With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Dallas Cowboys (4-5) had their best road performance of the season in their 27-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles (4-5).

Without starting left guard Connor Williams, the Cowboys still managed to put together one of its best performances of the season. Running back Ezekiel Elliott was phenomenal, and quarterback Dak Prescott avoided costly mistakes as he made some key plays late to lift the Cowboys to victory.

The offense controlled the ball for 33:22, which paid huge dividends late in the game as Dallas scored two touchdowns on their last three drives (one of which was essentially a give-up series as Dallas looked to burn all of the Eagles' timeouts).

It got dicey at times in the second half, but the Cowboys defense was good on third down and made enough stops to hold the potent Philadelphia offense to 20 points. The defensive line only had two sacks, but it consistently generated pressure on Wentz while confining him in the pocket, effectively eliminating his ability to gash the Cowboys with his legs.

Both teams now sit two games behind the Washington Redskins in the NFC East, but Washington certainly hasn't looked like a team that is going to run away with the division as of late.

Ezekiel Elliott is still one of the best running backs in the NFL

In a game that the Cowboys had to have, Elliott put together one of his best performances of the season, finishing with 19 carries for 151 rushing yards and a touchdown to go along with six catches for 36 receiving yards and another touchdown (187 total yards and two touchdowns).

He was fantastic throughout the game, demonstrating elite balance, vision, elusiveness and power. One of Elliott's more impressive runs came on a play where he was able to hurdle an Eagles defender:

Everyone is going to remember the hurdle, but the secret sauce to this run was the initial steps Elliott took once he received the ball.

The Cowboys are running a simple duo concept from the shotgun, where the offensive line gets two double teams (hence "Duo") without pulling an offensive lineman. After receiving the ball, Elliott does a fantastic job of pressing the front-side of the run, which influences the weak-side linebacker (No. 53) to attack the line of scrimmage.

This gives Cowboys left guard Xavier Su'a-Filo the angle he needs to come off the double team and block the weak-side linebacker. Because Su'a-Filo is able to take the weak-side linebacker out of the play and Tyron Smith caves in the back-side edge defender, Elliott is able to cut the ball back toward the backside with nothing but space in front of him.

With essentially a runway to the Eagles safety, Elliott is able to size up the Eagles defender before executing a flawless hurdle to get loose behind the Eagles defense. Unfortunately, the turf monster tripped Elliott, ruining a would-be touchdown.

Elliott's game-winning touchdown run was another example of his unique skill set:

Here, the Cowboys are trying to punch it in near the goal line with 23 personnel (two running backs and three tight ends; Cameron Fleming was an eligible receiver). The Cowboys are running a zone concept with a fold block from Zack Martin outside La'el Collins.

Even though Eagles defender Brandon Graham is able to get quick penetration, Elliott shows off his change-of-direction ability to cut off Martin's block and follow fullback Jamize Olawale for a touchdown.

Not many running backs in the NFL can make a cut like that against early penetration, Elliott made it look easy as he kept his balance and glided into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

A lot of other running backs have been (rightfully) gaining attention for their stellar play this season, but Elliott proved against Philadelphia that he's still one of the best running backs in the NFL.

Leighton Vander Esch has silenced his pre-draft critics

Much to chagrin of many Cowboys fans (and a certain Cowboys writer), the Cowboys opted to draft Leighton Vander Esch with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Through 10 weeks, the only question we are left to ask about Vander Esch is: Why wasn't he picked sooner?

Vander Esch has not only been one of the best rookies this season, but he's been one of the better linebackers in football through nine games. Vander Esch continued to silence his doubters Sunday night as he accumulated 13 solo tackles (the most by a Cowboys defender this season), one tackle for loss, and an interception.

On his interception, Vander Esch did an excellent job of getting to the proper depth in his drop and reading Carson Wentz's eyes so that he could undercut the throw:

After the ball was snapped, Vander Esch sank into the hook/curl zone, hitting his landmark at the first-down marker. Once he hit his landmark, Vander Esch started to read Wentz's eyes, widening toward the numbers as Wentz came off his first read. Once Wentz looked to hit his tight end on a dig route against a cornerback with outside leverage, Vander Esch was able to easily undercut the route and intercept the pass.

From there, Vander Esch does his best Mike Alstott impression as he rumbled down the field to set the Cowboys up with excellent field position, which Dallas turned into a field goal.

On top of his interception, Vander Esch made an excellent play to force a fourth down late in the game as the Eagles were driving for the tie (or potentially the win with a TD and two-point conversion):

Leighton Vander Esch with the play of the night to seal the victory for your #DallasCowboys #CowboysNation #DALvsPHI Visit https://t.co/TMu3iVdlZF or call 817.542.0011 to meet @VanderEsch38 & @thejaylonsmith this season! pic.twitter.com/XREbD9QHYq — Star Sports Tours (@StarSportsTours) November 12, 2018

On this play, the Eagles had the perfect call for the Cowboys blitz, as they set up a screen to Corey Clement with blockers in front of him. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Vander Esch wasn't going to be denied as he did a great job attacking downhill, which allowed him to out leverage the Philadelphia blockers and make the tackle behind the line of scrimmage.

Credit is also due to Maliek Collins and Jaylon Smith for taking away Clement's ability to cut the ball back toward the formation, but Vander Esch was the star of the play as he was able to beat multiple blockers to make a tackle on a play that was supposed to go for a big gain. In fact, the play was supposed to hit for 22 yards according to Next Gen Stats, meaning Vander Esch's stop not only prevented a first down, but also a likely touchdown opportunity for the Eagles.

Vander Esch was big-time Sunday night, performing well at a time where the Cowboys needed it most. One's got to wonder whether it is even worth it for Sean Lee to return to the field, as Vander Esch has proven to play better when he receives the lion's share of the snaps throughout the game.

Amari Cooper will be featured heavily in Cowboys offense

Hopefully, you all have Amari Cooper in your keeper leagues because he is going to be funneled targets in this Cowboys offense for the foreseeable future.

Cooper's ability to run crisp routes and routinely get open against man coverage has been a blessing for this Cowboys offense, and Prescott finally has a receiver he can count on through the ebb and flow of a game.

Cooper finished the game with six catches on 10 targets for 75 yards, which ignores the fact that Prescott missed an open Cooper on a couple targets down the left sideline. Cooper was able to have his way with an Eagles defense that was dealing with a host of injuries to its secondary.

Cooper was heavily involved in the Cowboys offense early, as he was Dallas' primary means of moving the ball early in the game. He was able to separate from the Eagles cornerbacks and provide Prescott with easy throwing windows to the short and intermediate portions of the field.

On Dallas' game-winning drive, Cooper leveraged his elite route-running ability to get open for a 24-yard catch to put the Cowboys in Eagles territory:

On this play, Cooper is aligned in the slot against man coverage. Once the ball is snapped, Cooper releases inside, mimicking a drag route across the field. However, once Cooper reached the center of Philadelphia's mid-field logo, he puts his foot in the ground and veers back toward the sideline, leaving the cornerback in his wake and generating a ton of separation at the top of his route.

From there, it's an easy pitch and catch for Prescott and Cooper as the Cowboys offense sliced and diced the Eagles defense in the fourth quarter.

It's only been two weeks, but it's easy to see why the Cowboys sent a first-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for Cooper. He's proved his worth in two short weeks and has already become Dallas' premier weapon through the air.

Twitter: @JohnOwning