Good, Bad, Ugly: Cowboys’ aggressiveness approach vs Eagles for naught

The Cowboys’ Week 9 visit to Philadelphia was billed as one of the biggest games of the season. It lived up to the hype, with the Cowboys coming within literal inches of upsetting the Eagles before a capacity crowd of Philadelphia faithful.

The game truly had everything, including plentiful helpings of good, bad, and ugly. The good for the Cowboys will obviously be overshadowed by coming out on the short end of the 28-23 final score, but it’s there. Another strong outing from Dak Prescott, a big night from CeeDee Lamb as he continues to boost his stock among the league’s receivers, and a record-breaking effort from kicker Brandon Aubrey, were, to note, a few positives.

As in any disappointing loss, though, the bad and the ugly seem to make for longer lists. Much will be made of the lack of a Cowboys run game, the preponderance of questionable penalties, the porosity of the Dallas defense in the red zone and on fourth downs, and why several Cowboys stars seemed to disappear completely in this massive game with huge implications.

But all that’s just scratching the surface. Here’s our weekly look at the goodest, the baddest, and the ugliest from the Week 9 loss.

Trying to match an opportunistic Eagles offense that has made its bones off converting fourth downs, the Cowboys had no choice but to get aggressive themselves. Cowboys fans were thrilled to see Mike McCarthy keep punter Bryan Anger on the sideline, and they were even more pleased with the results on those crucial plays. Dallas went 3-of-5 on fourth downs, including a 29-yard pass to CeeDee Lamb in the first quarter and a Dak Prescott quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter, both extending what turned out to be touchdown drives.

One of the two failed tries was the apparent touchdown pass to Luke Schoonmaker that was overturned only after replay and missed by the smallest of margins. They didn’t lead to a win, but the gotta-have-it plays made in this game should encourage the Cowboys offense to impose their will more often in the back half of the schedule.

When the third quarter began, the Cowboys held a 17-14 lead. By the time it was over, they were down 28-14. Philadelphia held the ball for nearly 10 minutes in between, running 17 plays that covered 147 net yards. That accounted for half of the Eagles’ total net yards on the night and included their two longest plays from scrimmage. All that offense resulted in nine first downs and two key touchdowns for Philly.

Of the Cowboys’ 10 penalties during the game, three were called on Dallas defenders during that brutal third quarter.

If the first half was an even back-and-forth affair, the third quarter was a track meet that put the Cowboys desperately behind, having to use the final 15 minutes to play catch-up.

Referee Tra Blake made this one of the most-flagged games of the 2023 season thus far, penalizing each team 10 times. But the zebras were anything but consistent with their many, many calls. A Tony Pollard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was waved off because of an illegal formation, but Prescott could be seen verifying presnap that offensive lineman Chuma Edoga was eligible. Later, officials picked up a thrown flag after a blatant hands to the face foul against Michael Gallup late in the fourth quarter. Stephon Gilmore caught a bad flag for pass interference, Micah Parsons was clearly held (again) on a fourth-quarter pass rush, and how about that super generous spot of the ball that set up Philadelphia’s first tush push?

Those, unfortunately, were just a few examples of the uneven officiating in this game. Make no mistake, the Cowboys shot themselves in the foot plenty throughout the game. But the refs got some target practice in, too.

The ferocious Eagles defense got home for five sacks and registered another 10 quarterback hits. But Prescott continued to put his mobility on display for much of the game. No. 4 showed no hesitation in running when he needed to, ending the night as Dallas’s second-leading rusher (14 yards). But he put his legs to use mainly to extend plays, seeking ultimately to use his arm delivering throws while under duress.

It helped him find Jake Ferguson for a 40-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter. It bought him enough time to get Jalen Tolbert his first touchdown catch. It moved the sticks on a second-quarter dart to CeeDee Lamb. Of the Cowboys’ ten longest plays in the game, nine were passes… and five came on plays in which Prescott either scrambled out of the pocket or moved within the pocket to make the throw. Prescott’s legs overstepped the sideline by just a fraction to take away a two-point conversion late, but they kept Dallas in the game for most of the night.

Wide receiver Jalen Tolbert has made notable strides in his second season, even reeling in his first touchdown catch. But on a key fourth-and-long play with 80 seconds to go, Prescott’s decision to ask Tolbert to climb the ladder to make the all-important catch was a head-scratcher, to say the least. (Especially since Ferguson- the team’s second-place pass-catcher in targets, receptions, and yards- was streaking down the middle of the field wide open.)

And when the Cowboys needed to convert a fourth-down play on the 1-yard-line, they went to Luke Schoonmaker. He made the catch, but didn’t get the ball over the goal line; one can’t help but wonder if a more seasoned veteran might have had better field awareness in the high-stakes moment. Putting the game’s biggest moments on youngsters like Tolbert and Schoonmaker while leaving Brandin Cooks all but M.I.A. is just one of the things that won’t sit well when looking at Week 9 in the rearview.

The front five gave up three sacks in the final three minutes of play. Two came on back-to-back snaps just before the two-minute warning and put Prescott & Co. in a third-and-21 hole that they were unable to dig out of.

Getting the ball back thanks to the defense pitching a much-needed three-and-out, they gave up yet another on the team’s last first down. The 11-yard loss with the clock running moved the offense back outside the red zone and put the offense both behind the sticks and in hurry-up mode for the final seconds. Mixed in with the sacks the unit allowed, Tyler Smith’s false start on first-and-goal from the 5 with :27 to play couldn’t have come at a worse moment.

With the game in the balance, the Cowboys offensive line played its worst ball when it mattered most.