Eagles Rush By Dallas, 34-6

The Eagles were big favorites to win in Dallas, with the teams headed in very different directions. Still, you never know what can happen in a rivalry game. It turns out we knew how this game would go. The Eagles played well and Dallas struggled. Cooper Rush might have gone 4-1 as a starter in 2022, but this is 2024 and his team stinks.

I wrote before the game that I thought Dallas would play small-ball. Rush played tiny-ball, going 13-23-45. I’m not sure the last time I’ve seen a stat line quite like that one. That is shockingly bad. Rush also lost 2 fumbles. Yikes.

The Eagles defense was outstanding. They limited Dallas to 146 yards. The defense had 3 sacks and came up with 5 takeaways. Dallas was 3 for 14 on third down and went 0-2 in the red zone, including a turnover. Vic Fangio’s group put the clamps on the Cowboys and never let up. It was beautiful.

Zack Baun led the way for the defense. He had 8 tackles, a TFL, 2 FF and a fumble recovery. Baun might be the best ILB not named Fred Warner. He’s been that good. The Eagles should listen to all of Fangio’s suggestions. The man seems to know a thing or two. Baun and Nakobe Dean both tackled very well, especially out in space. Small-ball works best when guys get short throws and add yards after the catch. That just didn’t happen in Dallas. The whole defense tackled well. Baun and Dean just stood out the most.

The offense was a bit more erratic. The score was 7-6 with 1:48 left in the first half. That was largely because Jalen Hurts was sacked 5 times in the first half and also had a pair of turnovers. One was an INT in the end zone. There were more than a few nervous Eagles fans at the 1:48 mark. Luckily Hurts and the offense marched right down the field and scored a TD to make it 14-6.

Hurts was holding onto the ball too long early on. The offense seemed to want to attack down the field. The return of Micah Parsons made that more challenging. Parsons had 2 sacks and a FF. Hurts usually had time to throw, but he held the ball looking for someone to get open deep. That led to several stalled drives. The offense clicked late in the half and kept doing that in the second half.

Hurts was more decisive with his reads and decision-making. He ran the ball well, going 7-56-2 on the ground. He finished 14-20-202 as passer, with 2 TDs and 1 pick. Hurts and several key starters got to sit for most of the fourth quarter. It was clear that Dallas had no shot of making a comeback.

Saquon Barkley was solid, going 14-66 on the ground and 1-12 as a receiver. He could have added a bunch of yards in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles play on Thursday so it was important to get him some rest. Kenny Gainwell and Will Shipley combined to go 16-64.

AJ Brown went 5-109 and had multiple big plays. The longest one went for 45 yards. DeVonta Smith only went 2-14, but that hardly tells the whole story. Smith was held by a CB on a double-move or he might have had a long TD. He should have drawn a long PI call on another deep ball, but the refs swallowed the whistle. Luckily that didn’t hurt the Eagles.

There was an impressive senquence in the early third quarter.

• Braden Mann punted and it was fair caught at the 11-yard line.
• The Eagles defense forced a 3 & out, giving up only 3 yards.
• Dallas punted to Cooper DeJean. He caught the ball at the PHI 32 and returned it 31 yards.
• The Eagles offense went 37 yards in 8 plays to score a TD and make it 21-6. That sealed the game.

That is the kind of complementary football you want to see. The offense, defense and special teams all helped each other. You had different guys making plays. That was good team football.

The Eagles are now 7-2 and in first place. Washington lost a nail-biter to the Steelers to fall to 7-3, opening the door for the Eagles to jump them. This makes it 5 wins in a row for the Birds. The defense is playing lights out. The offense can still be erratic at times, but had 348 yards and 34 points in a game where the starters sat out the final 14 minutes. When things click, they are pretty darned good.

3 of the last 4 wins have been by 20 or more points. The Eagles have had a lead of at least 20 points in all four games. This team is really starting to put it together.

Eagles’ 5-game winning streak… pic.twitter.com/e326Sm6wFV

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) November 11, 2024

Not bad.

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