Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys: 10 Thoughts After Blowout Loss

The Philadelphia Eagles played their second straight lackluster game and now a trip to visit the Seattle Seahawks awaits

Two infamous streaks are still alive for the Philadelphia Eagles after losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 33-13, on Sunday night.

First: They still haven’t swept the Cowboys in the regular season since 2011.

Second: They still haven’t beaten them in Dallas since 2017.

Maybe next year, or if they meet again in the playoffs, perhaps they’ll get another chance at ending the drought in Big D.

As for the game, well for the second straight week, it was another disappointment.

Here are 10 thoughts from the loss that leaves them 10-3:

Turning point. Three fumbles, all on the Cowboys’ side of the field - one each from Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith.

Jalen Hurts’ cough-up at the Dallas 21 may have been the most costly. The Cowboys had just marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead and the Eagles looked poised to answer despite committing three penalties on the drive.

They may not have finished the march with a touchdown, but it would have been interesting to see what a 7-7 game would have done Maybe not much, especially with a defense that couldn’t make a stop in the first half, but still, it would have been interesting to see how things would have played out from there.

Schedule. Perhaps this gauntlet has taken its toll mentally more than physically. The Eagles looked slow and tired against Dallas, which was game four in the six-game run that began in Week 9 with the Cowboys and was followed bye and then the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and San Francisco 49ers.

It continues Monday night in Seattle.

“We’re 10-3,” said Brandon Graham. “At the end of the day, everybody (forget about) first-round bye. We just gotta make it through the week, and we gotta make sure we get back into the win column.

“The last two games, they got us. Point blank, period. All the credit to them guys … We gotta make sure we clean all this up before the real stuff starts, the playoffs. Right now, it’s just a week-to-week game.”

Philadelphia Eagles rookie Kelee Ringo had his first extended snaps of the season and it didn't go particularly well / USA Today

Coaching. Fall behind at halftime in six straight games and that’s a coaching issue. Adjustments are all well and good, but if you trail by 24-6 like the Eagles did against Dallas that’s a steep hole to climb out of. The Eagles have to find a way to start quicker – and that’s up to the coaches to put in a plan that will allow that to happen, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where the Cowboys scored points on all four first-half possessions.

Target share. Hurts targeted just three receivers, and they were the three you would expect – receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert. Head coach Nick Sirianni likes to say that the offense runs through those three players, but to target them and only them is ridiculous.

Is it plays being called or is it that Hurts has a bad case of tunnel vision?

Julio Jones. In eight games since being signed off the couch, the Hall of Fame receiver has been targeted just eight times and has five catches for 16 yards and one touchdown. 

Three of the games he played came with Dallas Goedert out. What was the point of signing him if he’s not going to be used? Either he has nothing left or nobody can figure out how to incorporate him into the offense.

Zach Ertz. Does anybody think the former Eagles tight end can be the answer in Philly’s quest to find another option?

Defense. Yes, it got torched again in the first half before any sort of adjustments could be made. Unlike last week’s loss against the San Francisco 49ers, however, at least the Eagles held the Cowboys without any touchdowns in the second half. Call it a small miracle, but one that needs to be pointed out, I guess.

Josh Sweat. He has been invisible for the past two weeks. Some of that could have to do with having to play against two of the best left tackles in the business in back-to-back weeks in San Fran’s Trent Williams and Dallas’ Tyron Smith or it could have to do with his unusually large number of snaps Sweat is playing. 

He played 53 snaps on Sunday. Coming into the game, he had played 77 percent of the snaps this season coming off a season in which he played just 53 percent of his snaps. The Eagles' lack of depth on the edge could be catching up to him.

Nolan Smith. The rookie played the most snaps of his season, getting 21. He didn’t show up on the stat sheet. His development, with a continually increasing role over these final four games, is important not only for him and the team but also to take some of the load off Sweat.

Kelee Ringo. The rookie cornerback had played one defensive snap all year, and that was against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. He got 22 in this one, some good, some not-so-good. Not long after he entered the game, he found himself matched up with CeeDee Lamb on a third down throw.

Ringo was called for a double penalty – pass interference, which looked ticky-tack, and face mask which was legit.

Playing Ringo, though, should be a good thing. Like Smith, development over these final four games can only serve the Eagles well in the future, either by liking what they see of these two youngsters or knowing they need more help in the offseason at their positions.

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