Despite a strong offensive effort, the Eagles were unable to stop Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense in Philadlephia. Philadelphia falls to 2-5 while Dallas surpasses them in the NFC East with a 3-4 record.
“We came out and executed our game plan and it went good,” guard Landon Dickerson said of the offense in the first half. “Nobody’s quitting and that’s what you want to see.”
The Eagles scored their final touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter, marching 84 yards down the field and eating almost 10 minutes of game clock.
“I think it was just good execution,” Tanner McKee said after the game. “Sean (Mannion was) calling good plays and we were executing good plays. That’s the standard, honestly, that we have for ourselves every time we step on the field is to have sustained drives like that, to execute on plays like that. I think we had a couple third down conversions, a fourth down conversion, and that’s the standard that we have for ourselves.”
Without DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon brought in the first touchdown pass of his career off a four-yard pass by Tanner McKee. He also brought in seven of his eight targets for 67 yards, leading the team in receiving for the game.
“Appreciate my teammates,” Lemon said when asked about the touchdown. “Tanner gave me a great ball, the receivers did their job.”
The first-round pick of out the University of Southern California showed great concentration, making the catch despite contact from DeMarvion Overshown.
“Just the work you put in throughout the week in the weight room,” Lemon said of maintaining possession in that scenario. “So, once you’re in the game, you’re flowing.”
Running back Saquon Barkley had a solid return to the field after missing the past two games, rushing for the Eagles’ first touchdown of the game on the opening drive. On limited snaps, Barkley rushed for 62 yards on seven attempts, averaging 8.9 yards per carry.
“I’m still upset about the loss. It sucks. Anytime you lose a game, it sucks,” Barkley said. “I just got to find a way to get healthy. It’s annoying, but that’s what I’m dealing with so far in season and I got to find a way to get healthy.”
Dameon Pierce, rushing for 47 yards and a touchdown, served as an effective change of pace to Barkley, who was nursing an injury.
“I think Elijah (Mitchell) and Dameon Pierce did a great job,” Barkley said. “They kept telling me that they have my back… Elijah made a big play. Dameon Pierce ran hard.”
Dak Prescott was able to connect with his star receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens for three touchdowns, while Javonte Williams gashed Philadelphia’s defense for 155 yards on the ground.
“It’s never just one thing when you give up a bunch of yards like that,” head Coach Nick Sirianni said of the Eagles’ run defense. “We got to do a better job coaching. We got to do a better job executing, getting off blocks, tackling. We had a couple missed tackles, but it’s always going to be about block destruction, playing on their side of the line of scrimmage.”
The Eagles’ defense also struggled to pressure Prescott, ending the game with zero sacks, tackles for loss, or quarterback hits.
“They do a good job on the play action. That’s their bread and butter in the run game. And once you marry those two, it’s a very hard game for the DBs. So it kind of comes from all three phases. We have to do better upfront so the back end can eat and vice versa,” Jordan Davis said.