Two weeks after the Cowboys and Eagles faced off with their replacement players– a 41-22 Dallas win– the teams met again at Veterans Stadium. The Eagles did not win a single game with the scabs and entered the game with a 1-4 record. They left with the satisfaction of rubbing the faces of Tom Landry and the rest of the Cowboys in the carpet-covered concrete at Veterans Stadium.

Herschel Walker scores against the Eagles, but Philadelphia had the last laugh.

The Eagles jumped out to a 13-3 lead, but Dallas tied the game early in the third quarter. Philadelphia stormed back, and when Randall Cunningham in the fourth quarter hit John Spagnola for the duo’s second touchdown, Philadelphia led 30-13. Dallas cut the lead to 30-20, and the Eagles appeared to be content to fall on the ball.

Here’s how the Dallas Morning News described what happened next:

The Cowboys were willing enough to accept defeat Sunday. The final humiliation that Buddy Ryan and the Eagles provided was another matter.

But the last-second bomb to Mike Quick that drew a 32-yard pass-interference penalty and set up Keith Byars’ one-yard touchdown run on the final play may help them forget what transpired during the first 59 minutes of their 37-20 loss to Philadelphia.

The Eagles’ final act drew a terse statement from Tom Landry: “I wouldn’t even justify that with a comment. Everybody has his opinion of what it was.”

According to Ryan, who said he felt the Cowboys had exploited their advantage in veterans in a 41-22 victory two weeks ago, the play was justified.

“The last touchdown was very satisfying. I had it planned all along,” he said. Mimicking a Landry quote from two weeks ago, Ryan added: “I just played the hand that was dealt me.”

Between 1983 and the team’s first matchup of 1987, the Cowboys had gone 7-2 against the Eagles. After this loss, Dallas would not beat the Eagles again until 1991.

Week 7: Dallas 33, N.Y. Giants 24

Dallas bounced back in the following week by stunning the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Thanks to two touchdown passes from Phil Simms to Lionel Manual, the Giants had taken a 24-14 lead. However, four Roger Ruzek field goals and an interception return for a TD by defensive end Jim Jeffcoat gave the Cowboys a 33-24 win. “Too Tall” Jones had a huge game, recording four sacks and tipping two passes that resulted in interceptions, including Jeffcoat’s. The win gave the Cowboys a 4-3 record, while the Giants fell to 1-6.

Week 8: Detroit 27, Dallas 17

Danny White followed up a strong performance against the Giants by throwing four picks at Detroit. Meanwhile, the Lions took advantage of solid play from quarterback Chuck Long (of Iowa fame, if you remember back that far) and receiver Pete Mandley (8 rec., 97 yds.) to record Detroit’s first win (not counting replacement games) since 1986.

After this game, Tony Dorsett’s role in the offense diminished significantly. He had managed just three yards on 14 carries against the Giants, and he only gained 29 yards on 11 carries against the Lions. He had not recorded a 100-yard game since the middle of the 1986 season.

Herschel Walker, in the meantime, was on his way to leading the NFL in all-purpose yards, and he was about to become the main focal point of the entire offense.