Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts returns from injury scare to deliver win over Dallas Cowboys

Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 28-23 win over the Cowboys:

Jalen Hurts once again showed his toughness. The quarterback — and the Eagles offense for that matter — struggled to put the Cowboys away. But they prevailed. Hurts completed 17 of 23 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He also set a franchise record with his 33rd rushing touchdown, passing Randall Cunningham in only his fourth season. Hurts’ best pass was a 29-yard dime to DeVonta Smith in the back of the end zone to give the Eagles a 21-17 lead they would not relinquish. Hurts’ injured left knee appeared to get re-aggravated when DeMarcus Lawrence’s helmet crashed into his joint.

D’Andre Swift struggled to get much going on the ground. The running back had a few rushes that converted third downs. He took a quasi-jet sweep 20 yards. He had a fumble at the 10-yard line, but recovered it and the Eagles went on to score. Kenneth Gainwell redeemed himself — and Eagles coaches for sticking with him in the red zone — with a 12-yard touchdown run to open the Eagles’ scoring. He later converted a third down with a 5-yard carry. Rashaad Penny played for the first time since Week 2 with Boston Scott out. He had back-to-back carries for 8 yards to open the second half.

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Smith’s 29-yard grab in the back of the end zone put the Eagles up, 20-17, in the third quarter. Earlier, the wide receiver had a key 18-yard grab on third-and-long in the second.

A.J. Brown caught seven passes for 66 yards and went over 1,000 yards receiving in just nine games. He had a 20-yard grab in the first quarter, an 11-yard snag on third down late in the second, and drew a 17-yard pass interference penalty in the third. He caught a throw short of the goal line and did the rest for a 4-yard touchdown in the third. He ran into Swift, though, causing him to fumble late. But the Eagles recovered. Dallas Goedert left in the third quarter after a 28-yard catch-and-run play. His forearm got banged up as he was being tackled. The tight end finished with three catches for 50 yards. Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus had an early third-down reception.

Micah Parsons had easily his best game vs. the Eagles and finished with nine tackles and 1 1/2 sacks. Lane Johnson did his job and kept Lawrence and other Dallas edge rushers off the left from getting to Hurts. Left tackle Jordan Mailata wasn’t as reliable early on and allowed an early strip sack that Hurts luckily recovered. But he appeared to settle down. Rookie Tyler Steen got his first ever NFL start at right guard and seemingly held up. He might have made the play of the game when he recovered Swift’s second fumble in the final minute. Center Jason Kelce was the man in the middle on three successful “Brotherly Shoves,” including a Hurts touchdown. He had the lead block on Gainwell’s touchdown run.

The Eagles’ pass rush struggled to get home for most of the second half, until Brandon Graham notched back-to-back sacks late in the game and Josh Sweat finally got to Dak Prescott on the final series. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter split Graham’s second sack. The rookie was seemingly doubled on a bunch of rushes, but he eventually got through. Haason Reddick registered a second-quarter sack. His roughing the passer personal foul gave the Cowboys life late. Fletcher Cox split a sack with linebacker Nakobe Dean, but he did most of the work with a strong rush. Sweat was kept in check by Hall of Famer left tackle Tyron Smith for much of the game. Jordan Davis left briefly when he appeared to re-tweak a hamstring injury. He did well against the run at the nose spot, but there were some lanes that Dallas running back Tony Pollard found in the second half. Defensive end Derek Barnett was inactive for the first time this season, making way for Patrick Johnson on special teams and more of Nolan Smith on defense. Smith was quiet, though.

Zach Cunningham was all over the field in the second half. He made stops on three straight Dallas plays inside the 5-yard line in the fourth. Cunningham led the Eagles with 10 tackles. Dean left just before the half with another foot injury and didn’t return. He had three tackles, but was flagged for pass interference on tight end Jake Ferguson near the goal line. Nicholas Morrow took over full time at middle linebacker. He shot into the backfield and deterred a third-and-1 run in the fourth.

The Eagles have to get their slot situation settled. Sydney Brown started there. He had decent man coverage vs. KaVontae Turpin on a third down at the 5-yard line, but the Dallas receiver made a diving catch that may have touched the ground. Brown got beat by CeeDee Lamb for 21 yards in the fourth. Eli Ricks had a rough game. He was mostly in the slot on third down. Prescott went at him early and Lamb caught a 29-yard catch on fourth down and converted a third-and-14 before Dallas’ second touchdown. Ricks was called for two penalties in coverage in the fourth. Darius Slay followed Lamb for a brief spell, but immediately gave up two plus-10-yard catches to him during that series. Slay had some key tackles in the second half. James Bradberry kept Dallas from attacking his side in the first half, and helped keep receiver Michael Gallup without a catch for almost three quarters. He struggled in the fourth, though. It didn’t help that Prescott had time to throw. Bradberry had the pass breakup to end Dallas’ second-to-last drive of the game. He took what could have been a killer pass interference penalty on the Cowboys’ last drive.

Reed Blankenship made a key tackle of Dallas tight end Luke Schoonmaker just shy of the goal line on fourth down in the fourth. He had his ups and downs, but so did the entire Eagles secondary as Prescott threw for over 300 yards. Kevin Byard was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty in the fourth, although the Eagles eventually held. He had a tough assignment covering tight end Jake Ferguson in certain man calls. He got beat for third- and fourth-down conversions in the first half.

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Braden Mann had a 55-yard punt late when the Eagles needed it most. He had five punts for a solid 47.2-yard net average. Britain Covey had just one punt return for 4 yards. The Eagles’ kick coverage unit allowed a 47-yard kick return that led to an eventual touchdown. But Michael Clay’s coverage units settled down the rest of the way. Jake Elliott made all his extra points.

The Eagles somehow are 8-1 and maintain the best record in the NFL as they head to the bye week off. Coach Nick Sirianni’s fourth-down gambles on first series led to a touchdown. His squad was sloppy at times, but they played till the final second. Sirianni did waste a challenge in the fourth on the Prescott sneak. Sean Desai had some questionable calls when it comes to his slot cornerback personnel. But the defensive coordinator moved Sweat to the left side and got him a late sack when the Eagles needed it most. Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson had maybe his best playing game, especially inside the red zone.