By: Kylan Watson
The Philadelphia Eagles faced the Dallas Cowboys in the biggest match-up of the early season so far. The Eagles jumped on the Cowboys early, but it was the defense that closed the door on the surging Cowboys late in the fourth quarter. Leading the team to a 26-to-17 victory and a six-and-zero record as they head into their bye week. For the first time since 2004.
Philly had everything working early in the game as they were able to stop the Cowboys on an early drive. That led to a Miles Sanders touchdown that propelled the Eagles to an early seven-to-nothing lead. Philly would ride that momentum to a 20-to-three lead by half-time. Dallas’ vaunted defense had no answers for the Eagles offensive momentum. Jalen Hurts (15/25 155-yards and completed two touchdown passes) made the Cowboys pay for their early aggression as he threw it over their heads and completed two-touchdown passes. When he needed to run, he used his elusiveness to keep the Cowboys defenders guessing. The Eagles did most of their damage in the second quarter, but their offensive momentum slowed down once again in the second-half. They will now have two weeks to figure out why the offensive momentum doesn’t continue into the second-half. It hasn’t hurt them yet but their inability to score will hurt them as they face stiffer competition later into the season and into the playoffs.
The Cowboys could not do anything against the Eagles early in the game. Philly continued to stifle Dallas’ receiving core with their shutdown defensive back duo of Darius Slay and James Bradberry. They forced Cooper Rush into some bad decisions and made him pay by picking the ball off. Philly once again won the turnover battle as they forced three turnovers in today’s game. Having two dependable corners has unlocked the Eagles defense. It has allowed the Eagles defensive line to rush the quarterback as much as possible. That pressure did not give Rush much time to find his receivers. The Cowboys were able to use their rushing attack to comeback late in the game. As they got 17-unanswered points and forced the Eagles to make adjustments to what they were doing.
When the Eagles needed something to keep the Cowboys at bay. Jalen Hurts led a late-game offensive drive that was capped off by a Devonta Smith receiving touchdown that kept the Cowboys at bay. Not to be outdone the defense was able to force Rush into another bad decision that sealed the game for Philly.
Philly dominated this game in all phases, they continue to prove that they are the most complete team in the NFL. They will still need to get those offensive issues worked out in the second-half if they want to go as far as they can this season. They now have two weeks to prepare for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the battle of Pennsylvania.
