Cowboys fall to Eagles one final play

Dallas lost to their fierce division opponents and failed to establish themselves as a squad to overcome.

The Dallas Cowboys (5-3) had a first and 5 from the 6-yard line with less than 27 seconds remaining and trailing by 5 points. As far as strategy goes, this is the best position to be in. The Cowboys proceeded as follows: false start penalty, lost yardage on a sack, incomplete pass, delay of game penalty, and then on a fourth and 21 play, Dak Prescott completed a pass to CeeDee Lamb well short of the end zone, and Eagles (8-1) defenders swarmed him as time expired to seal a 28-23 victory.

The play sequence has been too commonplace for the Cowboys over the last few years, particularly under head coach Mike McCarthy.

When it mattered most, the Cowboys’ otherwise excellent performance against the reigning NFC Champions was spoiled by a lack of discipline.

For the most part of the game, Dak Prescott, who is frequently criticized for not performing at his peak when the lights are highest, performed beautifully. Notably, he finished with 374 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. But just before Dak scored on a scramble on a 2-point play following a touchdown that would have made it 28–25, he stepped out of bounds. Dallas would have had more control in the closing minutes and needed just a field goal to tie the game if he had been in-bounds. The Cowboys were one Dak Big Toe away from possibly a different result in a game of inches.

Once again, CeeDee Lamb was Prescott’s go-to target on this particular night. Lamb finished with 191 yards on 11 catches, but needed 4 more to win. Lamb has now racked up 824 receiving yards this season and recorded his third consecutive 100-yard outing.

On the other side of the ball, the Dallas defense did a good job of containing the explosive Eagles offense for the most part, but some outstanding passes from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts allowed A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to still find the touchdown zone.

Before playing their bitter NFC East rivals on Sunday, Dallas had a track record of either being extremely effective against weak teams or extremely ineffective against strong opponents. In actuality, they have only truly faced one strong team—the San Francisco 49ers—and they have a 42-10 record overall. The Cowboys, with 5 wins and 3 losses, are by no means a horrible club, even with a +72 point difference after 8 games. However, they do have a lot of concerns to answer if they want to contend for the postseason and actually do something when they get there.

At the halfway point of the season, tonight’s loss is hardly a death sentence. There were some positive signs of improvement that the team can build off of moving forward.

Prescott and Lamb are spearheading the offensive effort, but the supporting cast members must do more. TEL Although Prescott is using Jake Ferguson as a safety net, the other wide receivers combined for just four drops during the game. Not up to par. The team’s inability to build a potent running assault has been hampered by Tony Pollard’s underwhelming performance in his new position as the featured running back, at times rendering the offense one-dimensional. The best teams in the NFL make their opponents “pick their poison,” and the Cowboys need to get better at making their opponents think.

Notwithstanding injuries, the Cowboys’ defense has been among the most reliable in the league, and their performance has a significant impact on where they currently stand in the standings. They could come up with techniques to wrap up drives more quickly, if I was being picky. They rank in the middle of the pack for sacks, but they lead the league in QB pressures. This might be because opposition quarterbacks are releasing the ball quickly, but as plays break down, they are consistently successful against the Cowboys, which should normally help a defense.

There are nine games left.
For this team to keep getting better, there are a lot of issues that can be resolved. Although this team has flaws, they aren’t very obvious. On this roster, skill abounds in every direction. In the end, this squad must perform better when the chips are down, especially when playing elite opponents that are on par with or better than them.