Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys: Full Report Card Grades for Eagles
After playing a solid overall game, the Philadelphia Eagles fell in overtime, 29-23, to the Dallas Cowboys. Head coach Doug Pederson will have to take a hard look at himself after some questionable decisions down the stretch.
The game swung after a Wendell Smallwood fumble with 13:05 left in the fourth quarter. The Eagles offense had the ball near their own 40-yard line with a 10-point lead and had been having success. Instead, the Cowboys got the ball in field-goal position and nothing was the same after that.
The Eagles offense continues to lack an explosive element. Carson Wentz threw the ball 43 times, yet only managed 202 yards passing. Darren Sproles produced timely plays and Wentz was accurate, but the Eagles need to find another element to make defenses pay.
The Eagles defense gave up 460 yards, but until the very end of the game they were stingy in the points department. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had another uncharacteristically blitz-heavy game plan, which was effective—until the end. Once Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott settled down on the final few drives, he was able to hang tough in the pocket and expose the Eagles' mediocre corners.
The Eagles gave away another game they should have won and are now 4-3 on the season.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Wentz had another solid outing. He finished 32-of-43 for 202 yards and one touchdown. Of the eleven incompletions, probably half were drops. While he's not posting gaudy stat lines, Wentz continues to do enough for the team to win, showing poise and intelligence beyond his years, with flashes of brilliance. The lack of talent around him shows at times, certainly in a game when the opposing rookie quarterback has leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Dez Bryant to help him.
The Eagles need to find a deep receiving target for Wentz. He has the arm and the ability to make the throws. It would help open up the offense and make life easier for Wentz on underneath routes.
Grade: B
Running Back
2 of 10
The performance of Eagles running backs falls into two categories: Darren Sproles, who was excellent, and everybody else, not so much. As a group they rushed for 100 yards on 23 carries, which is a respectable total.
Sproles had a wonderful game. He carried the ball 15 times for 86 yards and added another 17 receiving yards. Many of his plays were timely and helped extend drives for an offense that has to be efficient to be successful.
Ryan Mathews saw only four carries and is clearly in the doghouse after his fourth-quarter fumble last week against the Minnesota Vikings. Wendell Smallwood decided Mathews was lonely there and joined him with a costly fourth-quarter fumble of his own this week.
Kenjon Barner had three relatively unimportant carries to spell Sproles.
Grade: C
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Drop. Drop. Nice catch. Drop.
That's what watching the Philadelphia Eagles receiving corps can feel like. They led the league in drops during the 2015 season and are trying their hardest to make sure they do it again.
Nine different players caught passes for the Eagles. Brent Celek seems to be the only player who wasn't targeted at least once.
Jordan Matthews hauled in 11 catches for a paltry 65 yards and a touchdown. He also had several tough drops. Dorial Green-Beckham had a nice night with 55 yards on five catches. He continues to show his talent and continues to get more involved in the offense, but he also had a drop just outside the Cowboys end zone that cost the Eagles precious points.
Grade: C-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Eagles offensive line held up well on the night. They were able to get some push in the run game. They gave up three sacks, but none were particularly egregious. Given the number of throws the Eagles attempted on Sunday night, you can live with those mistakes.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai continued to settle in nicely. He's not a worldbeater, but the Eagles are starting to feel comfortable not having to give him help on every snap. Stefen Wisniewski finally got extended playing time, playing almost the entire game after Allen Barbre was hurt on the opening drive.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Brandon Graham may not have had a sack, but he was arguably the Eagles' best player against the Cowboys. Graham got consistent pressure and was a terror against the run.
Marcus Smith had a sack against one of the best left tackles in the NFL in Tyron Smith. Connor Barwin had a tough game but had a crucial sack while left unblocked before the end of regulation.
In a game in which the Eagles had only three healthy defensive tackles, they were able to perform well against the best offensive line in the league, holding Elliott to under 100 yards rushing.
Grade: B+
Linebacker
6 of 10
The Cowboys must be starting to absolutely hate playing against Jordan Hicks. His interception in the end zone kept the Cowboys from opening up a lead before half and led to an Eagles field goal. He now has a forced turnover in each of his three career games against Dallas.
Nigel Bradham led the team in tackles. Mychal Kendricks continues to be the defenses version of Josh Huff, infuriating for long stretches with just enough positive flashes to hold out hope.
The linebackers helped to put pressure on Prescott on their blitzes and were a big part of slowing down Elliot.
Grade: B+
Secondary
7 of 10
Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins are awesome. They each had a tackle for loss and were very active in the run game. Jenkins generally held up well in his slot corner responsibilities. It was unfortunate they collided on the final play of the game, leaving Jason Witten wide open.
The corners for the Eagles are infuriating. Prescott finished the game 19-of-39, which was good for the Eagles. The bad news is that he still threw for 287 yards. The Eagles corners continue to give up long passes. Jalen Mills had poor coverage on a key Cole Beasley catch in overtime. Leodis McKelvin gave up a 53-yard pass to Dez Bryant and Nolan Carroll got worked on the game-tying 22-yarder.
Grade: C
Special Teams
8 of 10
Caleb Sturgis continues to be Mr. Reliable for the Philadelphia Eagles. He converted all three of his attempts, including a 55-yarder, which was a career-best. Sturgis is almost certainly going to end the season as the Eagles' leading scorer and provides a consistency they haven't seen since David Akers.
Josh Huff came close to taking another kickoff return for a touchdown.
Special teams is a key factor to the Eagles' game-planning. It has helped cover some of the offensive warts this season—and the Cowboys game was no exception.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp is a wizard. Schwartz had another great game plan and it nearly worked to perfection. Those two get positive grades.
Head coach Doug Pederson does not.
Pederson's plan of attack on offense was probably a bit too conservative. He continues to not allow Wentz to attack down the field very much. The Eagles tried to run the ball east and west a bit too much against a defense that is fast but not terribly stout. The bubble screens need to be trimmed down.
Pederson's biggest issues were with in-game management. The swing pass to Sproles that knocked the team out of field-goal range was a truly awful call. Following that up by not allowing Sturgis to attempt a 52-yard field goal after he made a 55-yarder earlier only made things worse.
Not calling a timeout late in the game was also a poor decision. The Eagles had a chance to get the ball back with roughly 15 seconds left on the clock, a timeout and only needing roughly 20 yards to have a shot at a game-winning field goal.
Instead, Pederson opted to let the clock run out and play for overtime. The Eagles never touched the ball.
Grade: D
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position Group | Grade |
| QB | B |
| RB | C |
| WR and TE | C- |
| OL | B |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | B+ |
| Secondary | C |
| ST | A |
| Coaching | D |
Cumulative Grade: B-
The Eagles players will be frustrated after this game. For the most part they played well enough to win. A perfect game it was not, but they did enough. They were let down by their head coach, who made some questionable decisions.
It will be interesting to see how the team responds. It has another tough divisional game, against the New York Giants. If it wants to keep the division title race and the playoffs in sight, it will be an important one to win.
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