The Eagles remained the only undefeated team in the NFL in finding a way to win again, beating the Dallas Cowboys, 26-17, after nearly losing a 20-point lead Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
It’s the third time in franchise history that the Eagles have started the season 6-0 (1981 and 2004 were the other two times).
The Eagles used an explosive 20-point second quarter to win. So far this season, they’ve scored 112 points in the second quarter and just 14 points in the first, 17 in the third and 18 in the fourth.
Jalen hurts finished completing a modest 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while AJ Brown caught five passes for a team-high 67 yards and his second touchdown of the season, and Miles Sanders rushed for 71 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown.
The Eagles defense threw some heat at Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush, who completed 18 of 38 for 181 yards and a touchdown, while throwing three interceptions, two by safety CJ Gardner-Johnson and one by cornerback Darius Slay.
Going into the game, Dallas had turned the ball over only twice in its first five games.
The Eagles won without Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson missing for the second half under concussion protocol, after Johnson did a good job grouping Dallas out of linebacker Micah Parsons.
There was a lot of good, bad and bad in the Eagles’ 26-17 win over Dallas.
Good
In second and nine at the Dallas 29, It hurts discovery Brown for a 22-yard gain and a first down at the Dallas Seven with 7:32 left. The next game Hurts hit DeVonta Smith with a touchdown pass, padding a slim lead into a 26-17 cushion with 7:02 left.
On third and fourth in the Dallas 45 with just over 10:00 to play, running back Kenneth Gainwell go five meters for a first try. He extended the Eagles’ practice and protected the slim 20-17 lead.
In third-and-nine at the Dallas 26, cornerback Darius Kill walked past a Rush pass intended for Michael Gallup with 5:14 left in the second quarter, which ultimately led to Jake Elliottsecond placement of. Slay had another pass in second-and-10 in the Eagles’ 41 with 1:17 to go.
It hurts discovery Brown on third-and-third at the Dallas 15 with his second TD reception of the season and a 14-0 Eagles lead with 4:07 left in the half.
Cornerback james bradberry deflecting a pass intended for Gallup. Security CJ Gardner Johnson intercepted the deflection with 14:47 left in the first half at the Dallas 44. Bradberry came back to deflect another Rush pass with 9:24 left in the half, on a fourth-and-crit at the Dallas 34. The defended pass led to a Elliot 51-yard field goal and a 17-0 Eagles lead.
Gardner Johnson later made a game-preserving second interception with a diving catch with 5:03 left. defensive end Brandon Graham forced the interception by pressuring Rush.
On the Eagles’ first score, left guard Landon Dickerson manhandling Dallas tackle Chauncey Golston, creating a traffic lane for Sanders to score the Eagles’ first touchdown. Dickerson twisted, then buried Golston.
Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni going for fourth and four at the Dallas 10 with :08 left in the first quarter. A Dallas neutral zone offense set up a five-yard run from Sanders on the first play of the second quarter.
On the Eagles’ second drive, fourth-and-third in the Dallas 38 with 3:38 left in the first quarter. It was the most important play in shaping the tenor of the game. It was a well-crafted play, which caused Parsons to momentarily hesitate in the face of misdirection and allowed Hurts to throw a short pass to Brown for a gain of 11 yards. Johnson, who had done a good job against Parsons, didn’t block him at all. Parsons came forward and didn’t know what to do, rush Hurts or pick up Brown, who was running beside him. The fourth down conversion set the Eagles’ first score of the game.
Hurts’ 21-yard completion to back up the tight end Jack Stoll on the Eagles’ second drive, which brought the ball to the Eagles’ 43 in the second and eighth. In the grand scheme of things, it may not have seemed like a big deal, but it kickstarted the Eagles offense.
Security Marcus Epps diving deflection on third-and-four at the Dallas 41 on the Cowboys’ second series.
defensive tackle Jordan Davis battling Dallas center Tyler Biadasz to stop Tony Pollard for a two-yard gain on the first-and-10 at the Dallas 35 in the Cowboys’ second drive.
defensive end Josh Sweatshirt close on Ezekiel Elliott in the Cowboys’ first practice, on a third-and-two at the Dallas 24.
Linebacker White Kyzir beating Rush’s first pass of the game, which was intended for CeeDee Lamb.
The bad
It hurts faded away Brown in third and eighth at the Eagles’ 44 on their first practice. Hurts had opened it and knocked it over.
Brown dropping Jalen Hurts’ first pass of the game to the Eagles’ 35.
Linebacker Haason Reddick not being able to get out of Cowboys right tackle Terence Steele’s block on the first play of the game, when Lamb took an end for eight yards. The second and the 14 to 24 of the Eagles with: 15 to play in the third quarter, Reddick failed to defeat Elliott, who reached the Eagles’ 12 on the final play of the third quarter.
The ugly one
In a very rare center error Jason Kelcepoor communication between Kelce and It hurts resulted in a fumble when Kelce broke the ball as Hurts was still calling signals. The Eagles recovered the fumble at the Dallas 42 with 2:46 remaining.
Gardner Johnson and Eps both sniffing Dallas tight end Jake Ferguson on the Cowboys’ seven-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter with 14:39 left, putting Dallas up 20-17.
With 14:54 remaining to play, Kill getting called for illegal contact on a third-and-two in the Eagles’ 12. The flag gave Dallas a first down and set Ferguson’s score.
Linebacker TJ Edwards for losing Ferguson on a first-and-10 to the Eagles 47 for a gain of 22 yards. The play led to Ezekiel Elliott’s 14-yard touchdown with 8:19 left in the third quarter.
defensive tackle Cox Fletcher being totally taken out by Steele, who had a great game, on Elliott’s touchdown in the third quarter. Then Cox watched Elliott in the back run just past.
linebackers Kyron Johnson and Nakobe Dean losing outside containment on KaVontea Turpin’s 63-yard kickoff return that led to the Cowboys’ only points in the first half.
The only other flaw in an otherwise perfect half came with 2:21 left in the second quarter when the tackle Jordan Mailata was flagged for a false start. That left the Eagles with a third-and-18 at the Dallas 28, forcing them to settle for a 34-yard field goal from Elliott and a 20-0 lead.
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who has written stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project for ESPN.com called “Love at First Beep”. He is best known for his award-winning article on ESPN.com about high school wrestler AJ Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
