December 24, 2022
With Jalen Hurts sidelined, the Eagles were not able to pull out a win with Gardner Minshew at quarterback on the road against the Cowboys, falling 40-34. Some stuff is hard to prevent, such as a star wideout like CeeDee Lamb going off. Other things, like the four times they gave the ball away, are reason for the team to look into the mirror for why they lost.
What will sting most for Eagles fans? The game was winnable. They had a 10-0 lead. Then a 27-17 lead. Then a fourth quarter lead with fewer than 10 minutes remaining. The turnover bug that had evaded the Eagles all season reared its head. An unfathomable third-and-long conversion from Dallas gave flashbacks to the Jim Schwartz's sticks defense in the infamous overtime loss to the Tennessee in 2018.
The Eagles are very much still in line to capture the No. 1 seed in the conference and this loss came without an MVP-worthy QB under center, but in a marquee game against Dallas with the whole football world watching? That's a recipe for a rough Christmas Eve across the Delaware Valley.
Here are the three plays that shifted thing in the Cowboys' favor...
• Cowboys ball, 2nd and 9, Philadelphia 31, 4:30 remaining in the 1st quarter, Eagles 10, Cowboys 0
Everyone thought the Eagles were about to put a crooked number on the Cowboys.
A first drive field goal for the Birds made things 3-0 before Josh Sweat ran back a 42-yard pick 6. Eggnog was assuredly flowing for Eagles fans. The defense had them on the ropes. The Eagles' array of pass rushers were ready to get their first sack of the day.
The unlikely figure to get the first sack was Avonte Maddox, who was oh-so-close to wrapping up Dak Prescott for a loss here. So close. Prescott, however, broke free and tossed a first down to Michael Gallup for a 13-yard gain:
Dak Prescott avoids the sack on third down, finds Michael Gallup for the first-down grab pic.twitter.com/WNxlN3mgfS
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 24, 2022
You could make the argument that the play should have blown dead and that the defense had the quarterback "in their grasp." I wouldn't fight you on it, but that needs to be a sack. That's so back-breaking.
Dallas marched down the field to make it a 10-7 game. A punt following that coulda/should/woulda sack would've had the Eagles in decent field goal position with a chance to take a three-score lead. It was not to be.
• Cowboys ball, 3rd and 30, Dallas 29, 8:02 remaining in the 4th quarter, Eagles 34, Cowboys 27
The Birds' pass rush was finally starting to feast. On first down, Haason Reddick striped Prescott on a sack, but the defense was unable to come up with the ball, forcing a 2nd and 21. Prescott was sacked yet again, this time by Josh Sweat, who had a damn good game, setting up a 3rd and 30. It felt like 3rd and a million. An easy stop here and the Eagles would get the ball back and perhaps be able to nuke the clock.
About that...
Prescott dropped back to pass and launched one deep down the left sideline to T.Y. Hilton, who had blew by Darius Slay and was no match for Josiah Scott's help up top. Dallas connected for a 52-yard, momentum-altering bomb:
3rd and 30... FIRST DOWN @dallascowboys
— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2022
📺: #PHIvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Gd75wOq015 pic.twitter.com/7alkEGa8qM
Blown coverage. Blown everything.
I had a friend in college who once called the Eagles' miraculous "4th and 26" play "3rd and 33" accidentally, which became a running joke for years to come. "3rd and 33" is what we'd say if the offense had zero shot at converting a play so long. I laughed about "3rd and 33" right before the ball was snapped. Well, 30 isn't quite 33, but the improbability of it all makes it that more damaging.
In the unlikely event that the Eagles don't win the NFC East (losing out while Dallas wins out), this will be the play that sticks in the back of Birds fans' minds as they think about what could have been.
• Eagles ball, 1st and 10, Philadelphia 25, 2:19 remaining in the 4th quarter, Cowboys 37, Eagles 34
But, hey, it wasn't over yet. Dallas had tacked on another field goal, but the game was still there for a takin. Minshew had displayed some fire and the tandem of DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown were destroying the Cowboys secondary. They were only down three. All was not lost. A fumble from Miles Sanders, however, changed that quickly:
The @dallascowboys recover the fumble with great field position!
— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2022
📺: #PHIvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Gd75wOq015 pic.twitter.com/4PWnxwGovc
Going into the 2022 season, fumbling had been a bit of an issue for Sanders. He had fumbled seven times across his first three seasons, losing the ball four times. To begin this year though? He was playing his best football ever and taking care of the ball. It was exactly the development that was envisioned when the Birds selected Sanders in the second round a few years back.
Sanders, however, lost a fumble last week against Chicago. That didn't prove too costly in a game the Eagles ultimately won, but this one sure was:
The @dallascowboys recover the fumble with great field position!
— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2022
📺: #PHIvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Gd75wOq015 pic.twitter.com/4PWnxwGovc
Tough. That's just though. Sanders was visibly upset afterwards. The Cowboys were gifted great field goal position to bleed time, forcing the Eagles to use some of their timeouts and adding on another field goal for good measure.
Mistakes like that can be survived in the regular season when the team has 13 wins. Come January or February? That won't cut it.
A valiant, potentially game-winning drive from Minshew and the offense came up short. Dallas got the glory of kneeling the ball and hearing that final whistle, much to the chagrin of everyone in Philadelphia.
If you asked Eagles fans before the season if they'd take a 13-2 start, they would've asked you what needed to be sacrificed in order for that to play out. 13-2 is 13-2, but losing to Dallas after two different 10-point leads evaporated on Christmas Eve of all days? Oof.
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