Eagles drop fifth straight; porous defense struggles to get off field in 38-21 loss to Cowboys
Tanner McKee and the offense showed signs of life while Vic Fangio's group made few impact plays.
With backup quarterback Tanner McKee starting for the foreseeable future, the Eagles offense could use a little help from its defense going forward.
Instead, it was left out to dry on Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles defense conceded a season-high 416 yards to the Dak Prescott-led Cowboys offense, powering their division rivals to a 38-21 victory. Nearly half of that yardage came on the ground (204), led by Cowboys running back Javonte Williams, who rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts.
Williams’ total yardage on the ground was the most a Vic Fangio-led Eagles defense has conceded to a running back.
Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ fifth consecutive loss:
Gashed on the ground
Going into Monday night’s game, the Cowboys ranked last in the league in rushing attempts (122) and second-to-last in rushing yards (456).
They could’ve fooled the Eagles.
Javonte Williams burned them on the ground, and he got going early. The Cowboys rushed for 101 yards in the first half alone on 18 carries (5.6 yards per carry), led by Williams (67 yards on 10 carries).
Their commitment to the running game early helped open up the passing game, too, as Prescott would go 15-for-27 for 212 yards and three touchdowns (118.1 quarterback rating). He was seldom touched all night long, never taking a quarterback hit, let alone a sack.
Williams was effective from the jump. His longest run of the first half came on the opening drive, a 15-yard rush up the middle on a handoff from under center on first-and-10 from the Cowboys’ 46-yard line. The Eagles defensive front got blown off the ball by the Cowboys offensive line, which became a recurring trend throughout the game.
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The Eagles defense held the Cowboys to a field goal on their opening drive. But Dallas responded on their next possession, as Prescott solved a simulated pressure on third-and-8 from the Cowboys’ 31 and connected with wide receiver Ryan Flournoy down the right sideline for a 35-yard gain.
Later on the drive, on third-and-2 from the 9, Prescott took advantage of a mismatch between CeeDee Lamb and Cooper DeJean in man coverage. He hit his receiver with a touchdown pass on a corner route to put the Cowboys up, 10-7.
Prescott continued to flaunt his strong connection with his top receivers. On Dallas’ following possession early in the second quarter, Prescott capped off an 81-yard, 14-play drive with a dime of a 9-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens with Andrew Mukuba in tight coverage, as the Cowboys went up, 17-14. According to Next Gen Stats, Pickens’ touchdown catch was the most improbable of the season at 14.9%.
The Cowboys added a field goal at the end of the first half to make it 20-14, Dallas, after the Eagles went three-and-out on their two-minute drive.
The second half brought more of the same misfortune for the Eagles defense. Shortly after Riq Woolen was called for holding Lamb on third-and-9 from the Eagles’ 40, Prescott went after the 27-year-old Eagles cornerback again. He threw another beauty of a 16-yard touchdown pass to Lamb down the left sideline with Woolen in coverage. Prescott rushed into the end zone on the two-point conversion, as the Cowboys retook the lead, 28-21.
DeJean was flagged for defensive pass interference early in the fourth quarter on a pass intended for Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson. Williams then ripped off an explosive run into the secondary for 34 yards. The Cowboys sputtered in the red zone and opted to settle for a field goal to go up 10 points, 31-21.
Williams added a 2-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter after the Eagles offense turned the ball over on downs in their own territory, putting Dallas up, 38-21.
“It starts from up front, and then it bleeds into all three levels,” Jordan Davis said postgame. “We didn’t play good enough, against the run, and it kind of opened up their whole playbook. Obviously, we see the result of that. Right now, it’s just refocus.”
Ups and downs for McKee, offense
McKee earned his second start in place of the injured Jalen Hurts. The Eagles 2023 sixth-rounder out of Stanford had mixed results.
He went 23-for-35 for 211 yards, a touchdown, and an interception (79.6 quarterback rating).
The Eagles offense started the game on a high note, as Saquon Barkley rushed eight yards up the middle for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead. On their scoring drive, the Eagles picked up three first downs and scored a touchdown on four plays.
They kept moving the ball well on their next possession, all while taking advantage of Cowboys mistakes. The Eagles converted fourth-and-1 at the Eagles’ 44 when Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was called for offside on a Tush Push attempt. Hollywood Brown had his first reception of the season — a 10-yard toe-tapping catch down the right sideline on a McKee scramble drill — before Darius Cooper added 17 yards on a screen on third-and-10 from the Cowboys’ 29, bringing the Eagles into the red zone.
Dameon Pierce’s 5-yard touchdown run put the Eagles back up, 14-10, early in the second quarter.
McKee had some struggles throwing accurate passes, especially on their possession inside the two-minute warning at the end of the first half. The Eagles went three-and-out, which included a pair of off-target passes to Cooper and rookie Makai Lemon.
The 26-year-old Eagles quarterback responded well coming out of halftime. The Eagles scored their first touchdown in the third quarter all season on a 4-yard reception for Lemon, as Philadelphia went back up, 21-20. It was also their longest touchdown drive of the season at 9 minutes, 16 seconds.
But the offense faltered from there. McKee was picked off by Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown in the fourth quarter on a pass intended for Dallas Goedert. Later, McKee was sacked by Williams on second-and-9 from the Eagles’ 17 for a loss of eight yards. He threw an incomplete pass for Brown on fourth-and-9 from the 17, turning the ball over on downs and foiling the Eagles’ chances of a comeback.
“Obviously, I wish I had the interception back,” McKee said after the game. “You’ve just got to move on. Move on in my read, in my progression. And then the two missed throws before halftime. Wish I had those back. Good routes, good call there in good coverage, and I’ve got to hit it.”
Barkley returns, then exits
The Eagles welcomed back Barkley, who had missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.
He got involved immediately. On the second play of the Eagles’ opening possession, Barkley rushed to his left for an explosive 29-yard gain, then immediately pulled up lame on the sideline. After the game, Barkley said his back locked up on that run.
Barkley wasn’t quite the same afterward, but he continued to gut it out. The Eagles were selective in their usage of Barkley, though, as Pierce shouldered the bulk of the snaps at running back for the rest of the night.
His 12-yard gain on a rush up the middle opened the Eagles’ fifth possession of the game early in the third quarter, on a drive that later resulted in Lemon’s touchdown reception.
Barkley had one more touch, a 5-yard carry that was brought back by a Tyler Steen holding penalty. But he was held out for the rest of the game with the back injury.
The 29-year-old running back finished the night with 62 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Barkley also had two catches for nine yards. He had touches on all nine of his snaps, as the Eagles tried to use him sparingly.
After the game, Barkley said he addressed the team, something he admitted was atypical.
“I felt like the moment was right,” Barkley said. “How I look at life, I feel like you just never quit. You never give up. You just keep fighting, no matter what, whatever the situation is, how it looks. And I feel like we have the men in the locker room to do it. We put ourselves in this situation. Now we’ve got to dig ourselves out of it.”
Injury report
Britain Covey left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury and was ruled out at the start of the second quarter.
Moro Ojomo went down late in the fourth quarter and did not return to action.
The Eagles seem reluctant to address the handling of the Jalen Hurts blood clots saga, but the key questions involved in the story aren’t going anywhere. Throughout the week, in the absence of remarks from general manager Howie Roseman or team medical personnel, head coach Nick Sirianni was peppered by reporters. He’s offered few details in return. After speaking with high-ranking medical officials currently or previously employed by NFL teams, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane frames four central issues that remain unanswered, while also looking at what this situation means for Hurts’ future in Philadelphia. Listen here.
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