The Eagles’ win over the Cowboys proves they’re the best team in the NFL. Savor it, Philly.
On a sensational weekend in the city, the Birds did their part by improving to 6-0. When they had to pound out a TD drive to seal the game, they did just that.
Eagles cornerback Darius Slay intercepts a pass intended for Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Hey, I get it. You were tied up for three days. You had other things on your mind. You were busy painting your face scarlet and screaming your lungs out at Citizens Bank Park and playing and replaying the audio of Scott Franzke’s home-run calls and the video of Rhys Hoskins’ bat spike. You got used to the kind of joyful comfort that the teams in this town don’t often afford you: easy victories in big games, celebrations pretty much from start to finish.
So you might have missed a rather significant development Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field. And if you didn’t miss it, watching the development play out and take its final form probably drove you close to crazy. But it happened, and it’s true.
The Eagles are the best team in the National Football League.
They’re 6-0 now, following a stirring contest in a weekend full of them here, a 26-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. They are the last unbeaten club left in the NFL. They lead the NFC East by a game over the New York Giants, who are 5-1, and, effectively, by three games over the Cowboys, who are 4-2.
Will they be the NFL’s best team come mid-January and early February, when the games matter most? There’s no way to know that now, of course, but what they’ve accomplished through six weeks, giving themselves a margin for error, some cushion in the standings, has been impressive.
Their last two wins, by three points over the Cardinals last week in Arizona and Sunday’s, featured one significant quality in common: When the Eagles had to put together a long drive to decide the outcome — to take the lead over the Cardinals, to give themselves some breathing room against the Cowboys — they did it. The numbers of that clinching march Sunday were startling: 13 plays, 75 yards, 7 minutes, 37 seconds worth of game clock melted away before Jalen Hurts found DeVonta Smith on a 7-yard touchdown pass. Not every victory will be their Monday night blowout of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 or their laugher over the Washington Commanders in Week 3. Sometimes the Eagles will have to meet the measure of a tense moment. Twice now, they have.
How does a team learn to do that? What does a team that is handling success in the right way look like?
“You’re preparing and practicing the same way when you’re 5-0 as when you’re 0-0 or 2-5 or whatever it is,” coach Nick Sirianni told reporters Friday. “That’s what I see. The preparation — I’m not with them at all times, but I know that when they come into these meetings, right, when they go home and come into these meetings, they have the same detail and same preparation and same knowledge of the game plan as they had going into Detroit, going into last year’s Detroit [game], going into last year’s Tampa Bay [game], whatever. To me, that’s a sign that they’re handling it well.”
Look, you’re giddy. I know. But we need to do some tempering here. Let’s not go overboard. The Eagles are not without their flaws and reasons for worry. Lane Johnson, who is merely the finest right tackle, and perhaps the finest offensive lineman, in the league, left Sunday’s game in the second quarter after suffering a concussion. He didn’t play thereafter, and, given the nature of head trauma, there’s no way to know when he will be healthy enough to return to the lineup. That the Eagles have their bye next week is a benefit; it will give Johnson some time to heal.
But the fall-off in their offense’s performance after his departure was telling and concerning, as is their continued troubles on special teams. The Eagles were coasting Sunday, up, 20-0, with less than two minutes left in the first half, until they allowed the Cowboys’ KaVontae Turpin to zoom through their kickoff coverage team for a 62-yard return. It set up a field goal and reversed the game’s momentum; it gave Dallas life. Add that costly mistake to an inconsistent punter in Arryn Siposs and a shaky punt-return game with Britain Covey, and special teams coordinator Michael Clay has been fortunate so far that his unit hasn’t cost the Eagles a game — and will be fortunate if it doesn’t.
Sunday wasn’t that game. Sunday was a perfect capstone to a remarkable 72 hours in Philadelphia sports. It was ugly to watch and hard to stomach at times, but it was perfect just the same. A team that might yet be the best in Major League Baseball. A team that, at the moment, is the best in pro football. Savor it.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (left) plays to the crowd after the Eagles win 26-17 over the Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (23) and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) walk off together after a 26-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson reacts as he leaves the field after the Eagles win 26-17 over the Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (55) and Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (97) put pressure on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush (10) resulting in an interception at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles celebrate a fourth-quarter touchdown by Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) at Lincoln Financial Field against the Dallas Cowboys in Philadelphia, Pa.2.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick (7) pressures Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush (10) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs the ball in the fourth quarter and picks up the first down against the Dallas Cowboys.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) picks up a big first down in the fourth quarter. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (55) and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) make the stop. Eagles in the red zone, fourth quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) goes head to head with Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (7) after the play at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) gets an unsportsmanlike conduct flag for this moment with Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert (88) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) is stopped short of the first down at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) runs past Philadelphia Eagles safety K'Von Wallace (42) for a touchdown in the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) breaks a pass intended for Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert (88) in the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Quez Watkins (16) on the carry at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. They do not pick up the first down, going to try for a field goal on the 33-yard line.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles fans hold up a sign in the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Philadelphia Eagles lead the Dallas Cowboys 17-0.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay (2) intercepts a pass intended for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup (13) in the second quarter.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) is upended on a quarterback sneak.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry (24) breaks up a pass on third down in the end zone intended for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup (13) in the second quarter of a game.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders (26) scores a touchdown at the top of the second quarter.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert (88) turns upfield to pick up twenty yards to pick up for the first down during the first quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert (88) with the reception for a first down against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) goes vertical during the first quarter of the game.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni greets Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry (24) before the game against the Dallas Cowboys.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Fans before the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Meek Mill comes out rapping Dreams & Nightmares before Philadelphia Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden during the national anthem before the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
First lady Dr. Jill Biden talks with Philadelphia Eagles place kicker Jake Elliott (4) before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles fans hold up signs at the end of the game.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) warms up before the game against the Dallas Cowboys.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Sixers star Joel Embiid throws a football before a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws during warm-ups before they face the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer