The return of Micah Parsons brought a spark to the Dallas defense. Unfortunately, the loss of Dak Prescott behind center has seemingly pulled the plug on the Cowboys offense.
With Cooper Rush taking the reins at quarterback, the unit was simply anemic in a 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys' fourth blowout defeat at home this season. Rush completed only 13 passes for 45 yards and a 61.7 passer rating. Trey Lance, now in a backup role, saw his first action with the Cowboys, but he wasn't much better, throwing for 21 yards on four completions with an interception for a 32.6 mark.
In all, the Cowboys had five turnovers on the day, including four lost fumbles, with 146 total yards of offense. They converted only three of their 14 third-down tries and were 0-for-2 in the red zone, losing the time of possession battle, 34:01 to 25:59.
If there was any bright spot to be found on the offensive side, it was perhaps Rico Dowdle. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry, rushing for 53 yards on 12 carries. But he was largely a non-factor in the second half with the game out of hand.
Defensively, Mike Zimmer's men tried to keep the Cowboys close, posting two takeaways themselves and five sacks. But four times they had to defend a short field when Philadelphia began drives in Dallas territory. Those series eventually led to a combined 20 points.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for only 202 yards, but he completed 70 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and an interception for a 115 passer rating. On the whole, the Eagles finished with 348 total yards of offense and were successful on 4 of 5 trips to the red zone.
The Cowboys did manage to sack Hurts five times, but all of those came in the first half as the defensive unit just wore down as the game went along. Parsons had two of those sacks with linebacker DeMarvion Overshown recording two as well, along with a game-high 11 tackles.
First Quarter
In a game the Cowboys couldn't afford to make any mistakes, they did just that on their second possession. Rush mishandled the snap with Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams falling on the fumble to give the visitors the ball at the Dallas 17-yard line.
Four plays later, Philadelphia was in the end zone. Saquon Barkley's 12-yard run set up a 1-yard "tush push" for a Hurts touchdown and early 7-0 lead.
The Cowboys came right back, though, with a nine-play drive that saw Dowdle rush four times for 21 yards. But the drive stalled at the Eagles' 28-yard line, so out came Brandon Aubrey to split the uprights on a 46-yard field goal.
Second quarter
Philadelphia was threatening as the next 15 minutes got underway, the team now at the Dallas 12-yard line, thanks in part to a 30-yard completion to A.J. Brown on the last play of the first quarter. But on the first play of the second, cornerback Trevon Diggs darted in front of tight end Dallas Goedert in the end zone to intercept the pass and return possession to the home side.
After the two teams traded punts, the Cowboys got the ball back with 9:21 left in the half. From their own 20-yard line, they methodically marched down the field, getting help with a pair of Philadelphia penalties that brought first downs. Rush also converted a fourth-and-1 at the 50-yard line to keep the drive going.
When the quarterback later found CeeDee Lamb across the middle for a 5-yard gain, Dallas had first-and-goal at the 6. However, on their very next snap, Ezekiel Elliott took the handoff up the middle and was met by a pair of Eagles defenders who popped the ball loose. Philadelphia cornerback Cooper DeJean fell on the bouncing prize in the end zone, the Cowboys' opportunity quashed.
Thankfully, though, the Eagles returned the favor. On second-and-9 at his own 26-yard line, Hurts was strip-sacked by Parsons with rookie linebacker Marist Liufau recovering the fumble at the Philadelphia 6-yard line. But despite the great field position, the Cowboys were unable get across the goal line. That left it to Aubrey to come out and pick up the chip-shot 23-yard field goal and pull Dallas to within one point.
Of course, there was still 1:43 left in the quarter, which turned out to be plenty of time for the Eagles. Hurts connected with Brown twice for a combined 32 yards with Hurts himself then scrambling free for a 24-yard pickup to the Dallas 23-yard line. Two snaps later, Hurts rolled to his right to avoid pressure before firing a pass to Goedert, who got into the end zone to give the Eagles' a 14-6 advantage at the half.
Third Quarter
The Cowboys forced a punt on the Eagles' first possession of the third frame, but when they themselves then had to punt, DeJean returned the offering 31 yards to the Dallas 37-yard line. Given the good field position, Philadelphia was soon in the end zone. On third-and-5 at the Cowboys' 5-yard line, Hurts had plenty of time in the pocket, which allowed wideout Johnny Wilson to break open for the touchdown.
With the Eagles' now owning a commanding lead, the Cowboys needed to find some kind of rhythm on offense. Instead, the struggles continued, Rush and company going a quick three-and-out.
At least when Philadelphia got the ball back again, they had to travel farther this time, marching the needed 83 yards in seven plays. A 44-yard pass to Brown got things going before Hurts wrapped things up with an 8-yard run up the middle for the touchdown.
The rout was officially on.
And it only got worse. On third-and-9 at the Cowboys' 31-yard line, Rush had the ball stripped away, and although two Dallas players had a chance to fall on the fumble, Terence Steele instead tried to pick it up, only to drop it as well. Not surprisingly, the Eagles then recovered.
Fourth Quarter
Trying to defend a short field once again, at least Dallas kept Philadelphia out of the end zone. But the Eagles still added to their point total, this time with a 39-yard field goal to make the score 34-6.
Once the Eagles then recovered yet another Cowboys fumble in Dallas territory, Hurts was done for the day. Rush was as well for Dallas. And fortunately, so was the scoring, the time clicking off and the game coming to a merciful end with Dallas falling to 3-6 on the season.
