Cowboys Inches Short In Comeback
The Dallas Cowboys looked to be on the verge of an impossible comeback Sunday afternoon. But, in the end they fell inches short on two different plays and the Cowboys (5-3) leave Philadelphia with another loss, 28-23, to the Eagles (8-1) and more than two games back in the race for the NFC East crown.
PRESCOTT VS. HURTS
Dak Prescott was hot early in Sunday’s game, but it was the play of Jalen Hurts in the second half that counted most.
Hurts led the Eagles to touchdowns on their first two drives of the second half, while Prescott could muster up just one score, and that was enough for the Eagles to win on Sunday.
Hurts finished completing just 17 passes for 207 yards, but he didn’t commit any turnovers and threw those two touchdowns in the second half.
Prescott put up monster numbers, but in the end, it was a sack and a throw short of the end zone with the Cowboys trailing by five and waning seconds of the game that will be remembered most. Prescott finished with 374 yards passing on 29 of 44 throws. He threw for three touchdowns, but that was not enough.
The first half went to Prescott with his pair of touchdown passes. He completed 10 of 16 throws for 153 yards and touchdown throws to CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. He didn’t throw an interception, and was never close to turning the ball over, racking up a 133.6 quarterback rating in the first 30 minutes. Prescott did have four runs for 10 yards, including one for a first down.
Hurts, not quite as good through the air, completing 10 of 13 passes for 120 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. But he hurt the Cowboys with his legs, rushing for 22 yards on five carries, including two ‘tush push’ plays – one on fourth down that earned them a first down, the other at the goal line that scored the Eagles second touchdown of the game.
SECOND RECEIVER A NO-SHOW
The Cowboys must find a second receiver to compliment CeeDee Lamb, who went off for 191 yards on 11 catches and one touchdown in the loss.
That second guy, he didn’t emerge on Sunday against the Eagles, and it proved detrimental.
Michael Gallup is listed as the No. 2 receiver on the roster, but he hasn’t shown up yet this season, including Sunday, where he finished with two catches on three targets for 19 yards.
Prescott went to him on a crucial third down and three, late in the first half with the game tied and the Cowboys driving. Gallup ran a 4-yard crossing route that would have resulted in a first down, was wide open for an NFL receiver, but the ball bounced off his hands for an incompletion. It was the only pass thrown his way in the first half. The Cowboys settled for a Brandon Aubrey field goal.
Jalen Tolbert had three big catches for 49 yards and a touchdown in the second half, while Brandin Cooks had just one catch for seven yards and that was it for the wide receiver room.
FERGUSON SHINES
Jake Ferguson had a career day.
The second-year tight end finished with seven catches for 91 yards and one score.
He got the Cowboys on the board with their first score of the game, an easy four-yard catch and run for the touchdown.
Ferguson, who was targeted 10 times, made several contested catches, including a 40-yard grab that flipped the field early in the second quarter. That drive ended with a KaVontae Turpin 5-yard touchdown catch and a 14-7 lead for the Cowboys.
He made three catches for 29 yards in the second half, including a 12-yard catch for a first down and a 10-yard grab on Dallas’ final drive that came up empty.
UNBALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK
The Cowboys again failed to get their ground attack on track.
With just 69 yards on 18 called runs in the game. Tony Pollard led the way with 51 yards on 12 carries, for a 4.3-yard average per carry. But the Cowboys refused to commit to it, even when leading or tied early in the game.
Instead, the Cowboys threw the ball on over 72-percent of the 70 snaps they ran on offense.
Rico Dowdle had just two carries for eight yards, while KaVontae Turpin rushed once for no gain.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has said since the beginning of the season that the offense needs to be more balanced but has yet to make that happen as the team’s primary play caller.
AUBREY SETS NFL RECORD
With a 51-yard field goal that gave the Cowboys a 17-14 lead late in the first half was a record breaker for Brandon Aubrey.
The kick was Aubrey’s 19th straight field goal made to start his NFL career, which breaks the record of 18 set by Travis Coons in 2014.
Aubrey was shaky in the first half, clanking one of his two extra points bang off the upright and go through for the point. His kickoff following, went out of bounds at the Philadelphia two, which set the Eagles up at the 40 and led to a touchdown that tied the score at 14 midways through the second quarter.
Aubrey’s 51-yarder was his third 50-plus yard field goal of the season, which ties him with Ken Willis for second most by a Cowboys rookie. He needs three more to catch Brett Maher, who had six in 2018.
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BIG HUGE GIANT MONSTER Play of the Game
Down 11 with just over 10 minutes left in the game, the Cowboys decided to go for it on fourth and goal from the Eagles 1. Cowboys tight end Luke Schoonmaker ran a 1/2-yard route, caught the pass, but came up short of the end zone to turn the ball over on downs. Again, the Cowboys can’t come up with a score in the red zone at the most crucial of times and leave points on the field when trailing. It has become all too familiar with this team in games against top notch competition.
BIG HUGE GIANT MONSTER Play of the Game 2
After scoring a touchdown with just over six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys went for two to cut try and cut the Eagles lead to three. The play was a called pass, but Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott felt pressure and escaped the pocket to the right in an all-out race to the end zone pilon. Prescott appeared to beat the defender and get inside the pilon, which he did. But he stepped out of bounds with his right foot at the 1-yard line with the ball about 1/2-yard from breaking the plane of the goal line.
UNSUNG Play of the Game
With the Cowboys driving for the winning touchdown, Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat came up biggest when his team needed it most. On first and 10 from the Philadelphia 11, Sweat blew through Cowboys right tackle Terence Steele and sacked Dak Prescott for an 11-yard loss that allowed the time on the clock to run down to 0:11 to play. After an incomplete pass and a false start on Tyler Smith, the Cowboys final play came up three yards short on a 23-yard strike to CeeDee Lamb just short of the goal line.