'SNF' takeaways: Cowboys post statement win behind MVP-boosting performance from Dak Prescott

In a matchup of NFC stalwarts, the Dallas Cowboys came out victorious over the Philadelphia Eagles, dominating their rivals in a 33-13 blowout on "Sunday Night Football." Here are three takeaways from the Cowboys' message-sending win: 

Did Dak stake his claim as MVP front-runner? Stats matter a lot when it comes to who wins the MVP, but so do wins. On Sunday night, the Cowboys QB made his case even stronger with an impressive victory over the reigning NFC champs. 

Prescott's numbers weren't jump-of-the-page great, but his performance ultimately was. 

Prescott finished 24-of-39 for 271 yards (6.9 YPC) with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Meanwhile, he led the Cowboys to points in seven of nine scoring drives, helping orchestrate a statement win under the primetime lights. 

Following his outing against the Eagles, Prescott has continued to play at an MVP level. Over the last eight games, he's completed 69% of his passes (201-of-290) for 2,444 yards with 25 total TDs and only two interceptions. Oh, and the Cowboys are 7-1 over that stretch. 

NFC East title within reach for Cowboys: While it might've sounded unrealistic only a few weeks ago, the Cowboys are now in the driver's seat to take the NFC East. After their beatdown of the Eagles on Sunday night, they're neck-and-neck atop the division at 10-3. 

Meanwhile, the Cowboys' win also shook up the rest of the NFC playoff picture. The loss dropped the Eagles from the No. 1 seed all the way down to No. 5. Dallas owns the conference record tiebreaker over the Eagles, propelling them to the No. 2 seed. 

Following the Eagles' steep fall, there's a new No. 1 seed in the conference, the San Francisco 49ers. They defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14 to improve to 10-3 but hold the lead in the NFC due to wins over both the Cowboys and Eagles. 

The Cowboys have won five straight games and are arguably the hottest team in the NFL. With the division title within reach, could the No. 1 seed be next? 

Eagles' woes continue: Once heralded as the league's top dog, the Eagles looked anything but for the second week in a row. 

Offensively, they struggled to find consistency, managing only two field goal drives despite averaging 6.4 yards a play. Meanwhile, they turned the football over three times, twice inside the red zone, matching their total (19) from last season. Furthermore, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has fumbled in seven straight games, losing four. 

The Eagles fared no better on the defensive side of the ball. They offered little resistance, aside from a strip sack returned for a touchdown early in the second half and allowed the Cowboys to do virtually whatever they wanted throughout the game. 

The Cowboys scored on their first four possessions to take a commanding 24-6 lead into halftime, marking Philly's sixth straight game trailing at the break.  

Come-from-behind wins early in the season hid the Eagles' warts. However, two of the NFC's best have exposed them in back-to-back weeks, which creates a fair question. Are the Eagles contenders or a paper tiger?