PHILADELPHIA – Well, the Dallas Cowboys, against all odds stacked high against them, fought and clawed despite this rash of injuries to at least stay in this 2024 season.
They once were 3-7 but scrambled to 7-8, able to win four games during an ensuing five game stretch, and while eliminated last week from potentially making a run at the final of three NFC wildcard playoff berths, they at least pridefully had their consolation prize eyes set on finishing with a winning record if they could win their final two games against NFC East brethren Philadelphia and Washington.
But finally, in Week 17, Game 16, diminishing returns set in here at The Linc to the delight of 69,895 mostly green-clad Eagles fans who greeted woebegone Cowboys' Sunday arrival not long after church services with their customary middle fingers up and thumbs down.
And nothing could be finer in this City of Brotherly Shove than E-A-G-L-E-S 41, Cowboys a meager 7.
The Eagles victory pulled their record to 13-3, clinching the NFC East Division title with one game to play and a good chance to claim the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and once again assuring if we didn't know already no NFC East champion will repeat since the Eagles in 2004
The loss assures the 7-9 Cowboys will not for a third-place finish in the NFC East, their first losing season in four years and just the second (6-10 in 2020) since going 5-11 in the nearly Romo-less 2015 season with one game remaining, the 11-5, playoff bound Washington Commanders noon Sunday at AT&T.
Despite the loss the Cowboys can take some solace in running back Rico Dowdle, with 104 yards rushing against the Eagles, his fourth 100-yard performance in the past five games, becoming the franchise's first undrafted running back to finish a season with 1,000 yards rushing, totaling 1,007 with one game to play and likely will rush for more single-season yards since Ezekiel Ellott's 1,357 in 2019.
Also though, with the victory well in hand, the Eagles rode their running back Saquon Barkley hard, assuring with his 167 yards in the game he'd become the ninth player to break 2,000 yards in a season (2,005) and the first since Derek Henry's 2,027 in 2020, and now needs just 101 yards rushing in the regular season's final game vs. the Giants, his former team allowing him to walk in free agency this year, to eclipse Eric Dickerson's NFL long-standing single-season rushing record of 2,105 set in 1983, 41 years ago, but in 16 games.
A combination of reasons led to the Cowboys second loss this season to the Eagles by a combined score of 75-13.
First, really was a shame uncommonly bad decisions by Cowboys backup quarterback Cooper Rush starting his eighth game in place of the injured Dak Prescott. Then the strange occurrence of turning the ball over four times when putting up a plus-8 turnover differential while winning four of their past five games.
And as bad, maybe worse, those diminishing returns at the cornerback position extinguishing any chance the Cowboys had to log their fourth consecutive winning season and seventh in the past nine years.
No Trevon Diggs, placed on injured reserve Dec. 21.
No backup starter Josh Butler, already having been placed on injured reserve Dec. 9.
No backup starter Amani Oruwariye, placed on IR this week for a second time this season.
Heck, not even Kamon Hall, signed off the practice squad Dec. 9 to the 53 but ruled out for the game with a hamstring injury.
That allowed the Eagles high-powered offense (6th), even with starting quarterback Jalen Hurt still out in concussion protocol, to endlessly pick on former practice squad cornerback Andrew Booth, elevated to the 53 out of depth necessity a week ago.
Bad timing having to play the Eagles, averaging right at 27 points a game and giving up no more than 20 points in 10 of their previous 15.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer was between a rock and a harder place. He knew he had to shadow Eagles leading receiver A.J. Brown with his best outside cornerback, DaRon Bland. He also knew crowding the NFL's leading rusher Barkley by playing a safety closer to the line of scrimmage was necessary if the Cowboys were going to hold him to a reasonable number of rushing yards, and that plan was working reasonably well in the first half, the Cowboys holding Barkley to a modest 40 yards on 13 carries.
But in doing so that exposed Booth, having proved to be a liability ever since the Cowboys acquiring the former second-round draft choice from Minnesota for soon to be released Nahshon Wright, leaving him in numerous one-on-one situations with Eagles dangerous receiver DeVonta Smith, a first-round draft choice just two catches shy of Brown's team-leading 64.
That gamble proved a bust, and compounding the precarious situation at times was having to line up a six-man pass pressure front, but providing limited disruption, never once sacking Eagles backup starter Kenny Pickett or his backup Tanner McKee after leaving with a rib injury. Only Micah Parsons had even a QB hit, the Eagles offensive line dominating.
The Eagles knew from the start Booth would be no match for Smith, who finished with two touchdown receptions, both beating Booth, one from Pickett for 22 yards to stake the Eagles to a 14-7 lead with 6:38 left in the second quarter, and a second from McKee for 25 yards in the fourth quarter, the icing on the 41-point cake.
But that was not all. Had video replay not overturned Pickett's apparent 50-yard touchdown pass to Smith over Booth, ruling Smith down at the one for 49 yards, only to delay the inevitable (Pickett's tush-push TD), he would have finished with three TDs. As it was, Smith was the game's leading receiver, six catches for 120 yards.
"I mean, they obviously got after him and you can't cloud every single play, especially with the strength of their offense running the football," McCarthy said of the coverage breakdowns. "And the strength is, you know, the way (Barkley is) rolling. You're going to have to play someone high and our guys know that they have to stay on the up-field shoulder, and we didn't get that done."
Here were the Cowboys other crushing boo-boos: Turnovers. Four of them, the Eagles twice picking off Rush and two lost fumbles (Jake Ferguson and Dowdle). Two bad decisions on Cooper's part led to the interceptions when good decisions had been his calling card, throwing into triple coverage on the first series of the game, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson ending a nice Cowboys opening drive with a 69-yard pick 6. Then facing a third-and-6 at his own 42 with just 50 seconds left in what had been a 17-7 Eagles first half lead, Coop went deep for Brandin Cooks, again in triple coverage, the Eagles turning that interception into the blowout touchdown following that 49-yard completion to Smith for a 24-7 lead halftime lead.
But there was one more poor decision. On a third-and-1 at his own 41 in a 7-7 tie game early in the second quarter and the Cowboys defense having held the Eagles to just 14 yards and Barkly to nine of those in the first quarter, instead of simply running for a first down, Rush goes deep to Jonathan Mingo. Incomplete. Punt.
Ugh.
Ten plays later the Eagles drove for a touchdown, consuming 8:22, aided by a Booth illegal contact penalty (five yards, first down) on what would have been after forcing an Eagles fumble they recovered in the backfield a third-and-six at their own 23.
Then came those back-to-back-dagger turnover, the one by Ferguson on the Cowboys next offensive play leading to a Philly field goal and then that pick at end of the half leading to what really was the decisive touchdown.
"Minus three at halftime was a real kick in the ass," McCarthy said of the turnover differential.
McCarthy would go on to place blame on those three bad decisions, saying, "I mean, definitely decisions. I mean, what you look at. And you know, it's not where we want to be there, that's for sure."
So here ends the drive for at least a winning record. Turnovers. Bad decisions. An empty corner. An abundance of injuries to Pro Bowl players, six at some point during the season to be exact that now includes CeeDee Lamb the latest, along with Dak Prescott, Zack Martin, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence and Diggs – and consider a seventh with Parsons missing four games, and don't underestimate the loss of linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, too, and having lost projected defensive end starter Sam Williams before the season even began.
"I mean, it's extremely hard for everybody,'' left guard Tyler Smith said. "But one thing I can definitely say is nobody on our sideline quit. Not one person threw in the towel, folded, started pointing fingers or any of that. I can definitely say our guys are one-of-a-kind guys."
But, in the end just too darn much to overcome.
Does catch up.
