Dominant in Dallas — 5 takeaways from Eagles-Cowboys a day later

The last time the Eagles won a game in Dallas prior to Sunday afternoon’s beatdown was in 2017. It was a 37-9 win on Sunday Night Football, featuring another great game from MVP-favorite Carson Wentz.

It feels like decades ago. Not anymore.

It started a little slow, but the Eagles did exactly what they needed to do Sunday afternoon, beat the Cowboys 34-6 in Dallas. They overcame early mistakes, built a big lead, and showed no resentment in the second half.

They flew home to Philadelphia Sunday night as the top seed in the NFC East at 7-2 with a five-game winning streak. Now, the Eagles head into the battle for first place Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field with the NFL’s biggest surprise, the Washington Commanders.

The Birds are rolling.

Here are my five observations a day after the win:

This defense

What more can I say about this Eagles defense?

In their last five games, they have allowed 10 points per game, 201 yards per game, 126 passing yards, and just four touchdowns.

This is the youngest defense in the NFL. They get better every game. It is incredible.

Zack Baun had a monster performance (more on his later), and Jalen Carter, Brandon Graham, Milton Williams, and Bryce Huff all had half a sack or more. Baun, Carter, Williams, Huff, and Nolan Smith Jr. all registered a tackle for a loss. Carter also had two quarterback hits.

Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were great again. Specifically, with 3:20 left to go in the first quarter, Cooper Rush, who was terrible Sunday, threw a ball deep down the far sideline to Jalen Brooks. With Mitchell in coverage, Brooks was forced out of bounds, making the catch incomplete. It was veteran-level coverage by the 23-year-old rookie.

Video via Shane Haff on X:

Yes, this Cowboys offense is pretty putrid. They do not have Dak Prescott for the rest of the season, so Cooper Rush and Trey Lance at quarterback are pretty brutal alternatives. Rush threw 23 passes and only two were longer than six yards. He only threw for 45 yards. Their receivers outside of CeeDee Lamb are terrible, tight end Jake Ferguson cannot figure it out this year, and their running back group might be the worst in the league.

The Eagles made them look like Temple’s offense.

We need to talk about Zack Baun

Baun signed with the Eagles this offseason for $1.6 million and one year. What an absolute steal.

Baun’s PFF grades over the past three weeks have been 91.3, 92.6, and 90.9. All rank first for linebackers.

He is everywhere always at the right time.

The Cowboys had a first-and-goal at the six-yard line late in the second quarter and were about to take a 10-7 lead. Not so fast. Baun punched the ball out of Ezekiel Elliott‘s hands, forcing a fumble that DeJean recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

In the third quarter, Baun jumped on a strip-sack from Huff that set up another Eagles field goal.

But wait, there is more. Baun forced another fumble on a dump pass to Ferguson early in the fourth quarter that was recovered by Reed Blankenship.

Baun finished the game with eight tackles, two for loss, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. As he has been all season, Baun was all over the field.

During his four years with the Saints, Baun never became a full-time starter. He has flourished in Vic Fangio’s scheme and is setting himself up for a nice contract, hopefully to stay in Philadelphia.

All the turnovers

We touched on it a little bit with Baun, but the Eagles forced five turnovers Sunday. In their past three games, they have ten. The Eagles had just two takeaways in the first six games of the season, both were Blankenship interceptions.

That was a big issue early in this season, and a reason the defense was struggling.

They have completely turned it around.

Average Jalen Hurts experience

Hurts’ first 13 drop-backs Sunday looked like this: five sacks for 46 yards, an interception, and a lost fumble at the Cowboys’ 6-yard-line.

Not great.

The first interception really was not Hurts’ fault. He tried to fit a ball into a tight window to Dallas Goedert in the end zone, but Trevon Diggs came out of nowhere, dove, and made a great interception. Cannot be mad at Hurts for that. The lost fumble was different. Hurts held onto the ball for too long, and Micah Parsons made him pay.

Hurts was averaging 5.15 seconds to throw on the four early sacks. He looked totally lost, he was holding the ball for too long, he made poor decisions, and turned the ball over again. He had not turned the ball over in four straight games and did twice early. You really had to hope that the Jalen of late last year and early this season did not come back.

After that, when the blinding sun finally set? Welp, he was incredible.

Hurts threw for 137 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for two more touchdowns, did not turn the ball over, did not get sacked, and for the fifth straight game finished with a passer rating of 115 or higher.

I was happy to be wrong.

Big one up next

This win was great. But Dallas stinks.

The really big game is on Thursday night at the Linc.

The Eagles host Offensive Rookie of the Year front-runner Jayden Daniels and the 7-3 Commanders on Thursday Night Football. 

The Eagles landed in Philadelphia early Monday morning. They will practice Tuesday and then have a walk-through on Wednesday.

Washington is coming off a tough 28-27 loss to the Steelers Sunday afternoon.

The Commanders have owned first place in the NFC East all season up until Sunday when the Eagles took it over. Daniels has a 68.7 completion percentage, 2,147 yards, averages 8.2 yards per throw, nine touchdowns to just two interceptions, and a 101.7 rating. He has been unbelievable. Their defense allows 21.7 points per game and 324.9 yards per game.

They are a force to be reckoned with. Thursday should be interesting.

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