Eagles

Happy spooky season to all of you with pumpkin emojis in your social media names. May your costumes get you all of the likes, loves, eye emojis, ...

Big plays on both sides of the ball, division rivals, fast and physical defense, oh please let’s run this back. Then someone must have clicked on Dorrough’s “Get Big” at halftime, because the Cowboys manhandled the Eagles to start the second half. What a nightmare it was for the Cowboys at first going, down 20-0. And with the Philadelphia crowd riled up after the Phillies took their bats to the Atlanta Braves’ championship defense at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, this was certainly a spooky-season night fit for “Dreams and Nightmares.” It’s dishwasher friendly for easy cleaning and has a tight-sealing lid to prevent spills when taking it on the go. For me, on the occasion that Christmas falls on Sunday, NFL games feel like an intrusion.

This week, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence indicated he didn't think the Eagles and QB Jalen Hurts had proven anything to him yet, either.

One can only play the teams on their schedule and the Eagles scored 20 points in the first half on a defense that hadn’t given up 20 points in any single game this year. If the Eagles were in the AFC, you would have some true measuring sticks, such as the Bills and Chiefs, but even that conference is filled with parity after those two squads. After this week’s bye, the next month of the schedule should allow the Eagles to continue their quest for perfection. The Cowboys swept the Eagles last season (although the Week 18 blowout was meaningless and played entirely by the team’s backups), and over the last 20 meetings going back to 2012, the Eagles were 7-13 against them. The Jets throttled Aaron Rodgers and the [Packers](https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/) in Green Bay. It remains the Vikings’ only loss of the season so far. The [Steelers](https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/) stunned Tom Brady’s Bucs. On Sunday, the Falcons stomped on the [49ers](https://www.ninersnation.com/) by two touchdowns. Make no mistake, the Eagles beating Dallas last night, no matter how it looked, was of vital importance not only in the standings, but mentally. Perhaps there was some truth to that, as the Cowboys possess one of the finest defenses in the game. [Minnesota Vikings](https://www.dailynorseman.com/), [New York Giants](https://www.bigblueview.com/) and Cowboys have winning records. The Cowboys came into the game 4-1, winners of four straight.

After the Eagles squashed a comeback attempt from the NFC East rival Cowboys on Sunday night, head coach Nick Sirianni praised Philadelphia's resolve under ...

He made a play with his legs, he controlled the clock, he was in complete control. In fact, he had been so efficient and the defense had been so stingy that Dallas had trailed for a total of just 12 minutes and 37 seconds over the previous four games. The same could not be said of Rush, who likely will hand the starting reins back to Prescott next week, barring a setback in Prescott's rehab. [traded for Gardner-Johnson](https://www.nfl.com/news/saints-trading-safety-chauncey-gardner-johnson-to-the-eagles-in-surprising-move) two weeks before the season opener and [acquired cornerback James Bradberry](https://www.nfl.com/news/eagles-agree-to-terms-with-cb-james-bradberry-on-one-year-10m-deal) late in free agency. Two plays later, he got the ball to Brown for a 22-yard gain that set up the Smith score. A defense that had not allowed more than one touchdown in any game surrendered two in the second quarter. Twice they settled for field goals after taking possession at the Dallas 34- and 46-yard lines, leaving the door open for the Cowboys to walk through. Then, fittingly, the defense ended any threat with its [third interception of the night](https://www.nfl.com/videos/c-j-gardner-johnson-picks-off-cooper-rush-for-eagles-third-int-of-snf) and [second](https://www.nfl.com/videos/c-j-gardner-johnson-nabs-leaping-int-off-cooper-rush-s-deflected-throw) for safety [C.J. "Not everybody was involved with that 2-5, I get it, but a big part of the meat and potatoes of this team was involved in that, and they just kept coming to work. "I think being 2-5 (to start last season) did a lot for this team," Sirianni said in the privacy of his office, his mom at his side and his dad across the room. Sirianni had just returned to a largely empty locker room, and there in the middle of it was DJ Jazzy Jeff, a character from the 1990s sitcom. More importantly, they have hit the mother lode in terms of landing not only talented players, but guys whose accountability to each other is matched only by competitive nature.

Go inside the locker room for reaction to the Eagles' 26-17 triumph over the Cowboys to improve to 6-0.

"This is a 17-game season plus playoff games and the team that's the best at the end of the season is going to be the ones that go the furthest and go the distance. "The media always wants to say who's the best team, who's playing the best, and I think the reality is you need to realize that this is a marathon. "He certainly answered the bell and got us out of crucial situations and been able to execute enough for us to function in games," Kelce added. He's starting to get the credit that he's been owed," Kelce proclaimed. I'm happy to be able to be out there and still be able to make plays for the team." "That's the life of a sixth man. "That was the best atmosphere I played in and that was a regular-season game," said wide receiver A.J. "It was one of those games where it was going to be a gritty game. "When Meek came out performing, I'm talking to Smitty (DeVonta Smith) and Quez (Watkins) and I'm like, 'Man, this is a regular-season game.' That was big. Nobody is talking too much about our record, just about how much we need to get better and play like we've played in the second quarter of games all the way through." But on Sunday night, the big second quarter was just like the ones the team has enjoyed this season, and it helped propel the Eagles to 6-0 heading into the bye week. Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 6 of 8 passes for 57 yards and the Eagles used a hard count from Hurts to draw Dallas into a neutral-zone infraction on a fourth-and-4 play to set up Sanders for a score on the next snap.

Philadelphia is 6-0 after a win over the Cowboys Sunday, thanks to a consistent ground effort, while a flexible Giants defense proved to be key vs. the ...

In fact, it’s been a point of emphasis for Bowles since he got the job in April, because he thought the team was worn out last January and didn’t want that to happen again. And I think this week, with teams sniffing around the Panthers, we might start to see a little uptick in activity. He’s at a different point in his life and he doesn't put the pressure on himself that he used to. The more interesting element of it is what it means for Hollywood Brown, who’s likely now out for the year. It was a weird start to his career, and he had some good years and he had some good games and then he had a lot of change and, ironically, there's a lot of things that I saw in Ryan [Tannehill], when we got Ryan from Miami that I kind of saw in Marcus. “I think he wouldn't be playing as well as he is if he hadn’t gone through those experiences in Tennessee at the end, and then sitting behind Derek Carr. And the things we can control is we can play better. And one thing Love was explicit on was the raw amount of things Martindale allows for his players to do: Love said he’d never been used as a blitzer before this year but loves doing it now. [Quinnen Williams](https://www.si.com/nfl/player/quinnen-williams), who was an absolute force in the team’s upset of the Packers at Lambeau. He bet that Greg Roman would eventually tire of running the ball, and was ready for that by continually changing coverage picture on Lamar Jackson as the game went on. Once Sanders was eventually stoned for no gain, the Eagles opened it up to throwing for a 22-yard catch-and-run to AJ Brown before going tempo to catch the Dallas defense with a seven-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith. Maybe most impressive to me, though, is what I mentioned in the morning column: how they leaned on their run game to close the Cowboys out.

Here's a look at Eagles' position-by-position grades after beating Dallas on Sunday Night Football.

And in terms of situational ball on Sunday, Nick Sirianni definitely out-coached Mike McCarthy. Give credit to Elliott, who nailed a 51-yarder in his return. [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXenWaHGZz4Ey4BObUUIyZQ) It seems like there’s a major blunder every week and eventually it’s going to cost them. But James Bradberry was tremendous in coverage and so was Darius Slay, who picked up another interception too. The Eagles didn’t get Cooper Rush to the ground once in this game but their pressure on him definitely affected the game and helped the Eagles force three interceptions. Kyzir White also had a strong performance with 8 tackles and a pass breakup. But ultimately, the Eagles’ offensive line was able to lead that late drive and protect Hurts well enough to get this win. All three of the Eagles’ running backs did their jobs when called upon, especially on that 7:37 drive in the fourth quarter. Grade: B+ Again, the numbers aren’t going to wow you. No, you’re not going to be blown away by 155 passing yards, but Hurts was very solid in this game after what was a kind of shaky start.