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Doug Pederson: ‘We can’t do the things we are doing in order to survive in this league’

Carson Wentz added that he understands he must play better, despite the Eagles' 23-9 win over the Cowboys on Sunday night.

Doug Pederson's Eagles improved to 3-4-1 on the season, but the head coach knows Sunday's performance won't cut it after the bye week.
Doug Pederson's Eagles improved to 3-4-1 on the season, but the head coach knows Sunday's performance won't cut it after the bye week.Read moreTIM TAI / Staff Photographer

The Eagles won a 23-9 decision over the Dallas Cowboys, but the victory caused as many questions as some of the defeats.

Dallas played overwhelmed third-string quarterback Ben DiNucci, and the Eagles still couldn’t put the Cowboys away until expanding their lead to 21-9 on Rodney McLeod’s 53-yard fumble return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles (3-4-1) now have a bye and return to action Nov. 15 at the New York Giants.

The biggest concern has to be Carson Wentz, who threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles and had a 61.2 passer rating, his second-lowest of the season.

» READ MORE: Carson Wentz or Doug Pederson: Who’s the Eagles’ biggest problem? | Jeff McLane

Coach Doug Pederson, while happy with the win, understood that the Eagles have to raise their game in the second half of the season.

“We can’t do the things we are doing in order to survive in this league,” Pederson said in his postgame press conference. “We got to get better and fix it in a hurry.”

When asked if he considered pulling Wentz after his fourth turnover, Pederson said, “No, there was never any of that conversation to pull him.”

Wentz understands that improvement is needed.

“There are too many turnovers, I got to be better,” said Wentz, who has thrown 12 interceptions.

» READ MORE: Carson Wentz must abandon football for two weeks, for the Eagles' sake | Marcus Hayes

Wentz says he won’t curb his aggressiveness.

“I can be better and put the ball in the right spot, but I am not going to change my aggressive mentality,” Wentz said. “We’re going to start connecting on some of those big plays and obviously it hurt a little bit today, but the defense played great and we got the win.

“I am not good enough, I am pumped we got the win but I am going to have to watch the tape and I’m a little frustrated on how I played and how we left some plays out there, missed some big opportunities and I can be better."

As for his play this season, Wentz said, “I know I can play better and a lot of it is coming down to taking care of the football. I feel I am still the same aggressive guy that’s going to pull the trigger and I never want to change that, but just being smart and putting it in the right spot.”