Eagles 23-9 Over Cowboys: 10 ‘Whitty’ Observations – Tricks, But No Treats

The Philadelphia Eagles take charge of the NFC East with a 23-9 win on Sunday over the Dallas Cowboys. Our 10 ‘Whitty’ Observations – Tricks, But No Treats …

10. Between quarterback Ben DiNucci’s sidearm deliveries and kicker Greg Zeurlein’s Wiffle-ball action field goals, we were treated to more funky ball movement than a Texas Rangers’ start by Charlie Hough.

9. Rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs produced a fascinating and frustrating performance. Beaten for two touchdowns. Picked off two passes. 

His diving, athletic interception of Carson Wentz in the end zone before halftime was only Dallas’ second pick of the season. The Cowboys went 206 passes by opposing quarterbacks between interceptions – first by Chidobe Awuzie in Week 1 and Diggs in Week 8. Because 2020 gonna 2020, Diggs waited only seven passes to pick off Wentz again on the Eagles’ first third-quarter possession. 

Diggs isn’t good yet. But he shows glimpses of being great. Someday.

8. Sometimes NFL head coaches get too cute. Right, Doug Pederson? 

Against the league’s worst run defense, the Eagles inexplicably put the game in the hands of Wentz. Against a Cowboys’ unit that surrendered 307 to the Browns, 261 to the Cardinals and 208 to Washington, the Eagles averaged 4.6 yards per rush but ran it only 26 times. 

Baffling that teams don’t just run it 50 times against Dallas. It’s a winning formula.

7. DiNucci was expectedly inept. Inaccurate at times and fortunate not to be picked off a couple times. Lack of pocket awareness led to two fumbles and four sacks. The works. In the lousy legacy of Cowboys’ quarterbacks to wear No. 7, I’d rank him behind only Steve Beuerlein and throw him in the pile with the lukewarm likes of Drew Henson, Chad Hutchison, Stephen McGee and Cooper Rush.

“I thought I played well at times,” DiNucci said, “and obviously had two costly turnovers …”

Young man, we’re gonna need to raise the bar on “playing well” around here.

6. The Cowboys likely wouldn’t have won, but the game-clinching play should have been overturned and negated by replay. 

What am I missing? Trailing only 15-9 midway through the fourth quarter, DiNucci fumbled on a blitz. The ball was recovered by Eagles’ lineman Vinny Curry, who while laying on the field was then stripped by the Cowboys’ Connor Williams. Terence Steele inadvertently kicked the ball toward Dallas’ end zone and it was scooped up by Rodney McLeod for a 53-yard touchdown return.

From my view, it clearly should’ve been Philadelphia’s ball at Dallas’ 40 with a six-point lead. Instead it was an insurmountable 21-9 margin. I didn’t hear or see a replay announcement from the referee.

All scoring plays are reviewed thoroughly. Except, apparently, this one.

5. Nightmare in a nutshell: The Cowboys have played eight games and allowed three safeties.

4. The Cowboys are now 2-6. In other words, welcome indeed to Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead. Since the NFL expanded its playoffs in 1990, 112 teams have started 2-6. None have made the playoffs. 

Make it 113.

3. We’ve ripped the defensive effort all season, but against the Eagles there was hustle, visible enthusiasm and even playmaking. Big improvement. 

“We took a step in the right direction in a number of areas,” coach Mike McCarthy said.

But … a Cowboys’ offense down to its third-string quarterback again gave them zero chance to win. 

How bad have the Cowboys been since Dak Prescott went down? In three games without him they have been outscored, 86-22. In the 36 drives since Dak’s injury the offense has produced …

13 punts

7 FGs

5 Fumbles

3 INTs

4 Downs

2 Missed FGs

1 Safety

1 Touchdown

The lone touchdown? Late in the game trailing the Cardinals, 31-3.

2. Too many tricks. Not enough treats. On the night after Halloween, the Cowboys pulled out all their candied, gadget plays in an attempt to camouflage and supplement DiNucci’s limited playbook. 

In the first four snaps, the quarterback lined up at receiver and was lead blocker on a double-reverse. Ezekiel Elliott in the Wildcat. Cedric Wilson in the Wildcat. 

The Cowboys weren’t good enough to beat the Eagles straight up, so no way to criticize the strategy. Execution – stop me if you’ve heard this one before – was the problem.

1. The Cowboys lost a game in which they created four takeaways. They have devolved into GEICO’s horror-movie commercial victims that eschew the running car to hide in the creepy, dark garage behind the chainsaws. Comically hopeless.