You’re not going to beat the Cowboys turning the ball over four times.
It’s that simple.
The Eagles played hard, they played tough, they played really well at times Saturday in Dallas without Jalen Hurts. But four turnovers led to 20 Dallas points and that was it.
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Ballgame.
In the end, the Eagles blew two 10-point leads, and for the 11th straight year failed to sweep their fiercest rival.
The Cowboys outscored the Eagles 20-7 over the final 19 minutes and stayed alive in the battle for No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 37-34 win at ATT Stadium.
Here’s our Instant Observation from a heartbreaker in North Texas:
1. The Eagles are still going to find their way to the No. 1 seed, I don’t have any doubt about that. They’re going to beat the Saints Sunday and if they don’t they’ll beat the Giants a week from Sunday. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that, but they still have a 95 percent chance to lock up the No. 1 seed, according to the 538. Heck, maybe the Cowboys will lose to the Titans or Commanders. But here’s what’s really frustrating about this game: This was a tremendous opportunity for the Eagles to really make a big-time statement against their fiercest rival in their own building, something they haven’t done since the 2017 Super Bowl season. The Eagles have now lost five straight at AT&T Stadium, their longest losing streak in North Texas since the 1970s. And they’ve blown double-digit leads in two of them, including Saturday night. They haven’t swept the Cowboys since 2011, their longest streatch without a sweep over the Cowboys since the 1960s and 1970s. And they’re 8-13 in the last 21 meaningful meetings between the two teams. You’d love to see the Eagles come into this building and make a statement. A win to clinch No. 1 seed on Christmas Eve in AT&T Stadium would have been such a huge step for this team. They just couldn’t quite pull it off.
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2. Something’s up with Darius Slay. He does not look like himself. Not sure what he was thinking on that 36-yard CeeDee Lamb touchdown or Prescott’s 52-yarder to T.Y. Hilton on 3rd-and-30, but he just looks off lately. And really off Saturay in Dallas. The numbers overall the second half of the season have been shocking. The first eight games this year, opposing quarterbacks had a 37.2 passer rating when targettting Slay, 2nd-lowest among all corners (James Bradberry was No. 1). The last six games – not including Dallas – Slay ranked 92nd out of 93 corners last with a 136.9 opposing QB passer rating on 18-for-26 for 241 yards, three TDs and no TDs. And that’s not including Saturday night. Don’t think he’s hurt. Not sure what’s up. He’s just not playing well. And if the Eagles are going to go on a deep playoff run, where they’ll be facing elite quarterbacks every week, he’s got to be a lot better.
3. The box score says Gardner Minshew threw two interceptions. Here’s what I think about that: Quez Watkins has to be stronger. He has to be better. He has to be tougher. He’s got to fight for the ball. He’s got to compete for the ball. His job isn’t just to catch the football but to make sure the defender doesn’t, and he was just terrible at that Saturday. Watkins is one of the bigger deep threats in the league, and that’s great. But he played soft Saturday night and was directly responsible for both Minshew interceptions. That kind of performance is unacceptable. If he can’t get it together, get someone else in there. Period.
4. Just this: How freaking good is DeVonta Smith? Goodness gracious.
5. Whether he’s playing great or poorly coming into the game, Dak Prescott always seems to be at his best when he faces the Eagles. He’s now 7-1 in his last eight starts against the Eagles with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. That includes last year’s meaningless finale against the Eagles’ backups but still. He made some throws Saturday night where you just tip your cap because the coverage was there, he put it exactly where he wanted to put it. The Eagles have to find a way to beat this guy in an important game. He’s really good. But he’s not that good.
6. I can’t ask for anymore from Minshew. He did exactly what you want your backup QB to do. Managed the game, threw to the open guy, converted some monster 3rd-down conversions, threw for 355 yards and a couple TDs, put up 27 points against a top-10 defense in its own stadium despite four turnovers and then he got the Eagles down to the 20 with a chance to win in the final minute. Dude is a warrior. It’ll be great to get Jalen Hurts back, but I’ll take Minshew on my team anytime. And if it’s Minshew vs. the Saints next weekend? I’ve got complete faith in Minshew. Complete.
7. One of the biggest plays of this game for me was Avonte Maddox’s missed sack on Prescott on a 3rd-and-5 near midfield with the Eagles already up 10-0. Maddox had Prescott wrapped and nearly brought him to the ground but couldn’t quite finish the play, and before help could arrive, Prescott unloaded for an eight-yard gain to Michael Gallup. If Maddox finishes the sack, the Cowboys have a 4th-and-13 and are punting from their own 40-yard-line trailing by 10. Instead, they finished the drive with a touchdown that got them back in the game. A sack there and it’s a whole different ballgame.
8. Defensively, just not good enough. The Eagles did pick up six sacks against a team that had only allowed 19 all year, they were stout against the Cowboys’ vaunted running game and they got a pick-6 from Josh Sweat. A lot of positives. But there were so many points in this game where one stop, one play, one fumble recovery, one more batted pass, one more tight coverage, one anything would have changed the result. The Cowboys scored 20 points on short fields and that’s tough to overcome. Especially against a good team with an explosive offense. Nobody is better in the NFL at scoring off turnovers than the Cowboys.
9. One of the biggest reasons things came so easily for the Eagles much of the season was their turnover ratio. They led the league in takeaways, they were protecting the ball at record pace and they had a huge lead over the rest of the NFL in turnover ratio. That’s just not the case anymore. Look at these numbers:
First eight games: 18 takeaways, 3 turnovers, plus-15 turnover margin
Last seven games: 8 takeaways, 14 turnovers, minus-6 turnover margin.
They were minus-three Saturday night in Dallas, and you’re just not going to beat a good team on the road when you’re minus-three.
10. I was surprised the Eagles weren’t able to run the ball with more authority against a pretty leaky Dallas run defense that’s allowing 133 yards per game and 4.6 per carry. Miles Sanders was just 21-for-65 with a long gainer of 13 yards and a costly fumble, and the Eagles finished 29-for-87 for just 3.0 yards per carry. The Eagles have been so good running the football this year that you don’t expect them to sputter like this against a team that’s allowed 190 or more yards in three of its last seven games, including 192 last week. The running game has always been there when the Eagles have needed it, and they’re going to need it over the next several weeks.