3 Takeaways from Eagles' Week 16 Loss

The Philadelphia Eagles had a chance to stay in the NFC East division race on Sunday, but they blew it. Philadelphia couldn't withstand an offensive onslaught from the Dallas Cowboys, couldn't keep pace on the scoreboard and ultimately couldn't keep the game competitive.

Now, all that's left for the Eagles in Week 17 is a chance to play spoiler against the Washington Football Team.

The biggest takeaway from Sunday is that the Eagles' season is now over.  Here's what else we learned from the team's 37-17 loss to Dallas.

Hurts Is Still a Work in Progress

Ron Jenkins/Associated Press

This shouldn't come as a surprise. Rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts has now made three NFL starts. He's still learning to play the game against NFL competition. He made it look relatively easy in his first two starts, but he made some game-deciding—and, in turn, season-ending—mistakes against Dallas.

Hurts did throw for 341 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 69 yards. However, his red-zone interception in the fourth quarter ended the Eagles' playoff hopes. He had a fumble in the red zone on the following drive and an interception on Philly's final possession.

To be fair, head coach Doug Pederson noted that Hurts wasn't at 100 percent late in the game.

"First half, he played really, really well," Pederson said, per Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Enquirer. He mentioned, "lower-body tightness that affected him late in the game."

Turnovers were an issue for Carson Wentz and a big reason why the Eagles ultimately turned to Hurts a few weeks ago. Hurts' mistakes don't necessarily mean that he isn't an upgrade over Wentz or that he can't be the Eagles' new franchise quarterback.

However, anyone expecting Hurts to give Philadelphia an easy quarterback decision in the offseason will have to think again.

Quarterback Play Isn't the Eagles' Only Issue

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

Even if the Eagles are able to fix their quarterback woes in the offseason, it won't guarantee a return to relevance. Philadelphia's defense has been inconsistent all season, and it was a major liability against Dallas.

Had the Eagles been able to stop the Cowboys from dropping 27 points between the second and third quarters, they might have been able to survive Hurts' late mistakes. Unfortunately, the Cowboys had little trouble moving the ball throughout the game and were able to rack up points at a rapid pace.

As a team, Dallas produced over 500 yards of offense. Quarterback Andy Dalton played like the high-end starter that he was early in his career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Ezekiel Elliott looked as good as he has at any point in the season.

This one devolved into a shootout, and one that the Eagles weren't equipped to win.

Philadelphia is going to have to make some defensive improvements in the offseason, and that could be a problem financially. According to Spotrac, the Eagles are slated to be roughly $64 million over the salary cap.

DeSean Jackson Is Still a Burner

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

On a positive note, the Eagles saw the return of wideout DeSean Jackson on Sunday. He hadn't played since Week 7 but quickly made an impact with a game-long 81-yard touchdown reception. The three-time Pro Bowler sliced through the Cowboys secondary on the play and easily ran past would-be tacklers for a score that gave Philly a 14-3 first-quarter lead.

It was Jackson's only catch of the day, but it was a relevant one because it shows that the 34-year-old is still capable of breaking a game open.

Given Philadelphia's looming cap situation, adding additional offensive weapons in the offseason may not be possible. However, a healthy Jackson could still provide a boost if he's able to stay on the field for the bulk of the 2021 season.

Jackson is set to carry a cap hit of nearly $11 million, but he also has nearly six million in dead money remaining on his deal. Cutting him for cap purposes is a possibility, but it's definitely going to be a tough decision. If it was clear that Jackson is no longer a viable deep threat, it probably wouldn't be.