Cowboys lose game, and possibly season, with loss to Eagles

The Dallas Cowboys lost in a do-or-die matchup against the NFC East division leading Eagles, likely ending their postseason hopes.

You don’t want to make more of a game than it really is, but this loss likely signals an end to the Dallas Cowboys’ hopes of making the postseason. At 5-5, they are roughly five teams removed from the playoff picture and facing long odds to change their fortune.

After leading 9-7 at half, the Cowboys collapsed, losing 37-9. Dak Prescott threw three interceptions and several misfires in route to the worst performance of his young career. Once again, the running game proved strong in Ezekiel Elliott’s absence but Dallas was unable to overcome the loss of Tyron Smith and Sean Lee.

There’s a quick turnaround, as Dallas prepares to play on Thursday in their annual Thanksgiving Day game. Both Smith and kicker, Dan Bailey, could return, but as stated before — it’s likely too little too late. It will be a tough day to be thankful for football in north Texas.

Sport DFW Quick takes:

Dink Kearney

Well, I was right about the outcome of the game. But I was wrong about how close the final score would be. The Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the Dallas Cowboys 37-9 in dominant and convincing fashion.

The game was close in the first half, as the Cowboys went into halftime up 9-7. But what was more impressive was how the Cowboys defense held Philly’s offense in check in the first half. The Cowboys defense forced Philly into three straight three and outs, even after Dak Prescott threw an interception. The Cowboys defense held its ground and made up for their inept offense.

The offense was so terrible that Dak looked worse than a rookie. Dak played awful, part of it being Philly’s defense, but mostly he just played awful. Plain and simple. And since Dak couldn’t do his part as the signal caller, the Cowboys offense stuttered and never got on track.

After halftime, Philly’s offense got back into gear and just destroyed the Cowboys, breaking off long runs, and scoring touchdowns at will. Even as Carson Wentz faced pressure from the Cowboys pass rush, he escaped and still found receivers for big plays or for touchdowns.

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To add insult to injury, Philly lost its kicker to injury, so Philly was forced to score touchdowns, and they did exactly that, even converting all of their two-point conversions except one. That’s sad on so many levels. It’s embarrassing to be honest, for a defense not capable of stopping a team from scoring when the opposing team’s kicker is out. Regardless if Sean Lee, Tyron Smith and Ezekiel Elliott is out, the Cowboys looked awful most of the night.

I’m highly disappointed in Dak because he made some bad decisions and only gave the critics reasons to say he needs Zeke to be successful. With that being said, Wentz clearly outplayed Dak and appears to be the better quarterback. I’m not putting Wentz in the NFL Hall of Fame, but he played better than his counterpart and won the game. Period. 

Dan Ruppert

The Dallas Cowboys were beaten badly in the second half, it seems to be a story we have all heard before. Yes, it hurts not having four All-Pros, but the coaching always seems to be exposed when Dallas loses a player. With the way Dak was playing, and the way Jason Garrett wasn’t coaching, this game was ugly. Thursday isn’t looking good either but there will be some hope if both Dan Bailey and Tyron Smith can play.

What is more concerning to me than the terrible play and horrid coaching, is the officiating. I can’t say there is a conspiracy, as that would be ridiculous. However, the Dallas Cowboys coming into this game had the fewest penalties called in their favor (53 lowest by 5) and the least amount of beneficial yardage (386 lowest by 100 yards).

After this game, it isn’t even close between them and the next team. I’m not saying this would have changed the game, but how no one has held the Dallas Cowboys on defense in 29 quarters is against all odds. There were a ton of blown or missing calls in this game.

Next: Cowboys offense is built for strong pass protection

I worry about the Thursday game. Getting Tyron Smith back will help, but the coaching has not adjusted to life without Ezekiel Elliott and Sean Lee. I suspect the Cowboys will find a way to win this Thursday, but I don’t think it will ease the worries of fans. This team is not good, and it all starts with Jason Garrett. Well, maybe the officiating too.