The Eagles picked a bad time to turn in the worst game they have played in weeks.
The Eagles looked sloppy on offense, hopeless on defense and frustrating throughout the game on Sunday in their 37-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, a loss that ended their hopes of making the playoffs.
Making the loss even more painful? Washington lost to Carolina, meaning the Eagles could have forced a winner-take-all Week 17 game if they were able to beat the Cowboys.
Instead, they have just one more meaningless game next Sunday against Washington before a very important and interesting offseason begins.
There will be plenty to talk about from this one, but for now, here are some thoughts from the loss:
Jalen Hurts
*** Yes, it was just Hurt’ third NFL start, so it is unfair to grade him on the same scale you would a veteran quarterback. That being said, he simply wasn’t good enough. Hurts cooled off considerably after a hot start, and the offense stalled because of it. The penalties were an issue, but after scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions, the Eagles got over 50 yards just once on their next seven possessions as the Cowboys pulled away.
*** Hurts and the offense were called for a delay-of-game on 4th-and-3 with just under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, down 30-17. It was a big play, and although he is a rookie, Hurts can’t let that happen in such a big spot.
*** Hurts had his first really bad, really ugly interception of his career at the worst possible time. The Eagles still had a chance, down 13 points with just over seven minutes to play, and the ball on the Dallas 17-yard line. On 3rd-and-13, however, Hurts threw it right into the hands of a Cowboys defender, who picked it off in the end zone. He fumbled the ball away on the next possession at the end of a run. It looked like he should have been ruled down, but it was very close, and end up being the second turnover in a row for the rookie quarterback.
*** On the first possession of the game Jalen Hurts took off down the sideline from about five yards out, and as he got to the pylon, he lowered shoulder and rocked a Cowboys defender to get in for the touchdown. It was an incredibly impressive play — but it was called back since Hurts stepped out of bounds. The Eagles scored on the next play, but the run by Hurts was a statement play. It is also worth pointing out that if Carson Wentz did that, it is viewed as reckless. But Hurts — with no injury history and a rookie in the league — clearly fired up the team with his decision to run over the Cowboys defender.
*** Hurts has been excellent on third down this season and that continued on Sunday. Hurts had one of his best throws of the game when he hit Greg Ward for a 17-yard gain on 3rd-and-9 towards the end of the second quarter. Then, on the same drive, he found Dallas Goedert down the sideline for a 23-yard completion on 3rd-and-2. The completions kept the drive alive and lead to a field goal, helping to slow down some of the momentum the Cowboys were gaining with 10-straight unanswered points.
Doug Pederson
*** The penalties aren’t completely on Doug Pederson, but the Eagles’ offense looked sloppy and undisciplined for the majority of the game on Sunday. After a hot start, scoring touchdowns on their first-two possessions, the offense completely fell apart, continually shooting themselves in the foot with penalties.
*** The worst stretch for the offense was following Darius Slay’s interception at the end of the third quarter. The offense got the ball on the Dallas 28-yard line. The drive ended on 33 after they were called for two false-start penalties — one on Zach Ertz, one on Isaac Seumalo. For the two penalties to come from two of the established starters on the offense made them that much more brutal.
*** It has been a good few weeks for Doug Pederson’s chances of keeping his job, but Sunday didn’t help, and it might have increased the chances Jeffrey Lurie goes with what was probably his initial play before Jalen Hurt went in — fire Pederson and fix Carson Wentz.
Secondary
*** The story of this game is the defense and the secondary’s inability to stop the Cowboys. Yes, they were playing without two of their starters, but Dallas did whatever they wanted in the passing game. The poor play was one of the main reasons the Cowboys scored on five-straight possessions, turning a 14-3 Eagles lead into a 30-17 deficit.
*** The Eagles’ secondary got off to a rough start. The defensive line was dominating, but the corners weren’t winning their one-on-one matchups, and the talented Cowboys receivers took advantage. Amari Cooper pulled in a 35-yard catch on the opening drive that lead to a field goal, then Michael Gallup caught a 21-yard pass across the middle on their third possession to cut the Eagles’ lead to 14-10.
*** The Cowboys kept going after Jacquet and he couldn’t do anything to stop them, as he got beat by a 55-yard catch-and-run by Gallup midway through the second quarter. The long catch helped set up a field goal to pull the Cowboys within 14-13. On the next drive Jacquet gave up a seven-yard touchdown to Gallup, giving the Cowboys a 20-14 lead.
*** Nickell Robey-Coleman’s season-long struggles continued on Sunday when he was beat by CeeDee Lamb on a 52-yard touchdown on the first possession of the third quarter. It is unclear if Robey-Coleman expected help, but he was beaten badly off the line of scrimmage and Lamb ran right by him wide open for the easy touchdown.
*** The Eagle eventually moved Jalen Mills to cornerback in place of the struggling Jacquet.
*** K’von Wallace made a really nice tackle on 3rd-and-1 with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter, bringing down Dalton Schultz after the catch just short of the first-down marker.
*** Darius Slay had his first interception of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Eagles’ season felt like it was on a life support, down 30-17 and the Cowboys had the ball at the end of the third quarter. Dalton dropped back and tried to hit CeeDee Lamb deep, and Slay made a great play to jump in front of it and pick it off, giving the Eagles the ball in Cowboys territory.
Receivers
*** DeSean Jackson started the game and it didn’t take him long to make his presence felt. Jackson pulled in a perfectly thrown 81-yard touchdown on the Eagles second drive, getting behind the Cowboys secondary and using his speed to break away after the catch. The touchdown gave the Eagles a 14-3 lead in the first quarter. Jackson did not, however, get another target in the game -- an odd decision from the coaching staff.
*** Jalen Reagor had a chance at a touchdown towards the end of the second quarter when Hurts tried to connect with him in the end zone from 20-yards out on 3rd-and-4. The pass might have been a little high, but Reagor seemed late to turn for the ball and his route didn’t look great (at least on first watch).
*** Reagor had another chance to make a big play when at the end of the second quarter when the Eagles had the perfect play called. Reagor got the ball with only three seconds left in the half, but had five blockers in front of him. Somehow, Reagor allowed the only Cowboys defender in sight to bring him down, ending the half. Reagor has not been impressive the last few weeks as his role as increased.
Offensive Line
*** Matt Pryor was called for two false starts in the first half, both in big spots. The first knocked the Eagles out of field goal range. The second came with the Eagles driving to make something happen at the end of the first half, but the five-yard penalty basically killed the drive.
*** Jordan Mailata was beat by Randy Gregory midway through the third quarter for a strip-sack, which the Eagles were able to recover. The sack was a killer, however, as it came after the Eagles had just completed a 43-yard pass to Quez Watkins. It turned a 1st-and-10 into a 2nd-and-23, and two plays later, the Eagles had to punt.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
