Menu Close

Ten Takeaways from the Eagles’ Complete Evisceration of the Cowboys

Anthony Mazziotti|

I’m running out of words to describe this Eagles team. I took the quote from Brandon Graham and the adjective from my colleague, Adrian.

This game had everything. The defense flexed and didn’t allow any touchdowns, the offense played through adversity, and overcame the loss of our kicker. Without getting too far ahead of myself, let’s jump into the takeaways from Sunday night’s absolute beat down of the Cowboys.

1. Fast starts.

Might as well start at the beginning. The Eagles allowed a big kick return to start the game which put the Cowboys immediately in field goal range. The Eagles then forced a quick three-and-out and made the Cowboys settle for a (long) field goal. Forcing a three-and-out was huge in that situation.

The Eagles got the ball back and drove 75-yards down the field, with ease, to put 7 points on the board in an unlikely way. Kenjon Barner had two huge plays: first was a phenomenal catch on the sideline, followed by a tough run for the touchdown. The Birds proved that they have the ability to start fast and put points on the board early.

And they capped it off with an incredible touchdown celebration.

2. Ronald Darby is legit.

I’ve become accustomed to seeing Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson, and Rasul Douglas shutting down opposing receivers. It was something else to see Ronald Darby out on the field. On his first target he made an excellent open field tackle on Dez Bryant. On his following target he played tough defense on a fade to Bryant. Some might say he got away with pass interference, but he still made an excellent play on the ball and saved six points.

Later in the first half Darby recorded his first regular season interception for the Birds. He played tough defense all night long and made life hard for the Cowboy offense. Darby gives this secondary an added level of depth; his presence really improves the defense. I’ve been saying it for a while now, this secondary is scary. (This entire defense is scary, for what it’s worth).

3. Turnovers.

Rodney McLeod, Ronald Darby, and Malcolm Jenkins intercepted Dak Prescott. McLeod and Darby’s interceptions didn’t result in points for the Eagles. This is something that needs to be cleaned up moving forward, you have to make them pay when you get a takeaway. Jenkins’ interception came in garbage time.

Later in the game, Derek Barnett had a strip-sack and Nigel Bradham ran the fumble in for the touchdown.

The Eagles had no turnovers in Sunday night’s game. Any time you have a four-to-nothing turnover differential, you should win the game.

4. The defensive line is among the best in football.

If you don’t know, now you know.

Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry, Chris Long, Beau Allen, and Destiny Vaeao are the names you should know by heart. They dominate the trenches, something that tends to go unnoticed. This is a very deep and talented unit, they are the base of what makes the defense so successful. They kept the pressure all night long, just like they do every week.

Extra Point: Brandon Graham should be voted to his first Pro Bowl for his dominant play this season.

5. Rookie Watch 2017.

Weekly installment of Rookie Watch, this week was pretty good.

Derek Barnett: The rookie defensive end had a career day. He had two sacks, one forced fumble, and a handful of pressures. One of his pressures directly led to Ronald Darby’s interception and his strip-sack was recovered by Nigel Bradham for a touchdown. Barnett is really earning his play time. He should see an increased role moving forward. If he keeps playing like this he should generate some Defensive Rookie of the Year buzz.

Rasul Douglas: With Ronald Darby’s return, Douglas didn’t play too much, if at all. I liked what I saw out of him so far this season, but I don’t know how much more we’ll see of him.

Corey Clement: South Jersey’s own! Clement scored another touchdown in the red-zone. He is proving to be a valuable cog in this offense and should see a similar role moving forward despite a crowded backfield. Clement has been one of the best surprises of the season. He isn’t going to get the same buzz that Kareem Hunt is getting for Rookie of the Year, but he is still playing very well.

Jake Elliott: “Legatron” nailed his only extra point attempt but missed his lone field goal attempt. He suffered a head injury on the opening kickoff. There are some questions on what the Eagles will do about it (they finished the game with Kamu Grugier-Hill as their kicker). Stay tuned to PI for updates.

6. Wentz didn’t have his best game (again).

Carson Wentz finished the game 14/27 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. With the first drive of the game aside, Carson went 2/13 on pass attempts leading up to halftime. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Wentz had a tough outing.

The team won in spite of the spotty quarterback play. The team found a way to win that didn’t involve their young quarterback carrying them. The rushing attack was lethal, the defense was nasty, and the better team came away with a win.

Wentz did have a handful of really nice plays, but they were few and far between. His third down pass to Alshon Jeffery is a perfect example of that:

I know he is better than those numbers say, and for what it’s worth he proved that he’s way better than Dak Prescott. I think the numbers could have been better but….

7. Wentz also didn’t get much help.

During his stretch where he went 2/13, there were a handful of balls that were just flat out dropped by receivers. The one that is burned into my mind is the one that literally bounced off Torrey Smith’s wide open fingers on a crossing route that would have resulted in a first down. That’s a catch that needs to be made.

Zach Ertz was a non-factor as well. He finished the game with two catches for eight yards. He didn’t really look like himself out there, he wasn’t targeted much and on the two-point conversion attempt he kind of bobbled the ball and fumbled before crossing the plane. It was a weird play, I believe he wasn’t quite at full health for this game. (there isn’t any evidence supporting this other than a gut feeling)

The team found a way to win without him having to contribute catches in volume, but my selfish side wants to see more of Ertz moving forward.

8. Halftime adjustments.

The halftime score of this game was 9-7 in favor of Dallas. Bear in mind, Dallas was definitely not in control of the game at all. Also bear in mind, I was ready to flip a table at halftime because this looked like peak Eagles: keep a lesser opponent in a game and find a way to lose by a possession.

This is a different Eagles team; a better Eagles team. Dougie P went back to the drawing board and made some serious adjustments in the second half. They came out firing and scored 30 (!!) unanswered points and put the nail in the Cowboys’ coffin. He went back to the run and everything opened up for them.

The defense kept doing what they do best and held the Cowboys to 9 points. My favorite moment came deep into garbage time when Malcolm Jenkins picked off Dak Prescott to keep the score at 9. I wanted the score to represent what went down on Sunday night. 37-9 does just that.

This is the best Eagles team we’ve seen in a while. While this Cowboys team isn’t the best team we’ve faced, I find solace in knowing we have the best team in the division and arguably the best team in the conference.

9. Jay Ajayi! (and the rest of the backfield).

In baseball, a team that is ready to go on a deep playoff run will do their best to acquire a hitter to help out their offense to ensure they have the fire power to compete and possibly win a World Series. Howie Roseman did the football equivalent of that on the last day of October when he traded a fourth round pick for Jay Ajayi.

In two games with the Eagles, Ajayi has 15 carries for 168 yards and a touchdown. He gives our backfield and additional pop that it didn’t have before. His presence makes the Birds backfield one of the best in football right now.

The three headed monster of Ajayi, Blount, and Clement will be hard for any defense to contain. The three combined had 26 touches for 198 yards and a touchdown. This is a backfield by committee working to perfection. Ajayi is the homerun threat, Blount is the battering ram, and Clement is the “change of pace back”. Here we see Blount rolling a 30-yarder of his own:

Jay Ajayi gives the Eagles a bona fide playmaker from the running back position. As you saw from his monster 71-yard run, he is always liable to break off a big run.

 

I wish he could have found the end-zone, but this was a beautiful run. I love this guy, I’m so happy to see him in midnight green.

10. Pro Bowl Watch 2017.

For those of you that have been watching, a lot of Eagles have been playing outstanding football this season. Some of which should be given All-Pro or Pro Bowl honors. Here are some names to watch:

Fletcher Cox: Cox is getting to the point where he will make the Pro Bowl on name alone. Don’t let that take away from the fact that he is an absolute force on the D-Line.

Brandon Graham: Graham is what Trent Cole was: a hardworking defensive end that doesn’t get the respect he deserves. He’s starting to get recognition for how much pressure he puts on opposing quarterbacks, he just doesn’t have the sack numbers. I think he earns his first trip to the Pro Bowl this season. He deserves it for sure.

Nigel Bradham: Bradham is the best linebacker on this team right now. I would say Jordan Hicks would get that honor but he can’t stay healthy. Bradham has been balling out this season and he just might sneak into the Pro Bowl conversation. He is a key member of this defense and needs to be resigned for next season. If he makes the Pro Bowl he will be back for sure.

Malcolm Jenkins: Much like Cox, Jenkins is getting to the point where he might get in on name alone. Also like Cox, he is more than that. Jenkins might be the most versatile player on this defense. He can play corner, free safety, strong safety, linebacker, you name it. He is one of the best safeties in football.

Carson Wentz: This is obvious. He leads the league in touchdown passes (25) and only has five interceptions. He is in MVP talks as well.

Zach Ertz: Aside from last nights game and the missed game against the Broncos, Zach Ertz has been the best player on this offense not named Carson Wentz. On the season, he has 45 catches for 536 yards and six touchdowns. This is Pro Bowl worthy.

Lane Johnson: Johnson has been the best lineman on the team, hands down. Right tackles usually don’t make the Pro Bowl, but Johnson could be an exception. He shut down Von Miller and Demarcus Lawrence in back to back games.

Jason Kelce: Pro Football Focus has him rated as the number one center in the game per a graphic on Sunday Night Football. I don’t particularly like PFF, but Kelce is having a good season and the national media loves him. I wouldn’t be shocked if he makes the Pro Bowl.

Brandon Brooks: He tends to be the forgotten lineman between Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, and Jason Peters, but he is a really good guard. He plays tough and could make his first Pro Bowl.

As it stands today, the Eagles are the best team in football. Bask in it, Philadelphia! The Eagles return to action on Sunday at home against the Chicago Bears. I feel a tenth win coming!

You can follow Anthony Mazziotti on Twitter (@AntMazziotti) and e-mail him at [email protected]. Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter (@PHL_Influencer), Facebook and Instagram

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.