Strong start gives way to sputtering finish
Despite a strong start that catapulted the Philadelphia Eagles to a 14-3 lead, the Dallas Cowboys came back to score a 37-17 victory Sunday in a game that would have kept the Eagles in play for the NFC East title.
Instead, the Eagles (4-10-1) were eliminated from playoff contention and now appear bound for a last-place finish in the division with one game remaining.
Here’s a quick review:
Keys
Cowboys WRMichael Gallup exploited the Eagles’ defensive backs, mostly undrafted rookie cornerback Michael Jacquet, for 121 yards and a pair of TDs on six catches in the first half alone to help his team erase a 14-3 deficit and take a 20-17 lead into intermission. They never trailed in the second half.
Gallup didn’t catch a pass in the second half, but Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton abused the Eagles’ depleted secondary through the air all
day, passing for 377 yards and three TDs.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, coming back from an injury, hurt the Eagles with 105 yards on 19 carries.
The Eagles lost defensive tackle Fletcher Cox for the game to a stinger in the first half. He hadn’t practiced all week because of a neck injury. Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert departed in the second half with a calf injury.
DeSean Jackson returned to the field for the Eagles after missing more than two months and caught an 81-yard TD pass in the first quarter. Incredibly, he was never targeted again.
Rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts, making his third career start, turned the ball over on consecutive possessions (interception, fumble) in the fourth quarter to squelch any hope of a late comeback.
Observations
While there’s no question the Eagles offense is more exciting under Hurts, the bottom line is points, and the move to Hurts over Carson Wentz hasn’t produced any tangible increase there. They have scored 24, 26 and 17 points in his three starts for an average of 22.3 per game. In the 12 starts Wentz made before that, they averaged 21.1 points.
In fact, the Eagles and the
New York Jets are the only teams that have fallen short of 30 points in every game this season.
And they’re still not winning games, falling to 1-2 under Hurts after going 3-8-1 under Wentz.
Opponents have adjusted to the
Eagles offense much too easily in the second half of the games Hurts has started. The Eagles were scoreless after halftime in this game. In the second half of their loss to Arizona the week before and the win over New Orleans before that, they were limited to seven points in each game in the second half.
Cheers
Rookie WRQuez Watkins hauled in two of three targets for 57 yards. ... CB Darius Slay came through with his first interception as an Eagle. ... Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry finished with one sack apiece.
Jeers
Matt Pryor continue to struggle at right tackle. ... Left tackle Jordan Mailata showed ghastly technique in being beaten to the inside by
Randy Gregory on a strip-sack, then left the game with a possible concussion. ... Hurts turned it over three times in the fourth quarter of a game the Eagles had a chance to pull out most of the way. ... Jacquet regressed after going toe-to-toe with the Arizona Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins the week before.
It’s a numbers game
Jackson has 25 career TDs of 60-plus yards — the most by any player in NFL history. ...
Next up
The Eagles close out their season by hosting the Washington Football team next Sunday.