Many said that tonight’s game would tell us a lot about who the Dallas Cowboys are in 2021. Well if that’s true, then the statement was made with a 41-21 beatdown of the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
The domination was well-rounded tonight. We’ll get to the offense in a minute, but arguably the biggest star was Cornerback Trevon Diggs. With a pick-six and multiple pass breakups, the second-year CB made life miserable for college teammate Jalen Hurts and had the commentators swooning all night long.
Diggs was the leader of a brilliant effort for the shorthanded Cowboys defense. Osa Odighizuwa had 1.5 sacks, splitting one with Micah Parsons. It was another good night for the rookie LB/DE as Parsons was consistently pressuring Hurts and making other impact plays.
Hurts did eventually put up 303 passing yards and two touchdowns but much of that came when the game was well out of hand. The entire Eagles offense only had 121 yards at halftime.
Philly was in the pressure cooker all night after Dallas opened the game with another touchdown drive. Ezekiel Elliott ran it in for the score to give the Cowboys, after a 20-game streak without one, their second-straight touchdown on their first possession.
Zeke finished the game with 95 rushing yards and two scores. Tony Pollard chipped in 60 yards rushing, mostly in the first half, as Dallas’ dynamic duo had another strong week.
Dak Prescott posted three touchdowns and 238 passing yards. TE Dalton Schultz was the top receiver with 80 yards and two scores on six catches.
It was a night were little went wrong for the Cowboys. The scariest moments came early; Anthony Brown picked off Hurts on Philly’s first possession but left Dallas backed up near their own endzone. Prescott dropped back for a pass and was hit just as he started to pass, creating a fumble that was recovered by Fletcher Cox for the score.
Getting the ball back, Dallas marched again and had it 4th-and Goal from a yard away. Prescott kept and ran into the pile, seemingly crossing the plane with the ball on replay. But the original call was upheld and the Eagles took the ball on the failed conversion.
But after the Cowboys forced a three-and-out, they scored on the next possession and never looked back.
Now Dallas moves to 2-1 to take sole possession of the NFC East. The Eagles drop to 1-2, matching Washington and leaving everyone looking down on the 0-3 Giants.
The Cowboys host the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.
