Eagles Shutout In Second Half, Blow 21-Point Lead In Loss To Cowboys
Hunter Martin / Philadelphia Eagles
An unacceptable performance in Jerry World for the Eagles.
Since returning from the bye, the Philadelphia Eagles have picked up two huge wins over two of the best teams not only in the NFC but also in the NFL overall, the Packers and the Lions. While their opponent in Week 12, the Dallas Cowboys, isn’t exactly the cream of the crop in the NFL this season, the Cowboys are always a threat when playing the Eagles.
The Eagles and Cowboys rivalry is one of, if not the best, rivalries in the NFL, and they delivered another fantastic game, one in which the Eagles would be embarrassed to say they played in. Despite leading by 21 points in the game, the Eagles allowed the Cwoboys to claw their way back into the game and shut out the Eagles in the second half to win 24-21. It’s just the fourth time in franchise history that they’ve blown a 21-point lead. and lost.
The past couple of weeks, the Eagles have relied on their defence to win games, and to open up this week’s game, the defence picked up a huge turnover. Dallas got the opening possession, and Dak Prescott hit George Pickens on a 13-yard catch for one first down and managed to get to midfield, but faced an early fourth down. Electing to go for it, Prescott stepped back, but his pass to Javonte Williams was incomplete, giving the ball to Philadelphia at the 50.
With the offense set up at midfield, Jalen Hurts changed the narrative from the previous weeks and led the Eagles down the field for an early touchdown. Hurts found A.J. Brown, a player who has complained about his usage multiple times this season, for two early receptions, and then found Saquon Barkley for back-to-back catches to set themselves up inside the red zone.
On third down at the 16, Hurts dropped back and found Brown open once again over the middle and in the endzone for the first touchdown of the afternoon.
Dallas’ next drive resulted in a quick three-and-out, and the Eagles made them pay once again. While they thought their next drive ended in a punt, a roughing the punter penalty on Dallas kept the Eagles’ drive alive. With the ball back in his hands, Hurts went back to work, hitting Brown on a 13 and a 22-yard reception to move them back inside the red zone. A seven-yard run by Barkley put them goal to go, and after a near touchdown on a Brown catch, Hurts ran up the middle for the score, putting Philadelphia up 14-0.
Up two scores heading into the second quarter, the Eagles’ defense wasn’t satisfied and picked up another turnover. The Cowboys had a long drive moving down the field and were set up right outside the red zone, but a handoff to KaVontae Turpin went wrong as Turpin dropped the ball, and it was recovered by Zack Baun.
With the ball back once again, the Eagles’ offense continued to look fantastic, scoring another touchdown. Hurts found Barkley open for a 16-yard catch, and after a few small gains, Hurts looked downfield and tossed a deep ball to DeVonta Smith for a 41-yard catch.
Set up on the 11, Smith caught a touch pass from Hurts that took him down to the one, and the Eagles tushed pushed Hurts into the endzone to go up 21-0.
With a three-score lead, the Eagles were riding high into their next defensive drive and used those vibes to pick up another turnover. Dallas needed points badly, and Prescott found his way down the field, picking up short gains on passes and runs to put them all the way inside the 15.
Prescott found Jake Ferguson open, and he pounded it down the one-yard line. However, that’s as far as the Cowboys would make it, as a false start pushed them back five yards, and Prescott threw a costly interception into the hands of Reed Blankinship for a touchback.
Unlike the previous drives, the Eagles didn’t cash in on the turnover and went three and out. With under three minutes to play in the first half, the Cowboys’ offense finally got rolling. Prescott opened the drive with a 48-yard pass to Turpin, and after a few small gains, Ferguson took a catch down to the one-yard line again. This time around, Prescott didn’t throw a pick; instead, he found Pickens open for a touchdown, making it 21-7 heading into the break.
Out of the half, both teams started ugly on offense with back-to-back three-and-out punts. The Eagles’ next offensive drive ended poorly once again, as despite picking up an early first down, incompletions ruined the drive, resulting in another punt.
Thankfully for the Eagles, the Cowboys’ next drive resulted in a rare missed kick from the foot of All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey. However, the Eagles’ offense continued to struggle as they went three and out and punted for the third time.
The Cowboys, still buzzing from their touchdown to close the first half, used that momentum, and a 48-yard catch from Ceedee Lamb, to go down the field and score a touchdown to Brevyn Spann-Ford to make it a one-score game.
Needing a long drive and points, the Eagles’ offense finally got going thanks to big pickups from Barkley, Brown, and Dallas Goedert. Unfortunately, they stalled out right after they crossed midfield and elected to go field goal from 56 yards out. Jake Elliott trotted out and boomed a kick with the distance, but sailed right and missed.
Dallas, with great field position, didn’t take long to tie the game. Prescott hit Pickens on a deep ball for 43 yards, had Williams run for three yards, and Prescott himself rushed in the tying touchdown from eight yards to make it 21 all.
With zero points in the second half, the Eagles trotted back out and began mounting a drive for the lead. They crossed midfield after a big catch from Brown, but after checking down to Barkley, the Cowboys punched it out of his hands for Barkley’s first fumble of the year.
Dallas got the ball back, but went backwards thanks to a penalty. However, on the punt, Xavier Gipson dropped the ball, giving the ball back to the Cowboys inside the 10. Dallas ran on the first two plays, getting it down to the two-yard line, but an incompletion on third and fourth down resulted in another turnover and gave the Eagles the ball back with three minutes to play.
Heading down the field, the Eagles picked up a few first downs to get out of the danger zone. However, on a 3rd and 2 out of the two-minute warning, Hurts dropped back and took a sack, giving Dallas the ball back. With the ball back, Prescott hit Ferguson on a 19-yard reception and hit Pickens on a 24-yard slant route, setting Aubrey up for a game-winner. With the ball set up on the 25-yard line, Aubrey drilled a 42-yard field goal through the uprights, with Dallas completing the comeback, winning 24-21.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox:
