Ugly, ugly, ugly — 5 observations from Eagles-Cowboys a day later

Is it time to press the panic button? Maybe.

Is the season over? Maybe.

Is the world coming to an end? The world certainly is not coming to an end, but there have been times in the last couple of weeks it has felt like it for the Eagles.

A week after the Eagles lost 42-19 at home against the San Francisco 49ers, they lost 33-13 to the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. It makes the 12th straight year since the Eagles swept the Cowboys and six straight years they have lost in Dallas, and Sunday night was one of the ugliest we have ever seen.

Here are my five observations a day after the loss:

What happened to this defense?

With 1:10 left in the first quarter last week, the 49ers punted. Until the third quarter Sunday night in Dallas, it was the last time the Eagles defense forced a punt.

The 49ers scored touchdowns on their next six drives and only failed to reach the end zone when they took a knee on their final possession. Then the Cowboys opened this game with a touchdown, field goal, touchdown, and another touchdown on their first four drives before finally punting with 12 minutes to go in the third quarter. That is 10 straight drives an opponent scored on the Eagles. Nine touchdowns and one field goal.

That is flat-out inexcusable.

How does that even happen?

Whose fault is it for this defense’s complete collapse? Nick Sirianni, I mean, he is the head coach and is responsible for everything. First-year defensive coordinator Sean Desai has not kept anything on track for the past month and a half. General manager Howie Roseman certainly deserves some blame as he obviously failed to provide the defense with sufficient playmakers. And the players, more predominantly, are just not making plays.

Through Week 7, this was the sixth defense in the NFL, allowing 21 points and 290 yards per game. Since then, it has been second-worst, allowing 30 points and 369 yards per game. They have now allowed 30 or more points in three straight games and 109 in the last three weeks.

What in the world happened? Did teams figure them out, have they run out of gas, is it just because they are facing a ton of elite offenses, or is it a dose of everything?

The defense played better in the second half, holding the Cowboys to two field goals, but the damage was already done at that point.

The Eagles still have a lot to play for and have a lot to fix.

Offensive mess

To go with the defense, this is now two weeks in a row the offense has been a disaster. Only 19 points against the 49ers last week and just six Sunday night in Dallas.

The defense collapse is not a total surprise, but this offensive falter is quite shocking.

The offense was supposed to carry the defense. They have stars through this offense, it is where all the money was invested. And they score just six points in a game of this importance. They did not even score a touchdown, the defense did.

Not good. Do not blame it all on the defense. Both sides of the ball are concerning.

It was an odd game for Jalen Hurts. He was not bad, but he did not look like an MVP.

He finished 18-for-27 for 197 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a lost fumble. He made some nice throws here and there, but he just never really got into a rhythm and never seemed comfortable.

Once again, it was pretty much all A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Those two combined for 14 catches for 167 yards, dropped a few balls (most notably a deep dime by Hurts to Brown that went right through his hands, and each lost a fumble.

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

Three turnovers, no takeaways for the Eagles. This is not going to lead to success. 

They have not all been on him but Hurts now has 15 turnovers in 13 games. This is concerning.

In his first three seasons, Hurts lost six fumbles. This year he has lost five, including Sunday night.

Why is this? There are times when he tries to do too much with the ball. Sunday’s fumble was just a good play by Donovan Wilson stripping Hurts in traffic, but it still cannot happen, especially in the situation it was in. The Cowboys had just taken a 7-0 lead, the Eagles had a nice drive going deep in Dallas territory, and then poof, it ended.

Brown and Smith followed with fumbles of their own, both coming in promising drives in Dallas territory. It just simply cannot happen.

No identity

Week 14 has now passed for the Eagles, and they are 10-3. Which looks great.

However, they have not played a great game yet. A few cool comebacks, but not one complete game. They have now gotten smacked around in two straight weeks with Jalen Hurts healthy and available, even after claiming they would be ready for Dallas.

They were not. Talk is cheap.

The Eagles have no identity in Week 14.

However, Sirianni is at his best when getting through adversity and he has a lot of that on his plate right now. The Eagles did not just lose these last two games, they were not competitive. That is alarming.

There is no reason the Eagles cannot win the remaining four games, but the challenge for Sirianni is keeping this team confident and hungry. A couple of losses like the Eagles just experienced will test this team.

Is there still a chance?

The Eagles have dropped to the five seed in the NFC with this loss. But, hey, they still control their destiny in the NFC East and will win the division and lock up the two seed if they win out.

So things may seem bleak right now with back-to-back losses, and there is definitely a lot to be concerned about, the Eagles can see their way to the two seed with wins over the Seattle Seahawks (6-7), New York Giants twice (4-8), and the Arizona Cardinals (3-10). And even if they slip up, the Cowboys still have the Buffalo Bills (7-6), Miami Dolphins (9-3), and Detroit Lions (9-4) before finishing with the Washington Commanders.

Losing back-to-back games by 20 or more points is rough, but there are worse places to be than 10-3 and controlling your destiny for the two seed. And hey, if the 49ers ever lose again maybe this team will be the one seed.

Do not be too concerned *sighs*.