The Eagles are still flying high. The Philadelphia Eagles overcame their biggest obstacle of the season to date as they swept aside their archenemies, the Dallas Cowboys, 26-17 to go to 6-0 and remain unbeaten.
This Philly team really is legit. I had my doubts about them, considering the only notable team they’ve played thus far has been the Vikings (which was a Week 2 matchup, so it really wasn’t that indicative), as to their ability to beat good teams.
Yet, they set these doubts to rest as they easily swept aside the Dallas Cowboys in that first half.
Jalen Hurts and the Philly offense exploded on the Top-5 ranked Dallas defense as they scored 20 unanswered points in the second quarter alone.
Hurts, in particular, was very impressive as he was scanning, reading, and moving the ball out of his hand quickly all night long. Even though his overall numbers weren’t that great (he finished 15/25, 155 yards, 2 TDs), his poise in the pocket was what allowed Philly’s run game to trample over Dallas’ linebackers.
Not even the great Micah Parsons could get a handle on the Eagles rushing attack as Myles Sanders rushed 71 yards, Jalen Hurts had 27 yards, Kenneth Gainwell added another 25 yards, and Boston Scott capped off the night with an additional 16 yards.
In total, the Eagles offense rushed for 139 yards against what was the 8th best rushing defense in the NFL, which is a huge compliment to the skill and persistence Philly’s backs (and Jalen Hurts) displayed.
Though, despite getting off to a terrible start as the Cowboys finished the first half down 20-3 and having thrown 2 picks, Cooper Rush and Co. did manage to pull off a vain comeback in the 3rd Quarter.
As Ezekiel Elliott always does, he had a great night against the Eagles. His 3rd Quarter TD run, where he rushed through the right-side C-gap, cut across the middle of the field with Flecther Cox at his back, and then outran the Eagles’ safeties into the endzone, was probably the best play of the night for the Cowboys. I’ve been very critical of Zeke this season, though I can’t complain about his performance last night.
He was the one shining light on what ended up being a miserable, Philly Green night for Dallas.
Another guy who caught my eye on the Dallas offense was rookie TE Jake Ferguson. He can really play.
Kind of like Jalen Hurts, he didn’t have a great night on the stat sheet as he only finished the game with 4 REC for 40 yards, but his understanding of the game and shiftiness really stood out. It’s not often you see a 200+lb. tight end juke out a cornerback and a safety on the same play, but that’s what Ferguson did on his touchdown catch to get the game close at 20-17 at the start of the 4th.
Dalton Schultz better comeback soon or he’ll find himself sitting on the bench watching the 129th pick out of Wisconsin starting in his spot.
Anyway, the real standout from this game was none other than the Philly defense. Apart from the 3rd quarter, they smothered Cooper Rush and the Dallas offense and prevented Dallas from getting any more momentum.
LB T.J. Edwards had 14 tackles, LB Kyzir White had 8, and S Marcus Epps had another five, while the newly acquired CB Chauncey Gardner-Johson had two interceptions and his CB partner Darius Slay had the third. Aside from Ezekiel Elliott’s 81 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD, no one else on the Dallas offense garnered more than 80 total yards. Moreover, this defense picked off Cooper Rush three times, which is three times more than any other team he’s faced in his career.
The Eagles defense should be considered one of, if not the, best defenses in the NFL today.
And so, with Jalen Hurts adding another TD pass to A.J. Brown midway through the 4th, the Cowboys unlikely comeback bid was stopped as the Eagles defeated their old nemesis to go to 6-0 on the season.
And with the Eagles facing off against the Steelers, Commanders, Texans, Colts, and Packers in the upcoming weeks, I don’t see how they finish with a record any worse than 4-1 in that stretch. Thus, with the Cowboys now 4-2 and two games behind Philly, I think the NFC East title is pretty much a two-horse race between the Eagles and the Giants.
Would anyone have predicted that coming into this season? I know I wouldn’t.
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