Cooper Rush's Cowboys Plagued by Turnovers, Trail Eagles 20-3 at Halftime

The streaking Dallas Cowboys were pushed around by the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles through one half on Sunday night.

Zach Dimmitt | Oct 16, 2022

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There weren't too many blood-pumping thrills to write home about when the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles clashed for their usual pair of meetings last season. In two blowout victories, the Cowboys outscored their arch rival 92-47 and won by at least 20 in both.

But heading into Sunday night's matchup in Philadelphia - the first of two more annual matchups for the NFC East heavyweights - the Eagles (5-0) and Cowboys (4-1) gave no indications there would be another blowout in store.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the blowout trend did end up rearing its ugly head into halftime at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday as Dallas trailed 20-3.

After the Cowboys went three-and-out on the first drive of the game, Dallas defensive end Dorance Armstrong kept up what has been a dominant display of pass-rushing ability from the Dallas defense. He picked up his fifth sack of the season, forcing Philly into a long down and distance.

But then crucial penalties started hurting the Cowboys -- on both sides of the ball.

A potentially promising drive for the Dallas defense saw Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush find rookie tight end Jake Ferguson for a 13-yard gain, seemingly igniting some life. But Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb committed a pointless push in the back, which negated any such gain after the ensuing block-the-back flag.

With a touch of momentum in their pockets, the Eagles didn't let up -- and neither did the flags against Dallas. A ensuing 15-play, 80-yard drive for Philadelphia was extended on fourth-and-short at the Cowboys 10-yard line when Dallas defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. jumped in the neutral zone, handing the Eagles a first down via penalty.

Eagles running back Miles Sanders powered his way in for a five-yard score one play later to make it a 7-0 lead for Philadelphia.

But the first play after the touchdown, the flying Eagles plucked a tipped pass from Rush out of the air, as Philly cornerback CJ Gardner-Johnson came down with the pick.

With solid field position at the Dallas 44-yard line, the Eagles steadily used six straight runs before receiver AJ Brown leaked out and for a 15-yard catch-and-run touchdown to make it a 14-0 game.

The Cowboys then had a potential momentum-changing play snatched from their hands on the next drake. After a short catch on third down, Lamb powered his way past the defense and extended the ball past the first-down marker. However, the officials ruled him short and didn't stop play to review the spot.

At their own 34-yard line down 14-0, the Cowboys elected to go for it and went with a play-action pass that fell incomplete. Further replays showed that Lamb had extended for the first, an effort that NBC's rules analyst Terry McAulay admitted on the Sunday Night Football broadcast should have been ruled a first down upon review.

Luckily for Dallas, its defense held Philadelphia to a 51-yard field goal by kicker Jake Elliott despite the favorable field position.

But the luck was short-lived, as Rush uncharacteristically threw his second interception, as Philly All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay gave the Eagles excellent field position once again and another Elliott field goal. Philadelphia had built a 20-0 lead.

An ensuing 63-yard kick return from Cowboys returner KaVontae Turpin was Dallas' best play of an abysmal half, setting the offense up at the Eagles 41-yard line.

Dallas receiver Noah Brown nearly had the touchdown catch of the season a few plays later, but he ran out of room service in the back of the end zone and the play was ruled incomplete upon review.

After two more incomplete passes, the Cowboys settled for a 30-yard Brett Maher field goal to get on the board, but had a major hill to climb down 20-3 headed into half.

The Eagles will receive the second-half kickoff.

HALFTIME STATS

Cowboys

QB Cooper Rush: 5 of 16 passing for 36 yards and two interceptions

RB Tony Pollard: five carries for 22 yards

WR CeeDee Lamb: one catch for eight yards

Eagles

QB Jalen Hurts: 11 of 17 passing for 111 yards and one touchdown

RB Miles Sanders: nine carries for 39 yards and one touchdown

WR AJ Brown: four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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