What we learned from Eagles-Cowboys: The class of the NFC, Birds still have their concerns

The Eagles remained unbeaten with a 26-17 win over the Cowboys that followed a similar arc to previous games: They jump out to a large lead only to hold on for dear life. But the Birds, ultimately, took care of business at a rocking Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night. Win, lose, or draw, here’s what we learned:

This popped up somewhere on my Twitter timeline last night: the 6-0 Eagles have a 63% chance of securing a first-round bye, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. While the 5-1 Bills are slightly ahead at 71% in the AFC, it’s remarkable that with just 35% of the season in the books, the Eagles have positioned themselves ahead of the rest of the NFC. The 4-2 Cowboys were next in the conference at 15%. There’s a lot that can happen between now and the postseason, of course. But the Eagles control their own destiny with victories against two of their nearest competitors: the 5-1 Vikings and Dallas. And they have two upcoming games against the 5-1 New York Giants, plus another vs. the Cowboys.

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Their NFC East rivals are conversely looking at those meetings as opportunities to supplant the Eagles. Who saw the division as the early class of the conference heading into the season? But three of the NFC’s four winning teams are from the East and the Eagles have just a one-game margin over the surprising Giants. Nick Sirianni certainly won’t allow his team to look past its next opponent. But that doesn’t mean those of us outside the NovaCare Complex can’t look ahead. The next three opponents on the schedule — the 2-4 Steelers, 1-3-1 Texans, and 2-4 Commanders — have a combined 5 wins in 17 games. And the following three foes — the 3-2-1 Colts, 3-3 Packers, and 3-2 Titans — each have time to return to form, but that stretch doesn’t appear as daunting as it once did.

All that being expounded, the Eagles have areas of concern that could slow their run. An inability to put teams away in the second half, substandard special teams, and some spells of questionable play calling could result in future opponents capitalizing. Injuries have also been an issue of late, particularly on the offensive line. Professor Jeff Stoutland has managed to keep the unit afloat, but right tackle Lane Johnson’s concussion, depending upon its severity, could be something to monitor. He is arguably the Eagles’ most important player, and the numbers back up that claim. When Johnson has been in the lineup in his 10 seasons, the Eagles are 65-42-1 (.605 winning percentage), and when he is not they are 12-20 (.375). The week off couldn’t have come at a better time.

Cooper Rush’s three interceptions were the difference in the game, especially compared to Jalen Hurts’ and the Eagles’ zero giveaways. The Eagles lead the NFL in turnover differential at plus-12, and the second-place Vikings and Ravens at plus-4 aren’t remotely close. Jonathan Gannon’s defense has been a ball-hawking unit and its 14 turnovers are only two behind the team’s total from all of last season. The Eagles’ coverage and pressure played a large part in Rush’s three picks. Cornerback James Bradberry, who finished with four pass breakups, deflected the first to safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Cornerback Darius Slay jumped a route on the second. And defensive end Brandon Graham hurried the throw on the last that found the hands of a diving Gardner-Johnson, who has three interceptions in his last two games. Turnovers are only the most visible proof that the former Saints slot is gaining confidence in the post.

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But Rush, who entered 4-0 as the starter and without a turnover, was horrid in the first half. He had a passer rating of 1.0 — no, that isn’t a typo — at the break. The Eagles’ defensive backs were all over the Cowboys’ receivers and their quarterback had small windows. But he didn’t have the arm strength or accuracy to make enough of those throws. It’s impossible to say whether Prescott would have had more success under similar circumstances. The Eagles had a remarkable 12 pass breakups — defensive tackle Javon Hargrave batted one pass at the line — to go along with the interceptions. Gannon’s favorite quarters zone blanketed the secondary in the first 30 minutes.

But the Cowboys adjusted at the half, got the ball out of Rush’s hands faster, and took advantage of the deeper zones Gannon has typically employed when ahead. The defensive coordinator has, overall, had a solid season thus far. Opposing offenses have scored just 11.2 points over the last five weeks. While there have been suspect second-half spells, and a tendency to allow long drives when the offense is struggling, the Eagles defense has been one of the NFL’s more consistent units.

Could Gannon have done more to mix up his pressures when the Cowboys offense got hot? Maybe. He blitzed on 10 of 38 drops (26.3%), according to Pro Football Focus, which is around the league average. Rush, it should be noted, completed 7 of 10 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown on those plays. The ball was coming out quickly to offset the rush and the Eagles were held without a sack and hit Rush only four times.

But the greater problem was the run defense. The Eagles’ pass defense held, in the end. Will they hold up in a few months when Prescott is likely to be under center?

It took a while, but once Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore emphasized the run on early downs, and stuck with it despite a short rush or two, the Eagles defense was on its heels. But the way they handled nose tackle Jordan Davis when Gannon employed his five-man fronts appeared to be the most prominent reason why Ezekiel Elliott (13 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown) and Tony Pollard (11 carries for 44 yards) had success running north to south. The Eagles are fine with offenses expending two linemen on Davis. But if they’re able to move him off the ball and create cutback lanes for running backs, it gives them a head of steam into the next level. The Eagles, all told, missed seven tackles on runs. Elliott may be descending, but he’s still tough to bring down, especially if the would-be tacklers are placed in difficult positions.

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Jim Schwartz emphasized stopping the run first. When the Eagles, under the former defensive coordinator, were able to limit offenses on the ground on early downs, third downs were more manageable. Gannon certainly wants to have as much success on the ground. But he doesn’t want to give up explosive plays. He will sacrifice a little up front to not get beaten downfield. Dallas completed only two passes over 20 yards, and one was mostly a by-product of yards after the catch.

Not many offenses are going to have two running backs as capable as the Cowboys. But a unit with a more efficient quarterback is more likely to take advantage of the Eagles being susceptible on the ground. They’re allowing nearly 5 yards a carry (4.99 average). Tackling has been subpar, but Gannon’s overreliance on his 5-1 “Penny” personnel with only one off-ball linebacker has seemingly made it more difficult to contain the run.

It has yet to happen, but the Eagles’ special teams units are getting closer to being the cause for a loss. The most glaring example came late in the second quarter when Cowboys rookie KaVontae Turpin took a kickoff 63 yards the other way. The Eagles had dominated the Cowboys and taken a 20-0 lead, but they allowed them a crack of light and a field goal before the half gave them some hope.

But it wasn’t just that one play. The punt unit keeps missing opportunities to pin offenses in their own end or flip the field. On the Eagles’ first attempt, Arryn Siposs’ 44-yard punt was caught at the 12-yard line and returned to the 24. Later in the third quarter, he got off a 54-yard punt to the Dallas 6, but Turpin gained 15 yards on the return. Siposs boomed another 59 yards to the 5 and Turpin went 34 yards the other way. A Dallas holding penalty negated the return, but it’s debatable whether the foul affected the play. And then finally, when the Eagles needed Siposs to back the Cowboys up, he appeared to shank a punt off the side of his foot for 30 yards. The ball went out of bounds at the 12, which wasn’t disastrous, but he needed to do better there. It seemed pretty clear why he hardly attempts coffin corner punts.

The Eagles’ return game, meanwhile, had few opportunities to make an impact. Few returns do in the current NFL. Britain Covey did have a nice 14-yard punt return. But mostly, the return game has been negligible.

The Eagles, of course, still have kicker Jake Elliott to trumpet. He returned from the ankle injury that kept him out of last week’s game — and made replacement Cameron Dicker an unlikely hero — and hit 51- and 34-yard field goals. But special teams coordinator Michael Clay’s units need to improve if the Eagles are to contend for a championship.

Hurts effectiveness on quarterback sneaks continued with 2 of 2 conversions. He also got the Cowboys to jump offside with a hard count on fourth down. … Miles Sanders always runs hard, but he’s been harder to bring down this season. The numbers back it up: He’s averaging 3.23 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus, more than last season’s 2.88 average. He ran behind guard Landon Dickerson on his 5-yard touchdown to open the scoring. … I’ve yet to hear a plausible explanation for the block-in-the-back penalty that officials decided to negate when Bradberry was taken out on a key Cowboys completion late in the third quarter. … While I initially questioned Sirianni’s decision to sit on the ball at the end of the first half, even though the Eagles had 29 seconds and two timeouts to work with, his explanation — Johnson’s recent injury — made some sense. … Hurts was blitzed on 14 of 30 drops (46.7%), far more than Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn typically sends extra rushers. Can’t say I didn’t see it coming (I certainly wasn’t the only one). The Eagles’ results were mixed. Hurts completed 7 of 12 passes for 101 yards (8.4 yards per attempt) and a touchdown. That’s pretty good. But he was also sacked twice, which is, you know, not good. I’d imagine the increased blitzing will continue.