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EAGLES DEFENSE MISSING IN ACTION AGAINST DALLAS AS BIRDS LOSE FIFTH IN A ROW, 38-21
Lincoln Financial Field has not seen a season like this in very long time.
Just when getting Drew Kendell, Landon Dickerson and Saquon Barkley back (on a serious pitch count) seemed to breathe life into the Eagles offense, the Birds defense decided to take the week off.
The Dallas Cowboys (3-4) ran the ball down the Eagles' (2-5) throats to the tune of 204 rushing yards on 38 carries and a touchdown Monday night at the Linc.
The final score was 38-21. The Birds have now lost five games in a row,
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni didn't have much to offer in the way of an explanation about his relatively healthy defense was dominated Monday night.
“Obviously, it's never just one thing when you give up a bunch of yards like that,” Sirianni said at his post game press conference. “We've got to do a better job coaching. We've got to do a better job executing, getting off blocks, tackling.
“We had a couple missed tackles, but it's always going to be about block destruction, playing on their side of the line of scrimmage, and then us putting them in positions to succeed. I give them credit. They played a good game. Hats off to them.”
The Eagles season isn't lost yet, but it is starting to circle the drain.
All Pro safety Cooper DeJean was asked what happened Monday night. The Eagles offense, with the return of Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson and center Drew Kendell helped the offense sustain long drives and keep the Eagles defense off the field for long stretches.
“I don't know, we've just got to find a way to get better,” DeJean said at his locker after the game. “Especially when our offense scores 21 points; it's a game we should win. They get paid to make plays and they made more plays than we did.”
Cowboys quarterback had a clean pocket all night. He was 15 of 27 for 212 yards and three touchdown passes. He was not sacked and did not turn the ball over. His QB rating was 118.1.
Eagles Hall of Fame announcer Merrill Reese would say on a night when the opponent's quarterback had the time Prescott had Monday night, “If he was wearing a white tuxedo, there wouldn't be a mark on it.”
Prescott praised his offensive and defensive line after the game.
“Lineman led the way,” the 11-year veteran signal caller said after the game. “Q” (DT Quinton Williams} had a great message for the team before the game, just talking about the O-line and the D-line, going to control in the game and on offense that's exactly what it was.
“We knew we had to create some balance. We had to stick to the run, even if some are negative or not as efficient as we want and we're able to do that and you saw they got better as the game went on.
“Those two-yard runs turned to six-yard runs from six to 12 and from there we're able to stay balanced and then pass off of that and so that's kind of the attack we have to continue.”
Cowboys center Cooper Beebe was asked about how they were able shut down the Eagles pass rush completely.
“I think a big thing for us is going into it with a mindset,” Beebe said at his locker after the game. “We hadn't run the football like we wanted to all season. Coming into this game we knew what kind of defense we were going to get.
“Shout out to the coaches for putting us in the best position to capitalize on it. But at the end of the day, it just came down to mindset. We wanted to set the tone, not for just one quarter, but the whole game. I think we did a good job of that.”
THE GAME STARTED OFF WELL FOR THE BIRDS
The Eagles won the toss and deferred. The Cowboys' opening drive resulted in a 55-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal.
The Eagles' first drive was a dazzling display of Saquon Barkley. The Birds, with Tanner McKee under center for Jalen Hurts who is out indefinitely with blood clot issues, needed only four plays to go 75 yards and take a 7-3.
Barkley 49 yards on three carries including an eight-yard TD. The other play was a 21-yard pass from McKee to Makai Lemon.
On the ensuing drive, Dallas goes nine plays, 82 yards ending with a nine-yard TD pass from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb to go up 10-7 with 5:32 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles also scored on a Dameon Pierce five-yard run that capped a 13-play 76-yard drive. That score gave the Eagles a 14-10 lead with 13:25 left in the first half.
The Cowboys then drove 81 yards on 14 plays that ended with a Prescott-to-George Pickens 21-yard TD pass.
The half ended with Dallas ahead 20-14 after Aubrey 27-yard walk-off field goal.
The Eagles started the third quarter by crafting a brilliant 17-play, 84 yard drive that was capped off when McKee hit Lemon with a four-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-20 lead.
The drive took 9:16 off the clock.
That would be all the scoring the Eagles could muster the rest of the night.
The Birds defense simply could not get off the field. .
The Cowboys drove 61 yards to take a 6-21 lead on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Lamb. On the two-point conversion, Prescott walked into the end zone to give the visitors a 28-21 lead,
It seemed the Eagles defense thought No. 4 was wearing a red vest and was off limits.
Special teams also got into act with another poor kick return. Normally reliable kick returner Britain Covey injured his knee in the first half and did not return.
Dallas kicked off for 56 yards. Eagles Elijah Mitchell fumbled the catch. Mitchell did recover the drop, but could only return it for six yards.
The muff had the Eagles depleted offense start at their own 15-yard line. At this point Barkley was out of the game with a back issue. Pierce also left the game
Then Eagles right guard Tyler Steen was called for holding and the drive now starts at the eight.
Then the O-line gives up a sack.
Second and 20 at the five.
The drive drifted into the fourth quarter and stalled at the Eagles 23-yard line.
Pierce had to leave the game with an injury with just over eight minutes left in the fourth. The
Eagles literally were out of running backs at this point.
The Cowboys went on to score on a Aubrey 24-yard field goal and a Jevonte Williams two-yard run,
QUOTES AND STATS
Eagles receiver Hollywood Brown was asked about the Birds good start and how they just could not sustain the momentum.
“We definitely got off to a good start,” said Brown, who finished with two catches for 30 yards. “When you play a hot offensive team like that, we have to be complimentary. We've got to put points on the board. We got stagnate in the second half.
"When you're going against a good offense like that, you put yourself in a tough position.”
Brown was asked how the team keeps it together after losing five games in a row.
“We've got a close group,” Brown said at his locker after the game. “It's about pushing forward, takingi it one day at a time. In one week you can turn it around. We have to take it week by week.”
Barkley, who finished with 62 yards in seven carries and two receptions for nine yards spoke after the game about the situation the Birds are in right now.
“It sucks,” Barkley said at his locker after the game. “This isn't where we wanted to go. I try not to get down. I truly love this game. Sometimes you have to push your body to the limits.
“It's not going the way I want right now.
"It sucks because I'm trying to be the best leader I want to be. It's tough when you can't be out there for your team, but I can't make any excuses. This the hand I'm dealt with this year".
Barkley heaped praise on the Eagles training staff at a time when this group is under fire for what happened after the way Hurts was treated when he was first found to have a blood clot in his leg that eventually traveled to his lungs.
“I have to continue to trust the trainers, the strength coaches and everybody,” Barkley said. “They do an amazing job.
“The fact that I was able to go out there two weeks after this hamstring. They did a really great job.
“I'm not an easy person to deal with when I'm hurt. The rehab process, the mental part of it..I appreciate them but...I've just got to keep on. It sucks, just got to keep fighting.”
Dickerson returned to the lineup for the first time since game one. His presence clearly had an impact on the entire offense. He was asked about the Eagles success in the first half.
“We came out and executed our game plan,” Dickerson said at his locker. “It went good.”
Dickerson said he whiffed on some blocks in the second half. He was asked how he will deal with the mistakes and the five game losing streak.
“I'll hate myself for the next 24 hours,” Dickerson said. “I'll get over it and get back to practice.”
McKee finished w23 of 35 for 211 yards, one TD pass and an interception. He was sacked twice and finished with a QB rating of 79.6.
Lemon turned in his best game as an Eagle with seven receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Linebacker Zack Baun led the Eagles with nine total tackles (two solo) and a defended pass.
Eagles high-priced defensive tackles did not come up big on the stat sheet. Jordan Davis recorded four assisted tackles, no solo.
Jalen Carter had just two assists and no other stats.
FINAL WORD
Beebe was asked of this win could be a turning point for the Cowboys? Does he and his teammates see a light at the end of the tunnel?
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Beebe, who was a standout offensive lineman at Kansas State for four years before getting drafted by the Cowboys in the third round of the 2024 Draft. “We knew how important this game was. It's a division game, especially the way our division is going, it's still up in the air.
“We knew how important this game was coming in. We looked at this game as a way to get us back on track.
“Everybody was on it today. We played the way we should be able to play, the way we practice . It's a good feeling and hopefully we can carry this over until next week.” *
Email Al Thompson at al.thompson@footballstories.com
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