The Dallas Cowboys were back on the opening night of the season. Facing their division rivals and the defending champion Eagles, they came up short 24-20. The Cowboys started off strong, even leading 14-7 at one point, but only managed field goals the rest of the way,
There were plenty of things that happened during the course of the game that tipped the odds in Dallas' favor. From Jalen Carter being ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott, to the weather delay to look at new strategies, the Cowboys arguably had the Eagles right where they wanted them.
However, there is too much blame to go around for why the Cowboys lost to Philadelphia for the third time in a row.
3 Cowboys to blame most for the loss to the Eagles
1. CeeDee Lamb
Seeing Dak and CeeDee Lamb back on the field was great and in the first quarter Lamb looked primed for a big night. However, as the night wore on he started becoming the poster child for someone to blame for this loss. Lamb has struggled with dropped passes before, but the ones he had on Thursday night came at the worst times.
The two that stand out came almost back-to-back on the Cowboys' final drive to try to win the game. After converting a critical 3rd-and-5 to Pickens, Prescott threw arguably his best ball of the night. He looked for Lamb down the middle of the field and the ball hit him right in his hands but he dropped it. After he could not hold on, it was almost picked which would have added insult to injury.
If Lamb catches that pass, the Cowboys' offense is back in business. They needed a spark after not pouring a drop of points on the scoreboard in the second half. Lamb did have a chance for redemption a few plays later.
On 4th down, Prescott took another shot downfield for Lamb. Once again he could not hold on to the ball and the game was over at that point. While that catch would have been more difficult, Lamb had it in his hands. Statistically, Lamb had one of his best games in a while with 110 yards, but all everyone will remember are those critical dropped passes.
If he catches either of those, the Cowboys would have had a great chance to spoil the Eagles party. It is only the first game. Lamb should still be considered this team's best player, but he deserves the most amount of blame for this loss.
2. Miles Sanders
Miles Sanders was looking for revenge against his former team, but instead committed his new team's only turnover. Javonte Williams proved his worth with two rushing touchdowns and hard running from the jump, but Sanders showed he might be on the chopping block soon. He had one of his best outings in a long time with 54 yards, but his big mistake was more costly than fans might think.
After Sanders broke off a long run to get the Cowboys inside the redzone on their first drive of the third quarter, the momentum started shifting. While a penalty on George Pickens slowed the drive, the Cowboys were in prime scoring position after the Eagles committed a penalty of their own. On first down at around the ten yard line Sanders took the handoff but was stripped of the ball and the Eagles recovered.
That wound up being the closest Dallas would get to scoring the rest of the night. While the lightning delay gave both teams to regroup, the Cowboys did not seem to have much life on offense after that fumble. Had Sanders not fumbled, Dallas would have had a great chance to score to take the lead or at worst cut the lead to one on a field goal.
Rookie running back Jaydon Blue did not play in this game, but after seeing Sanders do that he should probably be getting ready to see more action soon. The Cowboys are once again going with a "running back by committee" approach and right now Williams is in the driver's seat. Sanders' error drained a lot of momentum out of this offense and for that he deserves blame for this loss.
3. Jay Toia
In a surprising move the Cowboys deactivated Mazi Smith before the game as a healthy scratch. With Kenny Clark coming over from the Micah Parsons trade, the defensive tackle position got much better alongside Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas. That meant rookie Jay Toia got playing time alongside Clark and Odighizuwa. Needless to say, he did little to make any impact.
He had one tackle and while he did show flashes a few times working on the interior of that defensive line, he looked far from ready to help slow down this vaunted Eagles rushing attack. Philadelphia rushed for 158 total yards and while that is not the worst outing this run defense has had, Toia looked lost.
Some of blame can go to the coaching staff for putting a rookie seventh-round draft pick out there too early. This could have been a real chance for Toia to prove he belongs long-term after an uneventful preseason. Clark and Odighizuwa are rock solid in the middle, but outside of them, there are lots of questions as to who deserves to play alongside them in the rotation.
While Toia has a lot he can work on, some of the blame for this loss falls on him being unable to help slow down the running game in his first start.