DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys suffered a heartbreaking 28-23 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9. This was a big contest for the Cowboys, it was their chance to show that they could hang at the top of their division, and despite a valiant effort, the team couldn’t make the plays to finish the job.
In a game measured by inches and yards, the Cowboys just missed on too many occasions that called on them to get both. While the team played well, it was in those crucial moments where they couldn’t get it right to pull off the upset.
Despite out-gaining the Eagles on offense, and despite quarterback Dak Prescott outplaying his counterpart, things didn’t bounce the Cowboys’ way. Dallas was in position to walk out of Philadelphia with a win, but too many mistakes cost the team a chance to pull within a half game of the Eagles in the NFC East.
One of the biggest miscues came from the head coach, who missed an opportunity to force the Eagles to punt on their first possession. Facing a third-and-five at their own 28-yard line, Dorance Armstrong chased down Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to stop him short of the first down marker. Hurts was marked inches short, but replays showed his knee was down a few yards back from where the ball was spotted.
It was obvious that Mike McCarthy should’ve challenged, and it was obvious that he would have won, likely forcing a three-and-out to set the tone for the Dallas defense. Instead, McCarthy shrugged off throwing the challenge flag and the Eagles picked up the first down on their infamous tush-push play.
Not challenging the play was inexcusable and would become a recurring theme for the Cowboys in the game. They were close, just not close enough. After the Eagles got the first down, they continued to work their way down the field for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. McCarthy’s failure to challenge cost his team seven points, which turned out to be a big deal.
Nevertheless, the Cowboys didn’t fold. In a hole early, they responded by going right down the field and scoring a touchdown to tie the game. It was the first of three touchdown passes from Prescott, and it went to tight end Jake Ferguson, who set a career-high in receiving yards with 91.
Dallas took the lead on the next possession when Prescott found KaVontae Turpin in the end zone on a diving catch for a five-yard score.
On the next Eagles series, another ‘just miss’ happened when running back D’Andre Swift fumbled and the Cowboys appeared to recover. Yet replay ruled that Swift recovered the ball and gave the Eagles the ball back. They scored four plays later to tie the game.
Philadelphia fumbled three times in the game, and all three found their way back to the Eagles. Two of those fumbles not recovered by the Cowboys resulted in 14 points for the Eagles. It was the little things that doomed Dallas. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way.
Dallas led at halftime, but the Eagles scored on two straight possessions and went up 28-17 heading into the fourth quarter. The Cowboys would work their way back to give themselves a shot at winning, but there were more plays waiting for them where they would come up just inches short.
On fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line, McCarthy decided to go for the score instead of taking the easy three points. Prescott threw to rookie TE Jake Schoonmaker, who caught the ball, but was tackled just shy of the goal line. It was originally called a touchdown, but replay reversed the call, and even though Schoonmaker was being tackled before the ball arrived, there was no flag, and the points were taken off the board.
It wouldn’t be long before the Cowboys got another shot. The offense got the ball back and scored a quick touchdown when Prescott rolled right and found Jalen Tolbert for his first NFL score. Being down five points late in the game, the Cowboys went for two and originally were successful on Prescott’s scramble.
However, in the as-advertised game of inches, replay showed that Prescott’s foot landed out of bounds before he reached across the goal line and the two points were taken away. They would need another touchdown to win instead of being within a field goal of tying the game. The Cowboys would spend the rest of the game chasing those points, and they wouldn’t score again.
The Cowboys moved the ball into Eagles territory on their final two series but got nothing to show for it. They turned the ball over on downs after allowing back-to-back sacks on the first possession and, although the defense came up with the stop to get the ball back, they could’ve done one better by falling on another Swift fumble. Somehow, Dallas didn’t recover the loose ball which put their backs against the wall.
Still, there was one more chance when two Eagles penalties and a few long completions moved the ball to the 11-yard line with 0:27 seconds left. With a fresh set of downs at the 11, the team imploded. A false start and a sack pushed the offense back with little time to win the game. In the end, the Cowboys came up just short quite literally with Cee Dee Lamb tackled a couple of yards away from the goal line as the clock expired.
The game was a microcosm of the franchise over the last few decades. They were given opportunities to win but couldn’t make the needed plays at the right moments.
Three fumbles they couldn’t corral on defense, failing to challenge an obvious bad spot, allowing sacks at the wrong time, Schoonmaker being unable to contort to cross the plane, and Prescott’s foot being out of bounds to wipe away points. It all went against the Cowboys. They were close, oh so close, to beating the Eagles and staking their claim as a challenger.
This wasn’t like the game in San Francisco. They didn’t get embarrassed in a big game, but the loss hurts just the same. All of the cliches rang true in this one; in a game of inches, and where one or two plays made the difference, the Cowboys came up short.
Do you think the Cowboys will recover from another disappointing loss to an NFC contender? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
