In Week 16, we saw an inspired effort that led to a Dallas upset win over Tampa Bay. One week later in Philadelphia, the opposite happened, as the Cowboys’ Week 17 outing ended in a 41-7 blowout loss.
Heading into this game as a 7.5-point underdog, Dallas was always going to face an uphill battle, but it became clear very quickly that it was not a battle they were up for.
The Eagles needed this win to clinch the NFC East, while the Cowboys had nothing left to fight for. That motivation difference played a major role in this game.
This Cowboys’ loss means they will head into Week 18 at 7-9, clinching the 2024 season as their first season with a losing record in four years. Now the only question is, will they be 7-10, or 8-9, by the end of next week?
Before we consider that, let’s take a closer look at this defeat to the Eagles and how it came to be.
Offensive Struggles: Seven Points Won’t Cut It
The Cowboys’ offense set the tone, in a very bad way, on their first possession.
Cooper Rush launched a pass directly at Eagles Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who then returned it for a 70-yard pick-six.
Once that happened, it felt like we had a good idea of the way this game was going to go, but Dallas did bounce back on the very next possession.
The Cowboys tied the game at seven with an impressive 12-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a Jalen Tolbert touchdown. It was Tolbert’s seventh of the year, and his third straight week with a score.
From that point on, however, Dallas turned it over three more times, scored no points, and Rush threw for just 83 more yards.
Rico Dowdle did continue his strong season, rushing for 104 yards on 23 carries, but a fourth-quarter fumble is what people will remember. In the passing and rushing game, the Cowboys could not stop giving the ball back to the Eagles.
Seven points simply will not cut it. If the Cowboys’ Week 17 upset was going to happen, it needed a game from Rush like last week, and that did not happen.
Defensive Disaster: Barkley Dominates, Makes History
It’s fair to say this game was not one of the NFL’s best, but Eagles star Saquon Barkley did provide a moment to remember. His dominating performance gave him over 2,000 rushing yards this season.
Becoming just the eighth player ever to reach that mark, his 167 yards surpassed the pace he needed to beat Eric Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105 yards in next week’s season finale.
He looked like a man on a mission, and the Cowboys rushing defense was anything but that in this game.
They were badly beaten by Barkley and allowed nearly 200 receiving yards in total through the air. DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown left their mark, to be certain.
Philadelphia’s backup quarterbacks also shined at times, as Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee threw three touchdowns in 19 total attempts, combining for a 147 quarterback rating. You can’t win with a defensive effort like that.
The Bottom Line: 2024 Ups and Downs
If you expected the Cowboys’ Week 17 matchup with Philadelphia to be a win, you were probably feeling too good after last week’s win.
Unfortunately, the Eagles are the much better team right now, and the Cowboys are an injured unit that frequently has these kinds of ups and downs. In fact, the last two weeks may be a perfect encapsulation of the 2024 Dallas Cowboys.
Last week, they battled and scrapped their way to a surprising win. This week, they looked like one of the NFL’s worst teams.
They will head into the offseason having lost their NFC East champion crown to the Eagles, and a long look in the mirror is needed if they want to win that title back in 2025.