Boys Beat Backup Birds

Dallas had their starters play three quarters. The Eagles had multiple players making their NFL debut. Do I really need to tell you who won the game?

Dak Prescott threw 5 TD passes and Dallas won 51-26. The game was tied at 17 in the second quarter. Dallas then added a TD to go up 23-17. A terrible punt by Arryn Sipposs gave Dallas the ball in great position and they added a late TD to extend that to 30-17.

Game over.

It is sad that the game turned on a bad punt. The Eagles played with a lot of heart in the first half, moving the ball effectively and scoring points. The defense didn’t do much, but they were without any starters. And it showed.

ESPN’s announcing crew kept praising the Cowboys. They talked about how Dallas wanted to get on a roll, even if it meant only beating up on the Eagles backups. That made it sound like the Eagles were mixing in reserves. That’s not close to what happened. The Eagles had only a couple of starters playing in the game at all. They had more guys making their NFL debut than starters. That’s crazy.

This was as much of a hodge-podge lineup as you’ll ever see.

Give the young Eagles credit for giving us an enjoyable half. Gardner Minshew played with his usual moxie and that helped on a few plays. Kenny Gainwell and Jason Huntley ran the ball well. The Eagles finished the game with 149 yards rushing.

The defense struggled mightily. Milton Williams was the one guy who stood out. He had 3 tackles, 2 TFLs and a batted pass. He was disruptive. The rookie DL played DE and DT. He’s played well in the second half of the season.

Were there any lowlights? JJAW. He dropped a TD pass and then got called for OPI on another play. He had a pass go off his hands and get picked off. If there is a silver lining, this likely sealed his fate. It probably was already decided, but this had to seal it. There’s no reason to bring him back next year even to compete in camp.

The key goal in the game was to come out healthy. TE Tyree Jackson, who caught his first NFL pass, likely tore his ACL in the game. That’s not crucial to this year. I hate it for the young man because this will affect his 2022 season as well. Shaun Bradley, who has been a good STs player, injured his shoulder and left the game. We’ll have to wait and see what that means for next week.

I will be really interested to see how Dallas plays next week. Dallas wanted to play well and get some momentum going for the postseason. Boom. 51-26 win. All is good. Right?

Dallas beat WFT 56-14 a few weeks back and the NFL world fell in love with them. The offense was back. Then they struggled against the Cardinals, having one of their worst games of the year. Now they beat the heck out of the Eagles practice squad. Does that really mean anything? I have serious doubts.

I have no problem with Nick Sirianni resting Eagles starters. There just wasn’t much to gain by playing them. Get some rest and get ready for the playoffs.

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