The Dallas Cowboys made things more interesting than they should have, but the Philadelphia Eagles kept their perfect record intact on Sunday night, defeating their division rivals 26-17.
The Eagles cruised to victory thanks to a monster second quarter in which they scored 20 points. In addition to the three interceptions, Philadelphia held Cooper Rush to 18 of 38 passing for 181 yards and one touchdown on the night.
They capitalized on an opponent’s mistakes and relied on play design to defeat an aggressive defense. Rush was intercepted three times as previously stated. The Cowboys also turned the ball over on downs in the second quarter, the Cowboys also turned the ball over on downs.
On several occasions, they used read-option or run-pass options used read-option or run-pass options on several occasions to take advantage of the Cowboys’ aggressive upfield pass rush and get players like A.J. Brown into the flat for run-after-catch opportunities.
Dallas clawed its way back into the game in the third and early fourth quarters with a strong run game and play-action passing, but a 13-play, 75-yard Eagles touchdown drive that took 7:37 off the clock effectively put the game away. If that wasn’t enough, Rush’s third interception on the next drive more than made up for it.
They turned the ball over, engaged too many penalties, lacked the offensive firepower to keep up with the Eagles, and couldn’t stop the run or the RPO game on big third downs.
Jalen Hurts didn’t get much going through the air (15 of 25 for 155 yards), but he did a good job of neutralizing the pass rush with his legs, which led to several quality runs by the running backs, particularly Miles Sanders. On well-designed plays from Nick Sirianni, he also found A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith for touchdowns.
Rush, who had yet to throw an interception this season, was intercepted three times and Dallas was penalized 10 times for a total of 72 yards. Hisattempts averaged 4.8 yards and Philadelphia in turnhad the ball for 34:30 and converted several key third-down opportunities.
With the win, Philadelphia maintained sole possession of the first place in the NFC East, while Dallas fell to 4-2 and into third place, trailing the Giants.
The best-looking individual play of the night might have been this juke into the end zone by Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson. The Eagles had the most well-designed play, with DeVonta Smith faking a pick route and then stepping up into the end zone, where Jalen Hurts found him for an easy score.
But for the highlights, we have to go with Philly’s three Rush picks. The first two came on forced throws to unguarded receivers, while the third came on a play in which Rush was hit as he let go of the ball.
Rush completed a pass over the middle to CeeDee Lamb. Lamb appeared to have gained enough yardage for the first down, but the line judge changed his mind and called him short. Rather than reviewing the replay and contesting it (Lamb had gotten the first down), the Cowboys rushed up to the line and called a bootleg for Rush, who threw into coverage and was intercepted. The Eagles’ lead was then increased to 17-0.
The Eagles enter their Week 7 bye as the only undefeated team in the NFL. When they return in Week 8, they will face the Steelers. The Cowboys are 4-2 and will host the Detroit Lions next week in what could be Dak Prescott’s first game back after breaking his thumb in Week 1.