Eagles-Cowboys Up-Down Drill: The 2020 season is all but over, thankfully

👎 — The only good news from Sunday — aside from the Eagles’ helping their draft position — was that the season was almost over. The playoffs, however dubious an NFC East title may have been, are no longer within reach. The Eagles will finish the season with double-digit losses for the first time in eight years.

🤷‍♂️ — Hurts got off to a hot start both on the ground and through the air, but two fourth-quarter turnovers — he tossed another meaningless one late — were costly. The rookie quarterback still looks like he may be the real deal and has the meaningless season finale to make the case for next season. Will it be enough for the Eagles to go all-in?

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts vs. Carson Wentz: It’s a competition after Eagles’ 37-17 loss to Cowboys | Marcus Hayes

👎 — Under normal circumstances, Pederson would be excused for a down year. He won the Super Bowl just three years ago and followed up with two playoff appearances. But Jeffrey Lurie may look at it differently. The Eagles coach again made some odd calls Sunday, such as going for it on fourth-and-15 when just a drive earlier he passed up fourth-and-8.

👎 — For most of the first three quarters of the season, the Eagles were plagued by injuries on offense, particularly on their line. But their defense was bitten by the same bug over the last month, and when they lost Fletcher Cox in the first quarter Sunday, the pass rush was weakened.

👎 — The long-armed rookie had a rough first start last week against DeAndre Hopkins and the Cardinals, but that was nothing compared to his outing at Dallas. Jacquet stood no chance against Michael Gallup, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb and was benched in the third quarter.

» READ MORE: A good loss, a bad day for Michael Jacquet, and other observations from the Eagles’ loss | Mike Sielski

👎 — Schwartz’s secondary was patchwork, but the Eagles defensive coordinator made the crucial mistake of waiting too long to move Jalen Mills from safety to cornerback.

👍 — His return to the Eagles has been a massive disappointment. Jackson had played in just seven of a possible 30 games the last two seasons before returning from injury. But he was healthy Sunday and provided some return for the investment — however late — with an 81-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Too bad he never saw another target.

👎 — Injuries decimated the secondary, but Robey-Coleman is a first-liner. He can’t use inexperience as an excuse for his coverage on CeeDee Lamb when the receiver got behind him for a 52-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.

👎 — The Eagles have had no choice but to start Pryor at right tackle. He didn’t get Hurts killed, but the first of two first-half false starts took the Eagles out of field-goal range before a failed third down. A holding penalty in the third quarter also brought back a long run.

👍 — Back from a concussion, Slay was rarely victimized by the Cowboys’ potent passing game. And he picked a good time to record his first interception of the season when he robbed Andy Dalton in the third quarter. Too bad it took 15 games for an Eagles cornerback to have an interception.

👎 — The Eagles rookie receiver had three catches, but there were too many instances when it appeared as if he ran the wrong route or wasn’t on the same page as Hurts. Reagor needs a lot of work and it shouldn’t have been that way for a first-round pick.

» READ MORE: Eagles blow chance at the postseason, losing 37-17 at Dallas

👎 — Maybe he was still feeling the affects of last week’s concussion, but Johnston had another inconsistent day. The 17-yard punt off the side of his foot when the Eagles needed to pin the Cowboys deep was one of his worst punts of the season.