By Brooks Kubena, Jon Machota, Saad Yousuf and Cale Clinton
What was billed as one of the weekend’s marquee matchups ended up a blowout as the Philadelphia Eagles thoroughly dismantled the Dak Prescott-less Dallas Cowboys 34-6 on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. With the win, the Eagles (7-2) jumped the Washington Commanders for first place in the NFC East, while the Cowboys (3-6) continued their downward trajectory with no coaching change in sight.
In the second half, Philadelphia began to separate itself on the scoreboard. Jalen Hurts finished the afternoon 14-for-20 through the air for 202 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, adding an additional 56 yards and two touchdowns on seven rushing attempts. Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett took over for Hurts early in the fourth quarter. A.J. Brown posted his first 100-yard receiving game since Week 4, while Saquon Barkley finished the afternoon with 66 rushing yards on 14 carries.
Dallas’ defense initially gave the Cowboys a shot at keeping this game close. The unit sacked Hurts five times and coughed up two turnovers in the first half. A Trevon Diggs interception in the end zone took an Eagles touchdown off the board, while a Micah Parsons strip sack two drives later gave the Cowboys offense a first-and-goal on the Eagles’ 6-yard line. The Cowboys, however, were unable to capitalize off either turnover, gaining just 6 yards in seven plays off the pair of turnovers.
The Cowboys’ inability to move the ball on offense defined their day. Dallas finished with 146 total yards and five total turnovers between Cooper Rush and Trey Lance. It is just the fourth time in franchise history the Cowboys have given up five turnovers while also posting less than 150 total yards. The Cowboys reached the red zone just twice, resulting in a field goal and Ezekiel Elliott’s first-ever red zone turnover. Their best shot at a touchdown to CeeDee Lamb was squandered because of the infamous sunset blinding Lamb in the end zone.
Even when Dallas had Prescott at quarterback, these offensive shortcomings were still a consistent storyline. Dallas fell to 0-4 at home this season for the second time in franchise history and the first time since 2010. The Cowboys’ minus-94 point differential through their first four home games is the worst of any team since the 2019 Dolphins and sixth-worst all-time.
Eagles getting hot at the right time
The Eagles are reaching peak form. It’s good timing. They’ll host the Commanders on Thursday night. The winner will take control of the lead in the NFC East. For now, the Eagles hold the No. 1 spot. They look like a team that should secure at least partial home-field advantage in the playoffs. They’ve secured an offensive identity behind Barkley. Their defense held yet a third team without an offensive touchdown. The team looks as dominant as it’s been since the 2022 season. Their 28-point win over the Cowboys is their highest margin of victory over their division rival since 2017, when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. The flailing Cowboys obviously were an easier target without Prescott. But the Eagles did what great teams are supposed to do to bad ones. They stomped them. — Brooks Kubena, Eagles beat writer
Philadelphia defense demanding the ball back
I’ll be honest. I did not think the following stat would be that common for the Eagles. But at least one opponent has lost four fumbles in at least one game in each of the last three seasons. The others: a 34-28 win over the Vikings last season; a 29-21 win over the Jaguars in 2022. After only forcing two turnovers in their first six games, the Eagles have now forced 10 in their last three. The turnovers produced 13 points. But the Eagles defense impacted the game most of all when it forced the Cowboys to kick a field goal after Hurts lost a fumble at his own 6. That kept the Eagles lead 7-6 with 1:51 left in the first half. Hurts drove the field on the following drive and hit Dallas Goedert for a 14-yard touchdown to begin the onslaught. The Cowboys averaged 2.6 yards per play and benched Rush for Lance in the fourth quarter. — Kubena
Barkley influence felt without box score impact
Barkley’s influence on this offense is clear. He may have only rushed for 66 yards on 14 carries — 9 yards shy of his fourth 1,000-yard season in his career. But his impact helped take the pressure off Hurts and created one-on-one opportunities in the passing game. On one drive, Hurts hit Brown on a 44-yard bomb on a play-action pass, Barkley gained 30 yards on four straight runs, and Hurts scored on an 8-yard zone read keeper. Hurts, who was sacked five times, found ways to get around the intense pressure. He sidestepped a free rusher to hit Goedert for a touchdown to end the first half. — Kubena
Dallas loss defied already-low expectations
Most of us figured the Cowboys would probably lose Sunday. But again this season, they were even worse than expected. It didn’t matter what kind of gifts the Eagles gave them. The Cowboys did nothing with them. Aside from DeMarvion Overshown, did anyone wearing a Cowboys jersey impress you?
The quarterback situation was also worse than expected. Rush didn’t look close to being the answer in Prescott’s absence. Lance wasn’t any better. It’s easy to look at the rest of the schedule and wonder where any more wins exist. Maybe on Thanksgiving against the Giants. Maybe Week 15 at Carolina. This is shaping up to be a three- to five-win team. The one positive: a top-five draft pick is a realistic possibility. And this group needs all the help it can get. — Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer
Cowboys aren’t just bad, they’re boring
This game showed that the Cowboys are close to owner and general manager Jerry Jones’ worst nightmare: Not just a bad football team, but a boring and irrelevant team. At the end of the first half, when the Cowboys somehow managed to keep things close enough for it to be a one-possession game with the Eagles up 14-6, there were boos from the AT&T Stadium crowd after a third-down incompletion from Rush. As the Eagles pulled away in the second half, there was one more noticeable smattering of boos — when Rush came back in after Lance’s initial appearance in the game — but it was mostly a demoralized crowd that seemed accepting of its fate.
There were a handful of bright spots — Overshown, Rico Dowdle and Parsons’ return — but nothing that’s more than a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things. The question is how do the Cowboys keep the fan base engaged for the next couple of months? Both quarterback options appear to be grossly unappealing, the defense has been bad all season and an overhaul seems to be in order following the season, making things this year largely irrelevant. Jones can handle losing, as the last three decades have shown, but irrelevance is a scary proposition for him and that’s where the Cowboys are right now. — Saad Yousuf, Cowboys beat writer
Required reading
- Eagles’ Kellen Moore returns to Dallas, still a PowerPoint wiz and meticulous whisperer of offenses
- Eagles predictions at NFL midseason: Saquon Barkley breaks records, Nick Sirianni stays
- Cowboys’ chances of storybook season now rest on shoulders of ‘confident, wicked smart’ Cooper Rush
- Cowboys predictions at NFL midseason: Brandon Aubrey sets record, Dallas totals 2 home wins
(Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
