October 26, 2026
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens catches one of Dak Prescott's 3 TD passes.
There were signs of life from the Eagles' run game and the overall offense, so naturally, the Birds didn't get the defensive effort they would need to break their four-game losing streak.
On a Monday night when just a pretty good defensive effort would've helped, the Eagles got the opposite.
They didn't stop the run. They didn't harass the quarterback. They let a struggling Cowboys offense generate more than 400 yards and lost for the fifth straight time, 38-21, at Lincoln Financial Field, an embarrassing loss to their NFC East rivals on the same night owner Jeff Lurie was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.
As we do every week, we hand out grades for Eagles performances:
They were down their top two wideouts, including star DeVonta Smith, but welcomed back Saquon Barkley, Landon Dickerson and Drew Kendall. They were more functional in the run game and in pass protection than they've been in weeks, maybe all season, which is why they scored their most total points since Week 2. But they're still a struggling offense, and Tanner McKee wasn't very impressive.
Rush offense
This was the healthiest the Eagles were up front since Week 1. It took just four plays and 125 seconds – and seven weeks, I suppose – for the Eagles to have their best drive of the season, with Barkley going 29 yards on his first carry to get deep into Dallas territory and then capping the drive with an 8-yard TD bounce to outside. Barkley piled up 62 yards but only carried seven times and left, yet again, with an injury, this time his back. Dameon Pierce averaged just 3.4 yards per carry until going to the locker room with an unannounced injury, leaving Eli Mitchell to take over, but by then the Eagles had fallen by behind double digits.
Pass offense
The ball came out of McKee's hands quickly, but he left a bunch of important throws short of the sticks and didn't take any opportunities to drive the ball despite decent pass protection. He melted down late, throwing a bad interception and taking some ugly sacks. Makai Lemon somewhat shined, catching a bunch of short passes and his first TD, but overall he has only shown to be a short-ball merchant with little YAC to show for it. Marquise Brown got opportunities, and did nothing with them. Darius Cooper was invisible.
This Dallas defense has been exploited all year but the Eagles could only move the chains with short, underneath stuff. McKee averaged less than 7.0 yards per attempt against the NFL's sixth-worst pass defense.
I'm not giving a pass here because they were thin at edge depth. It just wasn't good regardless. Dak Prescott stunk, but it wasn't because he was pressured and hurried all night; he was just wildly inaccurate despite having an eternity on his dropbacks.
Worse than that, the Eagles let the Dallas run game get going and faltered on third downs. Very surprising from a squad that was supposed to be among the NFL's best.
Rush defense
The Cowboys actually entered the game with fewer total rushing yards than the Eagles. Imagine that! Naturally, the Eagles couldn't adjust to the Cowboys' use of a Jumbo package with Broderick Jones coming in as an extra offensive tackle. The Cowboys ripped off several explosive runs, surpassing their season average of 76 rushing yards per game by halftime, with 101 on a 5.6 per carry average. They finished with a season-high 204 rushing yards – just their second time this season even surpassing 100 yards on the ground.
Javonte Williams ripped off a 34-yard carry in the fourth on a field goal drive that put the Cowboys up by 10. He finished with 155 yards and averaged 6.2 yards per tote. What kind of ROI are the Birds get on their big-money investments in DTs Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter? They should get refunded.
Pass defense
Just atrocious. No sacks, no QB hits, no pressure. Prescott had time to make ham sandwiches in the pocket, and eat them. Cooper DeJean got burned – again – from the slot, not getting his head around as CeeDee Lamb beat him to the right corner on a go-ahead TD in the first. His 15-yard pass interference in the fourth helped Dallas march to a field goal for a 10-point lead.
Vic Fangio didn't change his alignment when George Pickens made a very rare appearance in the slot and got matched up against safety Andrew Mukuba, who then surrendered a 21-yard touchdown pass from Prescott, who had enough time to get his toenails polished before throwing the ball. After the Eagles fought like heck to take the lead in the third, Dallas marched 61 yards to retake the lead on a touchdown thanks to Riq Woolen, who allowed 48 of those 61 yards, including the 16-yard TD Lamb caught on him.
When did this Eagles secondary suddenly start to melt?
It wouldn't be an Eagles game without some kind of injury, so naturally Britain Covey hurt his knee on a return in the first quarter and was ruled out shortly after. Dameon Pierce and Elijah Mitchell took over kickoff return duties and Dallas wisely kicked off short of the end zone, making each of them return the ball.
Team MVP Braden Mann booted a 48-yard punt to the Dallas 2 on his first punt, with less than 2:30 before the half to make sure Dallas didn't have good field position. He had a 61-yarder at the start of the fourth, with Kelee Ringo making a good open field tackle.
Other than that, not many positives. The Birds allowed another kickoff return touchdown that got negated by a penalty but let Jonathan Mingo return a kickoff to near midfield, helping kickstart a Dallas go-ahead TD drive.
The good was Sean Mannion using all of his tight ends, finding some run game with two- and three-tight end formations, springing Makai Lemon on a tunnel screen (!) and over the middle. The Eagles were more functional offensively than they've been all season, as Mannion helped McKee get the ball out quickly.
But ... I hated the decision in the second half, with 1:39 to play, to come out passing. Their inability to get first down or take much time off the clock resulted in them punting back to Dallas with 1:14 to play, and with the Cowboys only needed a few completions to get into Brandon Aubrey's sick range and go into the break with a six-point lead.
Fangio coached stubbornly. He didn't blitz very much – if he did, they were generic rushes – despite the fact that Prescott has struggled all season against extra-man pressure. When your defense isn't gettin pressure, you need to do something to manufacture it, and he didn't.
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