Eagles remain unbeaten after defeating Dallas Cowboys

Eagles remain unbeaten after defeating Dallas Cowboys

The Philadelphia Eagles entered Sunday because the N.F.L.’s final unbeaten crew, thanks largely to the improved play and the event of Jalen Hurts. With his arm and legs, Hurts, the third-year quarterback had propelled the Eagles to the franchise’s third 5-0 beginning since 1981, stirring newfound pleasure for a fan base already considered as some of the ardent within the league.

Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence, although, didn’t care.

“All you-all want to put in writing is he hasn’t performed the Cowboys but, so we don’t understand how good he’s,” Lawrence mentioned Thursday at his locker within the crew’s facility.

That sentiment was typical of this bitter N.F.C. East rivalry, particularly earlier than a prime-time matchup to find out a first place within the division. However, it was inaccurate because the Eagles beat the Cowboys, 26-17, because of Hurts’s effectivity and Philadelphia’s suffocating defensive efficiency early in the recreation.

The Eagles moved to 6-0, whereas the Cowboys (4-2) fell to 3rd place within the division behind the Giants (5-1).

The Eagles and Hurts, who threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns, rose to the second, pairing their run-pass choice system on offense with sticky defensive protection and well-timed takeaways within the second quarter when Philadelphia outscored the Cowboys, 20-3. Receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith mixed for 111 yards and two touchdowns and the crew rushed for 136 yards.

“I feel this crew was hungry for it and keen to come back out and play in an enormous time recreation,” Hurts mentioned in a postgame information convention. “We’ve constructed this sense of ‘not being happy.’ We’ll by no means take this sense of profitability as a right, however, we’re at all times going to be hungry.”

The sport held an intense playoff-like environment from the beginning. The rapper and Philadelphia native Meek Mill carried out proper earlier than kickoff, and at one level within the second quarter, working again Miles Sanders wanted to shush the energetic house crowd so the offense might hear its cadence.

Within the first half, the Philadelphia protection held Dallas, led by the backup quarterback Cooper Rush, to only 81 yards of offense and snagged two interceptions. Rush, who had been undefeated in 4 video games as a starter rather than the injured Dak Prescott, threw for 181 yards, a landing, and three interceptions, whereas Dallas rushed for 134 yards.

The Eagle’s offense, which had succeeded early by containing the Cowboys’ versatile linebacker Micah Parsons, stalled towards the top of the primary half when offensive lineman Lane Johnson left the sport with head damage, permitting Dallas to achieve momentum at first of the third quarter.

Shortly after halftime, Dallas accomplished a 79-yard drive that concluded with Ezekiel Elliott dashing for a 14-yard landing, closing the hole to 20-10 with simply over eight minutes remaining within the third quarter. On their subsequent sequence, after an Eagles punt, the Cowboys drove 93 yards and scored a landing when tight finish Jake Ferguson caught a 7-yard cross, closing the hole to 20-17 with 14 minutes 39 seconds left within the recreation.

However Hurts orchestrated a 75-yard drive, which ended when Smith acrobatically caught a 7-yard landing. The Eagles did not convert the 2-point try, making the rating 26-17 with 7:02 remaining.

On the following Cowboys possession, Rush sailed a cross over the center and security C.J. Gardner-Johnson made a diving interception for his second takeaway of the night time, successfully ending the sport.

It was an announcement of efficiency for the Eagles, who moved the ball many of the night time with run-pass choices, an idea that permits the quarterback to run or throw the ball relying on how he reads a defender. On many performances, that defender was Parsons, a second-year participant who entered the sport tied for the league lead in sacks (six) however for whom Hurts repeatedly accounted.

“Generally it’s like if you happen to can’t block him, learn him,” Coach Nick Sirianni mentioned.

Hurts has emerged as one of many league’s finest gamers in solely his second season because the full-time starter. Drafted within the second spherical in 2020, Hurts confronted criticism for inconsistent streaks as a pocket passer and entered the yr nonetheless beneath analysis from the entrance workplace. Armed with two first-round picks within the 2023 N.F.L. draft, Common Supervisor Howie Roseman might provide Hurts with extra weapons, or choose his successor in a robust draft class for the place.

By way of six weeks, Hurts has earned the belief of his coaches and teammates, and Sirianni mentioned he was impressed with Hurts’s management of the offense.

“This man’s not fazed by something,” Sirianni mentioned. “He’s acquired a fantastic demeanor that you just see in nice quarterbacks. He’s unfazed by issues and that’s what I like about him. He simply goes and performs the following play.”

The Cowboys had been led by Parsons and their protection, which entered the day having allowed the second-fewest factors within the league (72) and ranked second in sacks (20). The unit’s manufacturing beneath the defensive coordinator Dan Quinn allowed Rush to handle video games nicely sufficient to win, however, the Cowboys this season had not scored greater than 25 factors in a recreation. Cornerback Darius Slay mentioned he felt they might capitalize on Rush if they grew a lead.

“They have been a crew that by no means performed from behind,” he mentioned. “We knew we needed to rise and drive them to play from behind.”