In a game that the Eagles were poised to dominate, they did just that. Philadelphia blew out the Dallas Cowboys 34-6 Sunday to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC East. Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for another two more. The defense forced five turnovers and held the Cowboys to 146 total yards of offense. The win marked the first time the Eagles have won in Dallas since 2017.
Philadelphia’s defense got off to strong start, forcing Dallas to go three-and-out on the opening drive of the game. After an ugly first series for the Eagles where the pass protection failed and allowed back-to-back sacks to end the drive, Dallas quarterback Cooper Rush bobbled the snap on the first play of the ensuing drive and Milton Williams pounced on the football for a takeaway deep in the Cowboys’ territory.
On a 3rd and 6, Saquon Barkley hauled in a pass behind the line of scrimmage and made a couple of defenders miss to pick up 12 yards. A play later, the Eagles used the “Tush Push” and Jalen Hurts scored to take a 7-0 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.
Dallas answered with a 46-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey to make it 7-3 with 3:10 left in the opening quarter. On the Eagles’ third drive, Hurts and the offense moved the ball down the field with ease, highlighted by a 30-yard catch from A.J. Brown to the Dallas 12-yard line to close out the first quarter. On the next play, Hurts was picked off by Trevon Diggs in the endzone trying to connect with Dallas Goedert to end the promising drive. It was the first turnover for Hurts in five games.
The Eagles’ defense continued to dominate, forcing another three-and-out after the turnover. However, the Eagles couldn’t capitalize. Dallas put its best drive together on the following drive, going 13-plays and 77 yards before Ezekiel Elliott fumbled at the three-yard line, the ball bouncing into the end zone, Cooper DeJean fell on the loose football for a pivotal takeaway.
Unfortunately, Jalen Hurts gave the ball right back, fumbling on the second play of the ensuing drive, setting up the Cowboys at the Eagles’ six-yard line. The defense held strong and forced the Cowboys to kick a chip shot with Aubrey from 23-yards out to make it 7-6 with 1:48 left in the second quarter.
Philly would put together their best drive of the first half on their next series. Hurts marched the offense 85 yards down the field on seven plays in just 1:25 and made some big plays with his arms and legs, including a 24-yard scramble and then following it up with side stepping a free blitzer on a 14-yard touchdown strike to Goedert to make it 14-6 lead the Eagles would take to the half.
The Eagles put together a scoring drive on their second drive of the third quarter that was set up by a 31-yard punt return by DeJean to have the offense start on the Dallas 37-yard line. Hurts extended a third and goal from the five-yard line and found rookie wide receiver Johnny Wilson for the scoring connection for his first-career professional touchdown to make it 21-6 with 8:52 remaining in the quarter.
Vic Fangio’s unit continued to dominate Rush and the Cowboys offense, forcing a fifth three-and-out and quickly got the ball back into the offense’s hands. The Eagles orchestrated a seven-play, 83-yard drive with the key play being a beautifully thrown deep ball from Hurts to Brown for 44 yards to open the drive. It was capped off with Hurts’ second rushing touchdown, from eight yards out, for his fourth total touchdown of the game to give Philadelphia a commanding 28-6 lead at the 2:56 mark.
The defense also got in the fun on the following drive. Josh Huff finally made an impact play since joining the team, strip sacking Rush and linebacker Zack Baun scooped it up before it went out of bounds at the Dallas 21-yard line. It would result in Jake Elliott’s first field goal of the game to extend the lead, 31-6.
It was a huge defensive showing by the Eagles as they forced their fourth turnover of the game, and the Birds added a 38-yard field goal from Elliott to continue the rout, making it 34-6 with 10:32 left in the game. The Eagles would put in Kenny Pickett and other offensive backups to finish off the rout.
Defense Continues to Shine
The defense has taken some serious strides in the right direction and Sunday was no different. After forcing just two turnovers through their first six games, the Eagles have now forced a remarkable 10 takeaways in the last three games, forcing multiple in each game during that stretch. The five turnovers in the win are the most since October 2, 2022 against Jacksonville and the most ever at Dallas.
The Eagles have a quick turnaround and a huge matchup against the Washington Commanders on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
