Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys
Final Score: PHI 34 – DAL 6
Writer: Cesar Escajeda (@cescajeda13 on Twitter)
Another week, another miserable Cowboys blowout loss. The Eagles, now in sole possession of first place in the NFC East, powered through with a full team effort and forced five turnovers on the day to blast Dallas’ season hopes to the abyss.
Two Up
- Jalen Hurts, QB (PHI) – It was a shaky first half for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense, with two turnovers by the signal caller keeping Dallas somewhat in the matchup to start. That quickly changed at halftime, however, and the former Sooner quarterback did not miss a beat throwing for two touchdowns and running in for a third to finish the day with four scores total on the afternoon. His athletic ability was on full display with both his arm and his legs, and with a statement win against a hated opponent on the road, he’s willed Philadelphia to their fifth straight since starting the year 2-2.
- A.J. Brown, WR (PHI) – Considering that A.J. Brown was banged up and questionable entering this matchup, the fact that he managed to have a 100+ yard game is extremely impressive. His connection with Hurts scorched the Cowboys’ secondary multiple times of the afternoon, with his long of 44 being a beauty of a lobbed shot over rookie cornerback Caelen Carson. There were no touchdowns for the Eagles WR1, but his game was still plentifully productive in this blowout victory.
Two Down
- Cooper Rush, QB (DAL) – With Dak Prescott‘s season likely over, the Cowboys have turned the reigns over to Cooper Rush with the hopes that he can emulate his stellar play as a career backup with a 5-1 record coming in. That was far from the case today, with Rush looking completely helpless against Philly defensive coordinator Vic Fangio‘s unit. The veteran averaged a heinous 2.0(!) yards per completed throw the ENTIRE afternoon, with two fumbles to chip in. I’ve watched enough Cowboys games to know the offense is subpar and did Rush no favors, but when your entire effort amounts to just 45 yards passing total on the day, there is something seriously wrong with your performance.
- The Dallas Cowboys – The amount of blame to go around for the Cowboys’ woes in 2024 is numerous and encompasses all. I could sit here and list out every inefficiency for Dallas in every aspect of the organization, but to keep it simple in Week 11 I’ll leave it at this – they wasted CeeDee Lamb and his talents. With the game slipping out of hand and the lack of a running game in Dallas to begin with, you’d think they’d lean on their star on the boundary to power some points. Instead, 21 yards on 10 targets is all he can amount to.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 14/20, 202 Yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 FUM (Lost) | 7 Carries, 56 Yards, 2 TDs
A four-score day highlights the dominance Philly displayed on the road against their longtime rivals.
As mentioned, Hurts was harassed early on and handed the ball over twice – one of which was a smooth interception in the endzone by cornerback Trevon Diggs – but even with the adversity, Hurts did not miss a beat, finding eight different receivers in this game overall. His prowess through the air was on full display, but it was his skill on the ground that really put the exclamation point on this one. The “Tush Push” without center Jason Kelce still works just fine, and to top it off Hurts ran an eight-yarder in on his own to put the Eagles up big in the third quarter. Minus the turnovers, it was a very good day for the young quarterback.
Kenny Pickett: 1/2, 5 Yards | 1 Carry, 1 Yard
The fact that Pickett entered in garbage time and still beat Cooper Rush‘s yards-per-throw average spells out just how lopsided this matchup was.
Running Back
Saquon Barkley: 14 Carries, 66 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 12 Yards
It was far from the monstrous outings we’ve come to expect from Saquon Barkley, but considering this was his first career win versus Dallas, I doubt he minds.
It was very evident that if the Cowboys were going to lose, they were intent on preventing Barkley from being the one to do it. He faced stacked box after stacked box early on, and as far as the eye test went, Dallas had him fairly bottled up. While he only managed 78 total yards on the day, however, his yards-per-carry average was still healthy at 4.7 a tote – and he was still his usually lethal self on a number of chunk runs down the stretch. This performance likely upsets his fantasy managers who would’ve expected more in a game like this, but considering the Eagles won handily without their star running back having to shoulder the load, an outlier like this is probably shrugged out quickly.
Kenneth Gainwell: 7 Carries, 30 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Will Shipley: 9 Carries, 34 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
A.J. Brown: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 109 Yards
It was a lot of volume and a whole lot of production for Brown against an inexperienced secondary.
Brown was questionable early in the week with an ailing knee, but was all clear entering the game, and boy, was his presence absolutely felt in Arlington on Sunday afternoon. He dominated the rookie coverage the Cowboys set after him, hauling in pass after pass to lead the Eagles across the board. His lack of a touchdown was disappointing, but his work helped set Philly up time and time again and should be a good springboard for the early week ahead.
Dallas Goedert: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 25 Yards
Dallas Goedert was the go-to red zone target for Hurts in Big D, even if that resulted in the quarterback’s first turnover. Still, he managed to make up for it by hauling in his second look to score right before halftime.
Jahan Dotson: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 27 Yards
Jahan Dotson also got in on beating Carson and the secondary with his single catch, a 27-yard shot downfield in perfect position for the former Washington Commander.
DeVonta Smith: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards
Smith also entered the game banged up with a bad hamstring, though unlike Brown it did seem to hobble him a bit all things considered. He did garner the attention of Diggs and Jourdan Lewis for most of the game also, which hindered his stats even further. It was disappointing considering the beatdown the Eagles handed out, but I expect with more time to recover, Smith should be just fine.
Ainias Smith: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 6 Yards
Johnny Wilson: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 5 Yards, 1 TD
Grant Calcaterra: 1 Target
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
Cooper Rush: 13/23, 45 Yards, 2 FUM (2 Lost) | 2 Carries, 2 Yards
This was as bad as bad gets for Cooper on the day.
45 total yards, on 23 attempts, is BRUTAL. I can’t think of any other word for it. It’s one thing that the offensive scheme limits shots downfield and remains pedestrian predictably shallow throws near the line of scrimmage, but Cooper took it even further with poor target placement and overall jitters with the ball in his hand. The play calling certainly did him no favors, nor did his receivers and their ridiculous lack of separation – but when combined with the shaky quarterback play, it spelled a recipe for disaster that it feels like only Dallas can provide these days.
I’m not sure what will fix these issues for the Cowboys offense either. With Prescott likely out for the year, this season looks as lost as it can be in Big D.
Trey Lance: 4/6, 21 Yards, 1 INT | 3 Carries, 17 Yards
Lance entered the game late and the crowd was as elated as they had been the entire second half. That pretty much sums up how miserable the day was on offense for the Cowboys.
Running Back
Rico Dowdle: 12 Carries, 53 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 3 Yards
Of all things to complain about in this one, Dowdle and the running game wasn’t one of them.
In the first half, it felt like the veteran was the only constant on offense, bursting forth at one point for 19 yards in what ended up being the Cowboys’ longest play of the game. His 4.4 yards-per-carry average was tough, helping to set Dallas up in a prime position early in the second quarter before a red zone turnover killed the drive. Dowdle appears to be the most consistent part of this rushing attack, and while that doesn’t say much, it’s still the best option they’ll have this year. That’s why it’s extremely frustrating to watch the coaching staff split carries with less productive options in that backfield.
Ezekiel Elliott: 6 Carries, 22 Yards
Speaking of less productive.
Ezekiel Elliott, eager to shake his suspension last week after reportedly being late to team meetings, was supposedly picked by Mike McCarthy as the player most likely to go off on the afternoon for Dallas. Instead, the veteran running back coughed the ball up in the endzone for a Philly touchback and spent the rest of the game being stuffed consistently on his handful of opportunities. It’s been a bad year for the once-heralded hero in Dallas, and that didn’t change any in this one.
Hunter Luepke: 1 Target
Wide Receiver/Tight End
CeeDee Lamb: 10 Targets, 6 Receptions, 21 Yards | 1 Carry, 3 Yards
Lamb was the most targeted pass catcher on the day for the home team, but when you’re averaging 3.5 yards a catch, there’s only so much you can do.
Jake Ferguson: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 24 Yards, 1 FUM (Lost)
Even the Cowboys’ physical star tight end coughed it up. His fumble early in the fourth quarter signaled to the home crowd it was probably time to leave and beat the traffic out – no comebacks were happening here.
Jalen Tolbert: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 14 Yards
Jalen Brooks: 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Luke Schoonmaker: 1 Target