3 Takeaways from Cowboys' Week 9 Loss vs. Eagles

The Dallas Cowboys continue to search for their marquee win of the 2023 season. Dallas had an opportunity to find it against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, but their comeback fell short when CeeDee Lamb was tackled short of the goal line as time expired.

The 28-23 defeat dropped Dallas to 5-3 on the season, and the Cowboys have beaten just one team that currently has a winning record—the 4-3 New York Jets.

The opportunities were there. Dallas had a chance to pull within three, but Dak Prescott stepped out of bounds on a two-point try. The Cowboys had 1st-and-5 at the Eagles' 6-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining, but a sack and a pair of penalties put them in 3rd-and-long.

This wasn't the blowout loss that Dallas suffered against the San Francisco 49ers, but falling short on Sunday and firmly behind the 8-1 Eagles in the NFC East might sting more.

Here are our biggest takeaways from the Cowboys' Week 9 loss to the Eagles.

Dak Prescott Did Enough to Win

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Dak Prescott

For most of his career, Dak Prescott has resided in the ranks of the good-to-very-good quarterbacks but has never emerged as an elite signal-caller. He hasn't made the Pro Bowl since 2018, and he's gone just 2-4 in the postseason.

While we still don't know if Prescott is capable of carrying the Cowboys to the Super Bowl, he rose to the challenge of Dallas' most important game of the season to date. Yes, Prescott's gaffe on the late two-point try hurt the Cowboys' comeback chances, but he was not the reason why Dallas lost.

In fact, one could easily argue that Prescott outplayed his counterpart, Jalen Hurts.

Prescott finished 29-of-44 for 374 yards three touchdowns, no turnovers and a 115.2 passer rating. He added 14 yards on six scrambles.

With the ground game struggling against Philly's defensive front, Prescott was tasked with carrying the offense. He did that, and the Cowboys were a mistake or two away from nesting their division rival.

The Offensive Line Continues to Be a Problem

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Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is sacked by Eagles DL Jalen Carter

While the Cowboys have fielded a functional offense this season, injuries and inconsistent play have plagued their offensive line. Dallas came into Sunday averaging just 3.9 yards per carry, and Prescott had been sacked 17 times—tied for 14th most in the NFL.

The good news was that Dallas' starting offensive line—left tackle Tyron Smith, left guard Tyler Smith, center Tyler Biadasz, right Zack Martin and right tackle Terence Steele—was healthy and on the field against Philadelphia.

The bad news is that it failed to make a positive impact against Jalen Carter, Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat and the rest of Philly's ferocious defensive front.

Prescott was sacked five times and regularly had to scramble to find time to throw. While Dallas did dial up some chunk plays in the passing game it was just 6-of-15 on third down and once again struggled on the ground.

Tony Pollard averaged a solid 4.3 yards per carry, but averaged just 3.5 yards per rush as a team. If the Cowboys can't get more dependable play out of their offensive line, they're likely to have trouble again with teams like San Francisco and Philadelphia in the postseason.

Dallas Has to Stop Making Critical Mistakes

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Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy

The Cowboys essentially cost themselves the game with a series of poor decisions and mental mistakes late.

Dallas had the Eagles defense reeling in the final minute. Three Philadelphia penalties and a 14-yard strike to Lamb left the Cowboys only six yards away from a go-ahead touchdown. Then, the Cowboys had a false start, a sack for minus-11 yards, an incomplete pass that took way too long to develop and a delay of game.

With only five seconds remaining and facing 3rd-and-26, head coach Mike McCarthy called for a pass short of the goal line, and the Cowboys were stopped.

"Stating the obvious: It's a game of inches. We came up an inch or two short on a few plays," McCarthy said after the game, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.

Indeed, the Cowboys came up short on several plays, and they put themselves in a hole on several more. Dallas was flagged a whopping 10 times for 83 yards.

Philadelphia was also flagged 10 times, but this wasn't a new problem for Dallas or a one-off with a strict officiating crew. The Cowboys came into Sunday tied for 13th with 50 penalties and tied for third with 7.14 penalties per game, according to Pro Football Reference.

Dallas simply cannot expect to win critical games like this one while playing such a sloppy brand of ball.