They’ve won with defense. They’ve won with offense. They’ve won on the road. They’ve won in the rain.
On Sunday night they finally won against Dallas, and while it wasn’t pretty, it was a big win for a team that really needed one against their division rivals.
It was the perfect Philadelphia weekend and it is a glorious time to be a Philadelphia sports fan.
The Eagles are now 6-0 following their 26-17 win over Dallas, a win that kept them as the only undefeated team in the NFL in control of what is a surprisingly competitive NFC East.
While it is hard to call any game where a team is 5-0 a must-win game, Sunday night’s game against Dallas was close. With a loss the Eagles would have dropped below the Cowboys in the NFC East standing and gone from the No. 1 seed in the NFC to the No. 5 seed. They also would have been tied with the New York Giants, who somehow keep winning and are 5-1 following their win on Sunday.
But the benefits in the standings aside, the Eagles just really needed a win over the Cowboys. It was in some ways the last box they had to check — could they beat their division rival?
The answer to that question was finally yes.
The Eagles, like they have most weeks, came out on fire to start the game, jumping out a 20-0 lead in the second quarter. The offense scored on four of their first five possessions and seemed to be set for a big night. The defense was equally dominating, holding Cooper Rush to a passer rating of 1.0 in the first half while picking him off twice.
In the second half, like it has most weeks, things got ugly and closer than they needed to be — but also like they have done every week, the Eagles held on.
The turning point on offense was Lane Johnson leaving the game with a concussion. With Johnson on the field the offense was moving the ball easily. Once he left the Cowboys sent Micah Parsons directly at Jack Driscoll on every snap and the results were not pretty. The Eagles punted the ball on the first two possessions, picking up a total of just two first downs.
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On defense the struggles were just as bad in the second half. The tackling, which was strong in the first two quarters, once again became an issue. The defense seemed to be playing back in coverage, allowing the Cowboys to dink-and-dunk their way down the field. Add in a flag for a block-in-the back that was surprisingly picked up by the officials, and the Eagles defense went from dominating to allowing touchdowns on the opening two drives of the second half.
The game seemed to be almost lost when the Cowboys pulled back to within 20-17 at the end of the third quarter, but the offense responded, going on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that killed almost eight minutes off the clock. The big play on the drive was a 22-yard completion from Hurts to AJ Brown that got the Eagles down to the Cowboys seven-yard line. On the next play Hurts found DeVonta Smith for a touchdown, putting the lead back up to 26-17.
While it wasn’t the dominating showing it seemed to be at the beginning of the game, a win over the Cowboys is always going to be celebrated in Philadelphia, and this one felt more important than some of the more recent victories over Dallas.
There will be more tests along the way. The season is still far from over. The Cowboys will likely leave this game thinking if they had Dak Prescott they could have won the game.
In a season that is about passing different tests along the way, however, the Eagles showing they can beat Dallas was yet another step in the right direction.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
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