Cowboys-Eagles takeaways: Cooper Rush era may be over in Dallas after loss in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — The winning streak is over and so maybe is Cooper Rush’s time as a starter.

The Eagles knocked off the Cowboys, 26-17, Sunday night in a NFC East clash that kept the home team in sole possession of first place in the division. The Cowboys (4-2) have fallen into third place behind the Giants (5-1).

Cooper Rush committed three turnovers on the night Dak Prescott put forth a strong pregame workout as he tries to return from a fracture of his right thumb. Rush’s three interceptions, after not throwing any during a four-game winning streak, shouldn’t mean this was a negative performance. If anything, this game proved the Cowboys need Prescott, and not Rush, to lead them.

Here are five things from Cowboys-Eagles:

Cooper Rush is done

Depending on how Prescott responds from treatment and his Sunday night workout, Rush most likely has started his last game. He won his first five career starts before facing the Eagles defense. He struggled at times but engineered a clutch fourth quarter drive to make it a one-score game.

Rush completed 18-of-38 passes for 181 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Rush was helped by a strong running game, 134 team yards, and connecting with his three tight ends who made seven catches during the night.

The defense was just okay

This Cowboys’ defense has been fantastic for the first six weeks of the season. It struggled at times to contain Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and was beaten on the same play twice when Hurts found wide receiver A.J. Brown on a run-pass option play.

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said before the game Hurts hadn’t played the Cowboys just yet, so it will be interesting to see what he says now of how the Eagles quarterback played. Micah Parsons had some pressures but it wasn’t enough to offset the Eagles passing game at times.

Of course, the Eagles ran with efficiency (136 yards) including on a couple of long scoring drives. The Cowboys defense gave up 15-play, 80-yard drive to start the game, the second longest scoring drive allowed this season.

It was a long night by the defense, a night where they needed a turnover to help their offense and they didn’t get one.

A fourth down challenge

In the second quarter, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy declined to challenge a key third-down reception by CeeDee Lamb that was marked just short of a first down.

On a third-and-9 play with 10 minutes left in the first half, Lamb caught a pass and was tackled just short of the first-down marker for an 8-yard reception. McCarthy could have challenged the spot, but elected to go for it on fourth down.

It’s unknown what type of information McCarthy received from the coaches in the press box. So the Cowboys hurried up and ran a play on fourth and inches.

Cooper Rush tried to find Lamb again but he couldn’t get free from the coverage at the line of scrimmage. Rush instead threw a pass toward tight end Peyton Hendershot that landed incomplete. Eagles corner James Bradberry, who played a strong game, was the nearest defender on the play.

The fourth-down call came with the Cowboys trailing 14-0 and it gave the Eagles the ball at the Cowboys’ 34. The sequence ended with the Eagles pushing their lead to 17-0 on a Jake Elliott 51-yard field goal.

Despite the defense allowing only three points, the Cowboys could have punted, challenged the spot (which NBC rules official Terry McAulay said would likely have been overturned on the broadcast) or, what they eventually decided, go for it.

Challenging the play that early in the game would have been a risk, because if you lose the challenge you would be down to two timeouts for the rest of the first half. But considering how the Eagles dominated the start of the game, it seemed challenging the play would have been worth it.

Dak Prescott gets some throws in

Dak Prescott was inactive for Sunday’s game, which isn’t a surprise, due to his thumb.

What Prescott did before the game was of interest.

He conducted a throwing session for nearly 20 minutes in pregame. Prescott also took some snaps from center, something that didn’t occur last week. The only work Prescott did, outside of conditioning, was throwing passes to a variety of receivers without defenders. At one point, Prescott threw a handful of passes in an individual drill which prompted coach Mike McCarthy to place him on the injury report as limited on Thursday.

The reality is Prescott wasn’t playing against the Eagles. But his workout at Lincoln Financial Field was his best work since he suffered a fractured thumb on Sept. 11. Prescott has missed the last five games with his fractured thumb and could return for next week’s game against Detroit.

The more comfort Prescott feels, the closer he’ll get to playing in a NFL game — which might happen in the next two weeks.

Schultz inactive is a surprise

Cowboys’ officials stressed tight end Dalton Schultz was fine. But he wasn’t. The Cowboys’ starting tight end was inactive with a knee issue.

Schultz injured his knee in a Week 2 victory over Cincinnati. He missed one game but returned in Week 4 only to last 10 snaps before suffering a re-aggravation against the Rams.

Schultz missing Sunday night’s game meant the Cowboys utilized Sean McKeon, Jake Ferguson and Hendershot in the contest. Schultz’s season has been unsettled since he signed a $10.9 million franchise tag. He’s got nine catches for 80 yards this season with no touchdowns.

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