Heading into the week, the biggest storyline for the Philadelphia Eagles was the status of Jalen Hurts and whether he would be able to return to face the Cowboys after sustaining a concussion in the first quarter on a 13-yard run that ended with his head being driven into the turf by Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu. After being unable to go through the concussion protocol in one week, the narrative changed to whether Kenny Pickett could perform well enough after a week of practice to get the Eagles a win to secure the NFC East division and a home playoff game. The answer was an astounding yes!
Kenny Pickett, making his first start as a Philadelphia Eagle, led the offense much better after a week of practice. He left the game with injured ribs in the third quarter and a 27–7 lead.
Philadelphia improved upon last week’s undisciplined play when they had ten penalties for 91 yards, the most they have had in a game all season, by only committing four versus Dallas.
This was an encouraging, balanced win, with contributions by all three facets of the team. The Eagle’s defense rebounded after allowing 36 points against the Commanders, the offense put up points, and special teams did not allow any explosive plays. The Eagles also won the turnover battle by not committing any while Dallas had four turnovers of their own.
First Half
Philadelphia won the toss and elected to defer. Kicker Jake Elliott was back on kick-off duty after giving way to Braden Mann most of the season, and his first kickoff was through the endzone.
The Cowboy’s first possession began with a run and a 16-yard reception from Cooper Rush to Brandin Cooks for the game’s initial first down.
Their initial drive ended with a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown by Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, a career first! The Eagles DB broke down the team before heading to the locker room for the start of the game and brought that same energy to the field as the defense set the tone early with the early takeaway and a seven-point lead.
The Cowboy’s second possession started with what appeared to be some pushing, shoving, and talking seemingly directed at CJGJ, who looked to the sideline with his hands up as if to say “I’m good”. After being disqualified from the game last week, Dallas may have been trying to bait the most annoying player in the league. A couple of holding penalties assisted the Cowboys in getting to first and goal from the four, and it ended with a TD reception by Jalen Tolbert to finish off a 12-play drive to tie the game.
Pickett started the Eagle’s first offensive possession with good field position at their 39-yard line following a 5-yard penalty. His first two attempts were incomplete, and his third was completed for 5 yards far short of the sticks, and the Eagles were forced to punt.
Following a Cowboys 3 and out, the Eagles began their second possession at their 36 with three straight Saquon Barkley carries, gaining nine yards, but the loss of Jalen Hurts loomed large as they decided to punt on fourth and one as opposed to going for a Tush Push.
The Cowboys ended the first quarter with eight first downs and 117 total yards; the Eagles did not pick up a first down and only gained 14 yards. Despite an average starting field position from the 38-yard line, the Eagles did not get anything going offensively. The first-quarter offensive woes continued, despite a different Quarterback under center for the Birds.
Dallas began the second quarter by picking up a 3rd and one but was forced to punt on the next series.
The Eagles finally got momentum, despite starting with their worst field position of the day at the 19, and after Kenny Pickett fumbled on his second pass attempt of the quarter, which Saquon Barkley recovered, but a Dallas penalty negated the play. Pickett was operating in the hurry-up offense and finally found his rhythm and finished off a six-play drive with a 22-yard TD pass to Devonta Smith to take a 14–7 lead.
Oren Burks caused a fumble on the following Dallas drive, which was recovered by DT Jordan Davis, the Cowboys’ second turnover of the game.
The Eagles started off the drive from the Cowboys’ 39. On their second 4th and one opportunity of the game, Sirianni decided to go for it, much to the crowd’s delight, and picked up the first down with a 2-yard carry. Four plays later, they went for the Brotherly Shove again and picked up the first down via a Micah Parsons penalty. The drive stalled at the 13, and the Eagles kicker Jake Elliott made a 31-yard field goal to add to the lead, 17–7. The Eagles had the ball for 11 plays for 4 minutes and 35 seconds.
On the Cowboy’s ensuing drive, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson made his second interception with 36 seconds left in the game, and after a 27-yard return, the Eagles had the ball at their 35-yard line for their final possession of the half. They followed a 15-yard Saquon Barkley run with a 49-yard reception to DeVonta Smith that got the ball down to the one. Kenny Pickett took the second play in for a 1-yard touchdown. The Brotherly Shove was sorely missed last week without Jalen Hurts, and it affected the play-calling. The Eagles went for 1-yard via the tush push on four of five opportunities in the first half, playing a large role in their 24–7 halftime lead.
Kenny Pickett ended the half 9/14 good for two touchdowns, one via land and the other air. Pickett showed great patience and poise on the 49-yard pass play to DeVonta Smith by stepping up in a collapsing pocket to get the pass off.
The Cowboys brought safeties up in the box to eliminate the running game and were not showing respect to Pickett’s arm. They were burned twice by explosive plays in the passing game.
Last week, the defense forced five turnovers but could not capitalize, this week, they scored 10 points off turnovers in the first half.
Playing for an injured Nakobe Dean, Oren Burks caused a fumble in the 2nd Q, resulting in the second Cowboys turnover, he also led the team in tackles at the half.
Second Half
The Eagles came out of the half with the ball first and established the line of scrimmage with a 5-yard Saquon run. Following a penalty, they fed Saquon five more times before giving way to a Kenny Gainwell carry, followed by a Pickett pass to DeVonta Smith to get to first and goal from the nine. A beautiful TD pass and catch from Pickett to A.J. Brown was negated due to a penalty, but they still ended their 12-play 6-minute 57-second drive with an Elliott field goal to further pad their lead to 27–7.
The Cowboys went three and out and were never in the game in the second half, and they played like it.
After the Eagles opening drive, with a twenty-point lead, Pickett left the game with injured ribs and gave way to Tanner McKee with 6:34 left in the third quarter. On his first NFL series, Tanner completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown to end the drive and continue the blowout with a 34–7 score.
The Cowboys committed their fourth turnover of the game inside the Eagles red zone, a fumble recovered by Cooper DeJean, which ended a long drive.
The Eagles kept Saquon in the game during the fourth quarter despite a 27-point lead, he left the game after a 23-yard scamper to get to the Dallas red zone. Tanner McKee followed the Barkley run with his second touchdown pass of the game and his first to DeVonta Smith.
Before the touchdown pass, Landon Dickerson and Lane Johnson shook hands after the 23-yard run, and Landon went further with a ‘we aren’t worthy’ hand bow.
The Eagles dominated the game from the second quarter and finished the blowout with a 41–7 victory.
Eagles’ Players Shoutouts
Kenny Pickett grew up an Eagles fan, and in his first start for Philadelphia, he beat the Cowboys for the Eagles to win the division and secure a home playoff game and the two seed (at the least). What a win and moment that he could parlay into a starting job.
The last time the Eagles donned the Kelly Greens, Saquon Barkley made one of the most athletic plays in NFL history with his reverse hop over the Jaguar defender. He finished that game with 159 rushing yards and a TD on 27 carries. He finished this week’s game with 167 on 31 carries and is well on his way to breaking Eric Dickerson’s record.
Grant Calcaterra showed his value as a pass catcher with a big 34-yard catch to get the Eagles down to the Cowboys’ 20 on their second scoring drive.
DeVonta had his biggest game of the season by hauling in six receptions on seven targets, good for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, with two interceptions, has six on the season.
Oren Burks led the Eagles in tackles and was around the ball all day. He had an impressive start.
Braden Mann’s first punt went for 52 yards, and his second was 54, both inside the 20. He finished the game with three punts for 147 yards and has been a vital weapon for Philly in flipping the field.
Final thoughts:
The Philadelphia Eagles came into the game versus the Dallas Cowboys with three goals: to win the division, stay healthy, and move past a last-second loss at Fed Ex field a week earlier. If Kenny Pickett did not further injure his ribs, they accomplished all.
The Eagles beat the Cowboys 34–6 back in November in Dallas for their first win at Big D since 2017 (the year they won the SB), and they won convincingly again today 41–7. This is the first time they have swept Dallas since 2011.
Philadelphia’s Offense racked up 20 first downs, 181 rushing yards, and 197 passing yards.
The O-line is a clock killer! They dominated the time of possession 32:49 to 27:11.
The defense only allowed seven points, 267 yards, and created four turnovers.
Next week
The Eagles host the New York Giants to conclude the regular season on Sunday, January 5th, at 1 PM.
Now that the Eagles are locked into atleast the second seed, they will host a Wild Card game in the first week of the playoffs. The team hopes to return to their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. If the Eagles cannot achieve the number one seed, it will be interesting to see if they play any of their starters next week. Jalen Hurts will have missed 3 weeks of games before his post-season start if he sits during week 18. An intriguing storyline, but less important to their Super Bowl quest, is that Saquon Barkley now has 2005 rushing yards and only needs 101 to pass Eric Dickerson for the single-season record.
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Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
