What we learned in the Dallas Cowboys 28-23 devastating loss to Philadelphia Eagles
The NFC East standing will show the first-place Philadelphia Eagles with a 2 1/2 game lead on the Dallas Cowboys.
But on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, it was just inches that separated the two teams in a 28-23 victory by the Eagles, who moved to 8-1 on the season.
The Cowboys (5-3) had their chances and will forever lament an apparent touchdown pass from quarterback Dak Prescott to tight Luke Schoonmaker that was overturned on replay as it was ruled his knee was down short of the goal line.
There was a two-point conversion by Prescott, who tossed a touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert to make the scored 28-23, that was nullified when he stepped out of bounds at the 1. The play was crucial because the 2-point conversion would have later allowed Dallas to tie the game with a field goal.
And when the Eagles were trying to run out the clock, running back DeAndre Swift fumbled with 1 minutes, 7 seconds left. But Micah Parsons was unable to get on it.
It was one three fumbles by the Eagles on the day that the Cowboys didn’t recover.
“It was another point of interest,” a frustrated Parsons said after the game. “The ball rolled their every which way. Who knows. But hen you get two touchdowns called back in the fourth quarter. I just feel like it just rolled their way.”
The Cowboys did force an Eagles punt and go the ball with 46 and quickly advanced the ball down the field courtesy of 56 yards in penalties against the Eagles.
After getting a first down at the 6, the Cowboys marched backward, thanks a to false start on guard Tyler Smith. Then Prescott was sacked for 11 yards before he could throw the ball away.
A delay of game made it third and the game at the 26.
A pass to CeeDee Lamb resulted in him being tackled at the four2-yard line as the clock expired.
“Stating the obvious: It’s a game of inches. We came up an inch or two short on a few plays,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “We knew this was the kind of game it was going to be. We came up short.”
The Cowboys host the New York Giants next Sunday.
They need to get back on the winning track to make the return engagement against the Eagles — on Dec. 10 at AT&T Stadium — important.
“We know who we are. We needed to make one more play tonight. … I love the way our team plays,” McCarthy said.
What we learned in the Dallas Cowboys crucial 28-23 loss vs. Philadelphia Eagles:
Prescott did all he could to win
Prescott couldn’t have played a better first half.
He used his arms and legs to put the Cowboys up 17-14 at halftime.
Prescott completed 10 of 16 passes for 153 yards with two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 133.6.
He ran for first downs and evaded sacks with his legs to complete passes down the field.
But with the Cowboys down 28-17 in the fourth quarter, the moment of truth came for Prescott. And on paper he passed with flying colors.
He led the Cowboys down the field but they failed to score on fourth down at the 1 when tight end Schoonmaker was tackled short of the goal line.
After an Eagles punt, Prescott took the Cowboys right down the field.
A 32-yard pass to Tolbert was followed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Tolbert to make the score 28-23.
His only error was running out bounds on a clear path toward a two-point conversion.
The Cowboys would have needed just a field goal at the end to tie if Prescott had stayed in bounds.
Prescott would get two more shots.
And facing a third and 21 from the Eagles 41 and back-to-back sacks, Prescott hit Lamb for 13 yards.
But he overthrew Tolbert on fourth down.
Prescott led the Cowboys down the field again but the Eagles stopped a 23-yard completion to Lamb as time expired — and before he could reach the end zone..
Lamb had 11 catches for 191 yards in the game as he continues to his hot streak. He is second player in Cowboys history with back-to-back games of more than 150 yards.
“We already knew what was at stake. We were prepared for the moment. Coach did a great job of preparing us for the two-minute situation. We didn’t blink. Unfortunately, we came up short, but Dak was very composed no matter what happened.”
Prescott finished game 29 of 44 for 374 yards with three touchdowns.
“I thought [Cowboys QB] Dak Prescott played extremely well,” McCarthy said. “You know, in these circumstances it’s a tough place to play. I think, obviously, their defense and their defensive line, I think it’s clear, is the strength of their defense. And [Prescott] made plays with his feet, hung in there in the pocket, took hits, I thought he played his butt off.”
It was no solace to Prescott.
“It sucks in the moment,” Prescott said. “But there’s a lot of good we can take (from this game.) … We’re doing things the right way. It’s just an inch here, an inch there. We gotta find a way to gain that.”
Fourth down gambles
If there was any question about the importance Sunday’s game, consider the aggressive mindset of both teams on fourth down.
The Eagles went for it twice on fourth down on their opening drive of the game. The first one came on fourth-and-1 on their own 32.
And then they went for it again on fourth-and-3 from the Cowboys 27. Quarterback Jalen Hurts followed with a pass to tight end Dallas Goedert for 15 yards. The Eagles scored on the next play.
Not to be out done, the Cowboys were similarly aggressive on fourth down early in the game.
On 4th-and-1 at the 33, Prescott connected with Lamb for 29 yards.
He then tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ferguson to tie the game at 7-7.
With the score tied at 14-14 late in the second quarter, Prescott hit Ferguson for 11 yards on fourth down.
A dropped by Michael Gallup three plays later forced the Cowboys to settle for a 51-yard field goal and a 17-14 halftime lead.
And down 28-17 in the fourth quarter, Prescott and the Cowboys did their own version of the “Tush Push” with a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 at the 15 to get a first down.
And then four plays later with the ball at the 1-yard line, the Cowboys went for it again on fourth down. A Prescott pass to tight end Schoonmaker was initially ruled a touchdown.
But review showed his knees were clearly down short of the goal line, giving the ball to the Eagles.
“You know, you go into a game, you have a game plan, you’re playing for fourth-down no different than first, second, and third-down,” McCarthy said. “Calls were good, well-executed. Once again, give a lot of credit to players and coaches, just seeing the confidence. That’s how we want to play, we want to be aggressive, we want to attack the defense, and make sure we empty our bucket.”
Hurts, “Tush Push” remains unstoppable
The Cowboys could do nothing to stop the Eagles fourth down play called the “Tush Push.
The Eagles it out on their opening drive drive of the game on fourth-and-1 on their own 32. Hurts rushed for two yards.
The drive ended a 12-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.
With the Cowboys up 14-7 in the second quarter, Hurts tied the game with a 1-yard run on the unstoppable quarterback sneak.
The Eagles made it 3 for 3 on the “Tush Push” in third quarter on 3rd-and-1 from the 22.
Hurts was also seemingly flawless as a passer.
Hurts completed 17 of 23 passes for 207 yards with 2 touchdowns and 36 yards rushing and a touchdown.
The Cowboys defense held receiver A.J. Brown to 7 catches for 66 yards, ending his NFL-record streak of seven straight games with at least 125 yards.
The Eagles rushing attack managed 109 yards on 33 carries.
And while the defense is kicking itself after allowing the Eagles to score two touchdowns in the third quarter, the second one was on a drive that was aided by three penalties, the Cowboys get three stops in the fourth quarter to give themselves a chance at the comeback.
Of course, Parsons recovery would have made it even easier.
“It was a toss up,” Parsons said. “Where we thought they would win, they won on 3rd and shorts and fourth ad shorts that continued drives. We need to make those stops and adjustments.”
“I don’t think we failed. I think this is another learning experience. And we just got to get better. It’s frustrating.”
Brandon Aubrey sets NFL record to open career
No kicker in NFL history has started a career better than Cowboys rookie Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey set an NFL record for the most field goals made (19) without a miss to start an NFL career with a 51-yarder in the second quarter to give the Cowboys a 17-14 lead at halftime.
Aubrey’s 51-yard field goal was his third field goal from 50-plus yards in 2023, tied with Ken Willis for the second-most 50-yard field goals by a Cowboys rookie. Brett Maher had the most by a Cowboys rookie with six 50-plus yard FGs in 2018.
