Their biggest opponent kicked the Eagles in the butt when they traveled to Dallas.
The Cowboys not only defeated the 49ers 33–13, but they also suffered a humiliating 42–19 setback at home. The Eagles have lost to two of the NFC’s top teams in consecutive weeks, which is extremely concerning as the playoffs draws closer.
In this one, the Eagles fell behind early. The Eagles’ season ended with a 10-3 record as the defense was destroyed and the offense failed to score a touchdown.
The grades don’t look good:
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 18/27, 197 yards; 5 attempts, 30 yards, 1 lost fumble
For the second week in a row, the MVP contender on the opposing sideline outperformed the Eagles quarterback, who had an opportunity to prove to the NFL why he deserves to be named MVP. Hurts mishandled the ball once more, giving the Eagles a chance to tie the score early and stay ahead of the Cowboys. It was a deadly turnover—his fifteenth of the season. Hurts didn’t exactly have a lot of assistance in this game; both of his top receivers fumbled and dropped passes. Additionally, coaching is still a problem. Hurts, however, acknowledged following the game that he must lead the turnaround, and he is correct. He must perform better on the field.
Grade: D+
Running back
D’Andre Swift: 11 carries, 39 yards
The run game of the Eagles wasn’t great in this game either, following a week of discussion about it. In the end, they gained more than 100 yards, but Hurts only contributed 30 of those. The fact that they had to pass in order to try to get back up was the issue with this game. Even still, the running backs didn’t have much space. Boston Scott had three for nine yards, Kenny Gainwell had four for twenty-eight, and Swift had 39 yards.
Grade: C-
Receiver
A.J. Brown: 94 yards, 9 catches on 13 targets, 1 lost fumble
Brown’s final stat line appears respectable, but he fumbled the ball and failed to catch a big pass that would have resulted in a big gain. DeVonta Smith, who had five receptions for 73 yards in this game, is comparable. Indeed, those figures are impressive, but Smith also stumbled and dropped a few balls. Olamide Zaccheaus was the only other receiver with a catch; on a trick play, the punter hit him for a 28-yard gain. Hurts ended up targeting just three players, with neither Julio Jones nor Quez Watkins receiving any targets.
Grade: D
Tight end
Dallas Goedert: 30 yards, 4 catches on 4 targets
Goedert made his game-day return against the Cowboys on Sunday after missing three, but he didn’t really contribute. Though he wasn’t a major contributor to the passing attack, his longest reception was for fifteen yards. Even though it was anticipated that his return would strengthen the running game, the Eagles were stifled there and had to abandon it after falling behind quickly.
Grade: C
offensive line
Even before this game got out of hand, the Eagles were having trouble with the run game. During this game, Hurts experienced some duress, and Lane Johnson even handed up a sack to Micah Parsons, who easily outran him with a bull rush. The O-line is undoubtedly a contributing factor to the offense’s current disarray as a whole. This week, keep an eye on Cam Jurgens, who was able to return despite suffering a chest injury.
Grade: C-
Defensive line
Fletcher Cox: 1 forced fumble, 1 sack, 3 tackles, and 1 PD
The Eagles’ greatest play of the game occurred when Cox took Dak Prescott’s jersey, which Jalen Carter recovered and ran for a 42-yard touchdown. However, that was the only bright spot in an otherwise unsatisfactory defensive effort. Haason Reddick had two sacks in total, but one of them was during garbage time. Prescott was able to slightly carve up the Eagles through the air because they were unable to apply consistent pressure. The front line’s ability to pursue quarterbacks is the foundation of the defense, so when it falters during a game, it poses a serious threat.
Grade: C-
Linebacker
Zach Cunningham: 6 tackles, 2 PD
Shaq Leonard made his Eagles debut and played a bit more (12 snaps) than the Eagles probably wanted as both Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow made trips to the medical tent. The linebackers weren’t nearly as bad in this game as they were against the 49ers last week but they were a part of an Eagles defense that allowed the Cowboys to score on three 75-yard touchdown drives in the first half.
Grade: C
Secondary
Darius Slay: 3 PD, 4 tackles
In this game, the Eagles’ problems with third downs persisted. The secondary was in charge of many of those conversions, including a few significant ones that resulted from penalties by Slay, James Bradberry, and Kelee Ringo. They just can’t seem to get off the field. In the end, Prescott threw for two touchdowns and 271 yards. CeeDee Lamb had 71 receiving yards, while Jake Ferguson had 72. In this game, six different Cowboys had a catch, despite Hurts only targeting three players.
Rating: D
Special teams
Braden Mann: 1 pass attempt, 28 yards; 1 punt, 39 yards
Special teams were this game’s greatest asset. Mann was able to fake a punt that looked desperate but was successful in hitting Zaccheaus. Covey of Britain returned punts for eighteen yards. The two field goals and the extra point were both made by Jake Elliott. Josh Jobe’s overzealous call for fair-catch interference in the second half was the only poor special teams play. But all in all, special teams performed well once more.
Rating: A-
Coaching
Record: 10-3
The Eagles are still in control of their own destiny in the NFC East and have a very strong record. However, this was a complete disaster, and the coaching staff bears a great deal of responsibility. Yes, there were issues with execution. It wasn’t like Nick Sirianni and Brian Johnson were fumbling the ball. To let their gifted offensive players take center stage, though, they must exert more effort. That was just not the case in this game. Of course, the players need to make plays on third down in defense. However, Sean Desai was outcoached by the offensive play-caller on the opposing sideline for the second straight week. Now that the Eagles are in trouble, it’s time to see if Sirianni can save them.
Rating: F