Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys: Full Report Card Grades for Dallas
The Dallas Cowboys (8-4) were thoroughly dominated as they lost 33-10 to the Philadelphia Eagles (9-3). The Cowboys loss gave the Eagles a one-game lead in the NFC East race.
The Eagles dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football and confused the Cowboys defense with their wide variety of formations.
The Cowboys offense struggled throughout the game as Tony Romo had one of his worst games of the regular season.
The defense just couldn't keep up with the Eagles offense. LeSean McCoy had huge holes to run through, and Mark Sanchez found open receivers all game.
The only thing the Cowboys did well was in special teams. Dwayne Harris and Lance Dunbar had a couple of nice runs and didn't allow the Eagles to get any sizable returns.
Tyrone Crawford was the best player for the Cowboys Thursday as he consistently got pressure up the middle.
The Cowboys can't afford to have any more of these types of performances as they head into the stretch run.
They now look ahead to a game against the Chicago Bears on Thursday.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Tony Romo had his second worst game of the year against the Eagles. He looked uncomfortable throughout the game and wasn't accurate for most of it.
Romo went 18-of-29 for 199 yards and two interceptions in a game where he didn't look like himself. The short week appeared to have affected him significantly. He usually doesn't practice on Wednesdays; however, this week he had to because the Cowboys had a game the next day.
Romo also looked very uncomfortable in the pocket, as the Eagles generated a ton of pressure. He wasn't able to set his feet on a lot of throws, which likely led to some of his incompletions.
The Cowboys will need him to play much better if they hope to make the playoffs.
Grade: D+
Running Back
2 of 10
DeMarco Murray got in the end zone, but he was not as productive as he had been in prior games this season. Murray wasn't bad, but he seemed to be very indecisive with his cuts.
He finished with 73 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown. The fact that the Cowboys got down so early didn't help, as they couldn't commit to the run as much as they did in the first half.
Lance Dunbar didn't make much of a difference when he was in the offense. He was stuffed on a crucial third down early in the third quarter.
Joseph Randle didn't fare much better, doing OK with his limited opportunities.
In a game where the Cowboys were dominated, the running backs were the least of their problems.
Grade: B-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
As bad as Tony Romo was, the Cowboys receivers were equally as bad. They failed to get open against the mediocre Eagles secondary or get the job done.
Dez Bryant had an extremely quiet day as he was blanketed throughout the game. For a player of his caliber, it is extremely disappointing that he had such a bad performance on this stage.
Terrance Williams was worse than Bryant, as he could not gain any separation throughout the day. Williams didn't look himself as he didn't run crisp routes or figure out ways to get open.
The tight ends were basically nonexistent, as they weren't utilized in the passing game at all.
When you play an average secondary like the Eagles, it is paramount that you take advantage. The Cowboys failed to do that Thursday.
Grade: D-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line had been one of the best in the league prior to the game against the Eagles. However, the line was nothing close to that on Thanksgiving.
The Eagles applied consistent pressure, as Fletcher Cox dominated Ronald Leary throughout the game. Leary had had good performances against better players, but he failed to play to that level Thursday.
Doug Free was another lineman who had a bad day. He was constantly driven back into Romo's lap, as he had a ton of trouble blocking Connor Barwin.
Tyron Smith was the lone offensive lineman who looked good against the Eagles. He consistently did his job and didn't allow much pressure.
The Cowboys need their offensive line to return back to the way it played against the Giants if the team hopes to make the playoffs.
Grade: C-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The defensive line has been one of the biggest weaknesses on the team throughout the season. Things didn't change much against the Eagles.
The Eagles' misdirection confused the defensive line throughout the game, as it was apparent the Cowboys had no clue where the ball was going.
The Eagles had huge holes, which led to some monstrous gains from LeSean McCoy.
The one defensive lineman who played well was Tyrone Crawford. He was the only player who got pressure on Sanchez. He also was disruptive in the run game at times.
It's hard to pinpoint a defensive lineman who had the worst game since they were all bad throughout the day, except for Crawford.
It will be exceedingly difficult for the Cowboys to string together wins if the defensive line doesn't start to play better.
Grade: D
Linebacker
6 of 10
The Cowboys linebackers have been up and down all season, and Thursday was one of their down performances.
Rolando McClain looked slowed throughout the game; it appeared that he had a leg injury. He couldn't hit his gap with the same amount of force as he is used to. Also, he could not cover as much ground while he was in coverage.
Anthony Hitchens struggled for the second straight game. He has come back to earth since his fantastic performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He couldn't get off blockers and struggled in coverage.
The Cowboys need their linebackers to get healthy and put together much better performances as they make a playoff push.
Grade: D+
Secondary
7 of 10
The secondary didn't improve much from its bad performance against the Giants. The defensive backs allowed 217 passing yards and a touchdown on 20-of-29 passing from Mark Sanchez.
They failed to stay with the Eagles receivers and seem to be confused by the different route combinations that the Eagles used.
Brandon Carr struggled in zone coverage throughout the game, and the safeties were clueless at times as to where to be.
J.J. Wilcox didn't have a good day, as he tackled poorly and played with poor awareness.
The worst part of the secondary's performance may not be the coverage—it was terrible in the tackling department. Most of the big plays from the Eagles were caused by missed tackles.
Grades: C-
Special Teams
8 of 10
The one aspect where the Cowboys should have problem was special teams, but with all things considered, they did a decent job.
They didn't allow any big plays from the Eagles and put together some good returns themselves. Dwayne Harris had 121 yards on four returns, giving the Cowboys good field position when he had the opportunity.
Dan Bailey added another field goal to his total. He continues to be the most consistent player on the Cowboys roster.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
The short week seemed to harm the Cowboys coaching staff much more than it did the Eagles'. The Cowboys didn't have enough time to prepare for the unorthodox offense the Eagles bring to the table, and the offense wasn't prepared to take advantage of the Eagles' weaknesses on defense.
The Cowboys were outschemed and outcoached in embarrassing fashion. Play-caller Scott Linehan didn't put together a good game plan for the offense, as the Cowboys didn't attack the Eagles secondary enough. This may have been due to the fact that Romo was off, but they still needed to try it more.
Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli couldn't figure out a way to stop the Eagles offense until it was too late. If the Cowboys had more time to prepare, they probably would have started the game better.
Head coach Jason Garrett did not do a good enough job of preparing his team on a short week, and it showed.
Grade: D-
Final Grade
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | D+ |
| RB | B- |
| WR and TE | D- |
| OL | C- |
| DL | D |
| LB | D+ |
| Secondary | C- |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | D- |
| Cumulative Grade | D+ |
The Cowboys put together their worst collective effort, and it is reflected in the cumulative grade. The Cowboys were awful everywhere except at running back and special teams. This is not a good omen as the team heads into December.
The Cowboys need to bounce back in a big way Thursday against the Chicago Bears.
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