worst performance of the season as it was called for chop blocks and blocks in the backs. It was also hit with a 63-yard kickoff return that put this team in a serious bind.

Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) with The Musers at 9:35 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and with The Hardline at 4:10 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday during the regular season.