NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia Eagles squeezed out a victory over their rival the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday afternoon. And while all the talk has been about what Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb accomplished and how they ALMOST won, what’s forgotten is that the Eagles did not play their A-game.
Let’s break this down. Despite their lack of dominance, the Philadelphia Eagles are still 8-1. They’re still the top team in the NFC and the NFL. And they are still the reigning NFC Champs. Yes, Prescott and the passing attack of the Cowboys had a field day against the Eagles’ secondary, but hell, what team hasn’t? And yet, their only loss this year was due to a lack of focus.
Prescott passed for 374 yards, 3 TDs, and 0 INTs. Prescott played great and Lamb torched the secondary for 191 yards. He got busy. On the other side of the ball, the Eagles’ offense struggled all afternoon.
Jalen Hurts completed 17-23 passes for 207 yards and 2 TDs. AJ Brown, in the midst of one of the best receiving stretches ever, was held to 7 catches for 66 yards and 1 TD. DeVonta Smith has held to 51 yards on 3 catches. What’s becoming a theme lately, D’Andre Swift was damn near non-existent, again. And yet, they are 8-1.
Analysts and Cowboys fans can talk all day about what could’ve happened if one of the fumbles had gone their way. Well, that’s how you separate great from the good. The Cowboys had their A-game from the get-go if you just look at the stats. There is no way you could see those numbers and think the Cowboys lost. But they did.
Philadelphia Eagles Must Work On Secondary Issues
And they lost to a team that wasn’t on the A-game. They were hungry, confident, and had a point to prove after what happened against the San Francisco 49ers. The Eagles are not only their rival but they are the team the rest of the NFC is chasing. And you still didn’t beat them while they played their B/C game and you were at your best.
No, the Cowboys get no moral victories here. There is nothing they can take away from this game and say “we can hang with the Eagles.” Just stop it. In order to beat this team, you have to be clicking on all cylinders. If you can hold that offense under 30 points and Hurts under 250 passing yards and you still don’t win, where is the moral victory there? That means the Philadelphia Eagles shot themselves in the foot and you couldn’t take advantage.
While there is a rematch in a few weeks, the Cowboys will more than likely like to use this game as motivation. Ummm no. This is becoming a common trend with this team. Use the losses against top teams as motivation for other top teams then you still go out and lose the game. As for the Philadelphia Eagles, they need to watch this and figure out how they let things get out of hand. The Cowboys were on the ropes but the Eagles offense sputtered and the defense damn near let them down.
8-1 means they are the best as far as records go but this Philadelphia Eagles team needs to fix a ton of issues before they face the 49ers in two weeks. The Niners are not the Cowboys, they will see a weakness and expose it.
