Dallas Cowboys Need to Shake Off the Rust

The Dallas Cowboys played a sloppy game against the Philadelphia Eagles and they need to shake off the rust going forward.

The Dallas Cowboys got a big win against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night, but it wasn’t pretty. There were too many mistakes and sloppy overall play from the Cowboys, who were lucky to escape with the victory.

It’s understandable; after playing five weeks of strong football and reeling off five straight wins, the Cowboys had their bye week. It appeared as though the time off zapped some of the momentum from Dallas; gone was the crisp, clean play we had gotten accustomed to seeing.

The Cowboys had too many penalties, 11 in total, for 84 yards on the game. That was four more infractions and for 24 more yards than they’ve had in any other game this season.

There was also poor execution all-around, which led to a struggle against the Eagles. Return man Lucky Whitehead made two boneheaded decisions to put the Cowboys in tough situations. The first one almost cost the team on the opening kickoff, but the bigger mistake was fielding a punt inside the five-yard line. That decision cost the Cowboys field position, and eventually seven points, by giving Philadelphia a short field to work with.

Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott wasn’t much better. His mechanics were off for most of the game; he often misfired to wide open intended receivers or didn’t see the open options at all. Prescott eventually settled down, which came when he began spreading the ball around, but the Eagles managed to knock the quarterback off his game.

None of this is shortchange the win over a division rival, it was a great win. In fact, it was another positive to Prescott and the Cowboys’ season, they found a way to win when they didn’t play great football. Dallas managed to play their best when it mattered most, a very encouraging sign.

But Dallas won’t win six more games playing like they did Sunday. The Eagles are a very good team, one who challenges most opponents with their defense, but the Cowboys need to get back into a rhythm. The team found it late against the Eagles and hopefully it will carry over to their game in Cleveland this weekend.

Nothing seems to help teams get right like playing the Cleveland Browns, but no game should be taken lightly. Each week that passes puts more pressure on a win-less team to get that elusive victory, so expect the Cowboys to get the best from the Browns.

The opportunity is there, however, for the Cowboys to get their groove back and the end of last week’s game felt should’ve left them with a positive feeling. The big money months are coming and Dallas has some of their tougher match-ups down the stretch. The time to play their best football is now.

Next: Cowboys show determination in overtime win vs. Philadelphia

Winning is always great and the Dallas Cowboys are for real, but they need to build up that momentum again. They had it against the Cincinnati Bengals and they had it on the road in Lambeau Field, but they lost some it against the Eagles.

It’s time for the Cowboys to get that locomotive going again.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi