Dallas Cowboys offense struggles while Eagles fly to victory, 17-9

In a must-win game for the Dallas Cowboys, they once again came up short as Big D was outcoached and outplayed by a depleted Philadelphia Eagles team.

The Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles walked onto the field knowing that this game would be the deciding factor in who would win the NFC East title. Well, at least the Eagles did as the Cowboys just couldn’t get anything going in the first half. The Cowboys offense wasn’t able to move the ball at all while the Eagles were able to jump out to a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter.

The Dallas Cowboys were able to start moving the ball against the Eagles defense and make it a 10-6 game after kicker Kai Forbath was able to convert on his two field-goal attempts. The Eagles would take the lead into the half with the Cowboys receiving the ball at the end of halftime. If you had to describe the first half of this game for the Dallas Cowboys I would call it, unprepared.

If you thought the Dallas Cowboys halftime adjustments were going to help rite the ship you would be wrong. Even with the Eagles losing starting cornerbacks Ronald Darby for the game and Jalen Mills for about a quarter, the Cowboys failed to attack the Eagles secondary as quarterback Dak Prescott wasn’t able to connect with his receivers. They also weren’t able to really get running back Ezekiel Elliott going as the Eagles defense loaded the box to stop him.

The Cowboys defense continued to battle but with the offense continuing to go three and out they started to wear down. The Eagles to capitalize on that and score a touchdown on a Miles Sanders run in the red zone making it 17-6. The Eagles would continue to pound the Cowboys with their running game and the tired Cowboys defense wasn’t able to stop them.

The Cowboys defense in the fourth quarter started to get a few stops and forced the Eagles to kick a 55-yard field goal, which they would miss setting up the Cowboys to drive down the field. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to punch the into the endzone and had to settle for another field goal to make it 17-9.

The Cowboys would again have a shot to score a touchdown but the ball to receiver Michael Gallup would be knocked away in the end on fourth down giving the Eagles the ball with under 1:30 left in the game. The Eagles would then use their running game to run the clock down and effectively end the Dallas Cowboys season.

This game came down to coaching plain and simple. The Eagles coaches with a depleted roster were able to create a gameplan that the Cowboys coaching staff was unable to answer. Which is basically the story of the Cowboys season, either the players weren’t playing to their potential or the Cowboys coaches were just flat-out outcoached.

Next up for the Dallas Cowboys a game against the Washington Redskins in Arlington next Sunday while fans will be hoping the Philadelphia Eagles lose to the New York Giants in the Big Apple.