The clock finally struck midnight on the Dallas Cowboys' improbable win streak Sunday night in Philadelphia when the Eagles took down the Cowboys, 26-17. Philly looked to be on the way to a blowout early on, but the Cowboys' defense stiffened and gave the team a chance to win. Here's what the loss to Philadelphia told us about the Cowboys.

Dak Prescott's value to Cowboys has never been more apparent

Cooper Rush did every single thing that could be expected of him over the last five games. If not for him, the Cowboys could very well be under .500 or worse. The Philadelphia game shined a light on why Dak Prescott is the player getting paid $40 million per year and Rush isn't.

All of Rush's success so far this season has been about taking care of the football. Until Sunday night, he maintained possession and let the team control the football up and down the field. The Eagles changed that with three interceptions, leading to 10 points for their offense. Every quarterback has bad games and Rush had one Sunday night, but the performance left no doubt about who should be under center for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys' offensive line did a great job against Philadelphia. Rush didn't get sacked once. The problem was that he didn't do anything with the clean pocket his line afforded him. Prescott threw for 7.8 yards per attempt out of a clean pocket in 2021. Sunday night, Rush threw for 4.5 yards per attempt under the same circumstances. That is the difference between Rush and Prescott. When Rush is at his best and his teammates help him out, he gives you a chance to win. When Prescott is in the same situation, he dominates.

Look for Prescott to return in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions.

Last year's tepid run defense is still an issue

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Sunday was the second time this year that an offense ran the ball down Dallas' throat to win a game. The game flow made it possible because the Eagles got to nurse a 20-point lead almost immediately thanks to turnovers, but it was still a problem.

Philadelphia's success running the ball came due to a complete lack of gap control by the Cowboys. The Eagles didn't just run around the edges all night. Philadelphia runners were able to get 5.5 yards per carry just by running through the gaps on the left and right side of left guard Landon Dickerson. Yes, the Eagles' offensive line is elite, but the Cowboys can't allow anyone to be that efficient running the ball straight up the middle.

Before the season started, there was a need for a big-bodied run stuffer on the defensive line. Neville Gallimore, Osa Odighizuwa, and the rest of Dallas' young interior defensive line have done a good job so far this season, but a lot of their talents come into play in the pass rush. Based on Sunday night's performance, it seems that there is still a personnel problem up front for Dallas' run defense. If the front office isn't going to address that need through a trade, Dan Quinn needs to figure out how to plug that hole before his defense's most obvious weakness turns into an Achilles' heel.

Ezekiel Elliott has a little more gas in the tank

Last year's campaign was obviously marred by injury, but there was a lot of speculation before the season about just how big of a role Ezekiel Elliott would play in Dallas' offense in 2022. Pollard was poised to take more snaps and he has, but Elliott's performance early on in the season has been encouraging. After setting season-high rushing totals in each of his last two games, things are looking up for Elliott.

Elliott averaged 6.2 yards per carry against the Eagles, his best mark of the season. That kind of efficiency against an extremely solid run defense is encouraging, and Philadelphia's defense wasn't exactly spread thin by Rush's passing. Zeke looks good. He's running hard, picking up dirty yardage, and he's starting to make the most of his daylight on plays like his 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against the Eagles. Elliott stands to build on his strong start to the season when Prescott returns and defenses have to respect the Cowboys' passing game a little more.