The Philadelphia Eagles are 8-3 after losing to the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Sunday. Final score: 24 to 21.
Let’s no mince words here: the Eagles had NO BUSINESS losing this game.
They were up 21-0. And they had a chance to go up four possessions after Dak Prescott threw an interception in the end zone with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
What happened instead?
The same thing that we’ve seen in almost every single game this year: the offense going hopelessly cold.
Their remaining drives after their first three, which were very strong, all went for touchdowns:
- 3 plays, -2 yards, punt
- 1 play, 1 yard, end of half (didn’t even try to get into field goal range)
- 3 plays, 3 yards, punt
- 6 plays, 18 yards, punt
- 3 plays, 7 yards, punt
- 7 plays, 30 yards, missed field goal (played for a 56-yard attempt instead of trying to get a first down)
- 6 plays, 33 yards, fumble
- 5 yards, 17 yards, punt
This is what you got from the most expensive offense in the NFL by a significant margin. Going up against one of the very worst defenses in the NFL this season!
There’s certainly blame to share. There were too many penalties and mistakes and miscues that ruined drives.
Ultimately, though, the biggest fault lies with the head coach: Nick Sirianni.
Sometimes, it’s not just good enough to obsess over the turnover battle at all costs and play not to lose. Sometimes, you have to go out and actually try to win the game. The Eagles’ offense absolutely lacked urgency, ambition, and aggression after the first three drives. It’s been a problem all season (to varying degrees) … and one masked by the team ultimately finding a way to win.
Not only should the Eagles not have lost this game … it shouldn’t have even been close. They had the Cowboys on the ropes. But they refused to put them away and it totally came back to bite them.
The Eagles’ season is hardly over by any means; they’re 8-3 with a really good chance to clinch win the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They very might well bounce back with a win over the Chicago Bears on Black Friday.
But much like the story of the season, they’re making things harder than they need to be.
Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage.
FIRST QUARTER
- The Eagles won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to kick off to the Cowboys. Dallas took over at their own 28-yard line. Dak Prescott’s first pass attempt hit George Pickens on a slant for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-6, Prescott dumped off to the running back for three yards. Facing 4th-and-3, the Cowboys kept their offense on the field … and Prescott’s pass to Javonte Williams was a little too far out in front of a diving catch attempt and incomplete! Turnover on downs.
- The Eagles took over at midfeld. The Eagles’ first play from scrimmage was a Jalen Hurts completion to A.J. Brown for five yards. The Eagles’ next play was another Hurts completion to Brown for 10 yards and a first down. Early A.J. involvement, to success! Hurts hit a wide open Saquon Barkley in the flat for another first down into the red zone. The Eagles’ first rushing attempt came on the sixth play of the drive with Barkley gaining just three. Facing 3rd-and-5, Hurts to Brown up the seam for a touchdown! Hey, isn’t that nice? Awesome opening drive by the players and coaching staff.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 19-yard line after a special teams penalty on Dallas. The Cowboys picked up a first down with an illegal contact penalty on Nakobe Dean. Facing 3rd-and-6, Prescott aired it out deep but clearly wasn’t on the same page with CeeDee Lamb for a way off target incompletion. Three-and-out. More stout defense from Vic Fangio’s unit.
- The Eagles took over at their own 24-yard line. Barkley was stopped for a loss. Then Fred Johnson false started. Facing 3rd-and-14 after Barkley was stopped for a short gain, the Eagles went empty backfield … and Hurts checked down to Darius Cooper (the undrafted rookie wide receiver’s first NFL catch!) to bring up punt. Braden Mann was illegally roughed on his punt (although replay showed teh Cowboys tipped the ball and they could’ve challenged it to undo the penalty but they didn’t), which benefited the Eagles with a 15-yard penalty for a first down. Hurts hit Brown for a first down into Cowboys territory. Hurts then launched a deep pass to DeVonta Smith, who wasn’t able to track the ball down the field for what would’ve been a touchdown. Hurts put the ball in harm’s way with a pressured throw to DeVonta that could’ve been picked off by DaRon Bland but fortunately wasn’t. Facing 3rd-and-10, Hurts to DeVonta along the left sideline for a first down was incomplete with the ball going through the receiver’s hands. There was an offsides penalty, however, to give the Eagles another try with a shorter third down distance. Facing 3rd-and-5, Hurts hit Brown over the middle for a 22-yard gain. But I was told Brown was slow and couldn’t play anymore? Facing 3rd-and-3 after the Eagles ran a pop pass to Xavier Gipson (!) for three yards, the Eagles had to burn a timeout by not getting the play in on time (somehow still an issue every week). Facing 3rd-and-3 for real, Barkley bounced a run to the outside for a big first down into goal-to-go. Hurts to Brown in the front left corner of the end zone was originally called a touchdown but review deemed it incomplete with the receiver not getting both feet in bounds. On the next play, Hurts called his own number and took it up the middle, fighting his way through defenders for a touchdown! Awesome job by QB1. Massive 12-play, 76-yard TD drive that took 6:08 off the clock. EAGLES 14, COWBOYS 0.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 35-yard line. Williams ran for 20 yards. Lamb dropped a would-be chunk gain. The Cowboys ran again to bring up third down and the end of the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
- Facing 3rd-and-8, Prescott hit Lamb for a first down but the Cowboys fumbled and the Eagles recovered … but Lamb’s forearm was down before the ball was out. No matter, though, because then KaVontae Turpin (who is not a running back) tripped and fumbled and Zack Baun jumped on the loose ball for an Eagles recovery! Lol Cowboys.
- The Eagles took over at their own 34-yard line. Hurts stepped up against pressure and threw on the move to Barkley for a first down. Tyler Steen got called for holding (even though he just threw a Cowboys defender to the ground?) to knock the offense back. Facing 3rd-and-12 after a Tank Bigsby run picked up eight yards, Hurts uncorked a deep ball to DeVonta, who made a great adjustment on the underthrown ball, for 41 yards! AND THAT’S WHY YOU DON’T JUST DO THE COWARD’S DRAW ON THIRD-AND-LONG! A DeVonta sweep ended up with the receiver being tackled just short of the goal line. And so the Eagles went Brotherly Shove for the touchdown! Belt to ass. 6-play, 66-yard TD drive. Where has this Eagles offense been?! EAGLES 21, COWBOYS 0.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 40-yard line. The Cowboys converted two 3rd-and-3s to move into field goal range. The Cowboys drove into the red zone with George Pickens making a leaping catch against Adoree’ Jackson. The Cowboys drove into goal-to-go with Ferguson running through Eagles tackle attempts. The Cowboys drove to the half-yard line but then a false start knocked them back. Prescott’s pass into the end zone to Lamb was picked off by a diving Reed Blankenship! Blankenship got away with a tug on Lamb’s jersey but Lamb was also pushing off, so. The Cowboys went 56 yards in 11 plays and took 6:31 off the clock … just to give the ball to the Eagles at the minus 20-yard line. How about this defense?!
- The Eagles took over at their own 20-yard line with 5:01 left in the second quarter and two timeouts to work with. Facing 3rd-and-2 after two short gains, Cam Jurgens was called for a false start. Facing 3rd-and-7, Hurts’ pass to DeVonta was broken up for a three-and-out.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 28-yard line after a good 54-yard punt by Braden Mann. Turpin ripped off a 48-yard gain on a catch-and-run through the Eagles’ secondary. Dude’s fast. The Cowboys moved into the red zone. The Cowboys then got knocked out of the red zone with a Tyler Guyton tripping penalty against Jalyx Hunt. Prescott to Ferguson got the Eagles back into goal-to-go. Then Prescott hit Pickens for the Cowboys’ first score. 6 plays, 72 yards, 2:31, TD. The Turpin explosive really hurt. EAGLES 21, COWBOYS 7.
- The Eagles got the ball at their own 28-yard line with 0:17 on the clock and two timeouts to work with. The Eagles went with a Saquon Barkley handoff (unnecessarily exposing him to an extra hit) instead of trying to move into field goal range, which was feasible … especially in a dome environment. Excellent first half by the Eagles all around but they ended it on a weak note.
THIRD QUARTER
- The Eagles took over at their own 32-yard line. A completion to Grant Calcaterra got the Eagles to 2nd-and-2 but then an illegal formation penalty knocked the offense back. Facing 3rd-and-7 after pressure forced Hurts into an incompletion, Hurts targeted DeVonta but the wide receiver slipped to bring up a three-and-out. Excluding giving up at the end of the first half, the Eagles’ last six plays gained just one yard and resulted in two punts.
- Another strong punt by Mann went 58 yards to make the Cowboys take over at their own 8-yard line. Jordan Davis got to Williams for a big TFL to bring up third down. Facing 3rd-and-5, Nakobe Dean bullied the running back in pass protection and got to Prescott for a sack! Third week in a row he’s done that. Cameron Latu make contact with the Cowboys’ punter but got lucky to only be called for running into the kicker (five yards) and not roughing the kicker (15 yards).
- The Eagles took over at their own 30-yard line after a special teams penalty on Joshua Uche cost them 10 yards. Barkley ran for a yard and then Hurts threw a little high of Brown. Facing 3rd-and-9, Hurts hit DeVonta Smith on a comeback for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-5, Hurts got hit as he threw and he was fortunate the ball landed incomplete instead of getting picked off. And the weekly stretch of the game where the offense looks hopeless has arrived! They need a sponsor for this segment.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 4-yard line after a Braden Mann punt bounced up into the air to be downed by Sydney Brown. Strong work by the Eagles’ punter to pin Dallas deep again. The Cowboys quickly moved 62 yards in five plays to get into field goal range. Facing 3rd-and-9, Prescott was pressured into a bad throw to Nakobe Dean! But the Eagles had 12 men on the field and the Cowboys were called for holding to wipe out the play. Facing 3rd-and-9 again, Lamb dropped a would-be first down over the middle. Big break. “Brandon Aubrey drilled his 51-yard field goal attempt”… is what I typed out before his kick actually went wide left because this guy never misses and that was a shocking development. Wow. Just his second miss all season.
- The Eagles took over at their own 41-yard line. Yet another ineffective Barkley first down run went for one yard. Then a bubble screen to Barkley picked up two yards. Facing 3rd-and-7, Hurts ran for three yards. Three-and-out. Punt.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 11-yard line. Zack Baun dropped a sure-fire interception. Facing 3rd-and-5, Prescott chucked it deep to CeeDee Lamb … who clearly committed offensive pass interference but it was called defensive pass interference on Cooper DeJean. Lol, bullshit. The Cowboys moved into the red zone. Kelee Ringo got called for pass interference (immediately upon entering the game) to give the Cowboys goal-to-go. Then Prescott hit someone named “Brevyn Spann-Ford” wide open for a touchdown. And just like that it was a one-score game. EAGLES 21, COWBOYS 14.
- Badly needing to do something for once in their lives, the Eagles’ offense took over at their own 32-yard line. By some miracle, the Eagles picked up a first down. And then another with a Hurts completion over the middle to Dallas Goedert, who broke some tackles for extra YAC to end the third quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
- The Eagles got set back with a BS offensive pass interference penalty (oh, NOW you call it?) on DeVonta Smith. Then a false start on A.J. Brown knocked the offense back to 1st-and-25. Facing 3rd-and-12, Hurts connected with Goedert short of the sticks to set up a 56-yard field goal attempt. Jake Elliotts kick was no good, wide right. Hated playing for the long field goal in that situation! Way too conservative.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 46-yard line. Prescott immediately hit Pickens downfield for a 43-yard gain. Great contested catch by the Cowboys wide receiver. Then Prescott took off running to find the end zone himself. Tie game in what should’ve been a blowout. Very pathetic! EAGLES 21, COWBOYS 21.
- The Eagles took over at their own 31-yard line with 11:35 left in the game. The Eagles quickly moved into Dallas territory with Hurts hitting Brown. Hurts picked up another big first down into field goal range with his legs on a QB draw. A Hurts connection with DeVonta for a first down got wiped out by illegal hands to the face on Fred Johnson. Then Hurts dumped off to Barkley, who fumbled for a Cowboys recovery. Nightmare.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 33-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-20 after a holding penalty knocked them back, the Cowboys had to punt. Big-time effort by the defense (aided by Cowboys drops) to get a stop after the turnover. Or not! Because then Xavier Gipson — who made an insane decision to FIELD THE PUNT AT THE 1-YARD LINE — fumbled on the punt return for a Cowboys recovery at the plus 7-yard line. DISASTER.
- The Cowboys took over at the plus 7-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Lamb dropped Prescott’s touchdown pass. Facing 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Prescott’s pass was incomplete with Nolan Smith pressuring the quarterback into a bad throw. Incredibly huge effort by the defense AGAIN.
- The Eagles took over at their own 2-yard line with 3:38 on the clock and the Cowboys armed with three timeouts. Hurts immediately hit Brown along the left sideline for a first down to get the offense out of their own end zone. Then Hurts hit DeVonta over the middle for another first down. Hurts dumping off to Barkley should’ve resulted in a first down but the running back tripped short of the marker to bring up third down at the two-minute warning. Facing 3rd-and-2, Hurts had time but took a 13-yard sack. Would’ve really preferred two Brotherly Shove attempts in that spot and not just saying that in hindsight.
- The Cowboys took over at their own 27-yard line with 1:35 left in the game and two timeouts to work with. Ferguson made a catch and then got stripped by Cooper DeJean but the ball took a bounce out of bounds in favor to the Cowboys. Facing 3rd-and-2, Prescott hit Ferguson for a first down past midfield with Sydney Brown trailing. The Cowboys moved into range for an entirely makeable field goal attempt. Brandon Aubrey made the 42-yard kick to win the game. What a disgraceful loss. EAGLES 21, COWBOYS 24.
FINAL SCORE: EAGLES LOSE, 24 to 21
EAGLES LINEUP NOTES
- Michael Carter II came in to play at nickel cornerback with Cooper DeJean moving to the outside after Adoree’ Jackson got hurt.
- Sydney Brown came in for an injured Reed Blankenship.
EAGLES INJURY NEWS
- DeVonta Smith was being looked at by trainers later in the second quarter. He remained in the game.
- Adoree’ Jackson (concussion) got banged up in the middle of the third quarter. His head hit the field hard.
- Moro Ojomo got banged in the middle of the third quarter.
- Reed Blankenship (thigh) got banged up later in the third quarter. Blankenship limped off the field with trainers. He was ruled questionable to return.
- Xavier Gipson was carted off the field after his fumble in the fourth quarter.
- Andrew Mukuba got hurt late in the game.