The Dallas Cowboys’ season has not gone as planned, and much of that can be blamed on injuries. However, let’s not kid ourselves. This team was bad before injuries took over.
Home blowout losses to the Saints and Ravens, while the defensive end group and cornerback group remained (mostly) intact, showed us what to expect for the rest of the season. We were all just too blind or too proud to admit it.
Their fifth home loss in a row, this time to the Philadelphia Eagles, was no different. Without starting QB Dak Prescott, the offense was even more hopeless than before. At one point, they gained just 23 yards on six drives, and mustered only three points between two drives where they had the ball inside the five-yard line.
Even in the 34-6 defeat, I have taken on the unenviable task of finding the silver lining to it all. Here are a few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy performance. Not even the sun shining through the windows could brighten the full product on the field.
Is the Pass Rush Back?
The Cowboys welcomed back star EDGE Micah Parsons from a high ankle sprain, and he immediately made his presence felt. After playing the past four games with no semblance of a pass rush, Parsons brought it back with a vengeance.
Dallas sacked Eagles QB Jalen Hurts five times in the first half, tying a franchise record for sacks in a single half. Parsons was responsible for two of those sacks, but he got help from his friends.
DT Osa Odighizuwa and DE Carl Lawson contributed 0.5 sacks each, but another player overshadowed both of them on the same level as Parsons…
Overshown Showing His Skills
DeMarvion Overshown showed us all why the Cowboys drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and also showed us why we’ve been patiently awaiting his return from injury.
Overshown was a missile on the field, recording a team-high 11 tackles with two tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He easily could have added a third sack to his total, but he plays so fast, he blew right by Hurts as he shot into the backfield unblocked.
He will definitely learn to break down and tackle next time. Especially because the play resulted in a touchdown after he whiffed on the sack.
Can You Diggs It?
Trevon Diggs also returned. Not to the lineup because he has played all season, but back in the interception column. Diggs did not impact the stat sheet at all besides his first half endzone interception of Jalen Hurts.
Diggs played it perfectly, reminding me a bit of how Lions S Brian Branch baited Dak Prescott into a throw a few weeks ago.
The All-Pro cornerback pretended to head to the flat, and when Hurts fired the ball up the seam to a man who was open for a split second, Diggs jumped back into the passing lane to make the interception in the endzone and deny the Eagles from scoring.
Rico Dancing Through the Defense
To all of our surprise, the Cowboys were able to successfully run the football against the Eagles vaunted defensive line. It’s difficult to run the ball against the Eagles because of the two behemoths they have in the middle of the line: Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.
The dynamic duo makes a living shutting down opposing rushing attacks, but the Cowboys showed some success early on before the game got out of hand. Rico Dowdle rushed 12 times for 53 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
Dallas’ blocking schemes finally showed some life, and it’s something that can be taken from this game to apply to the rest of the season. A running game will be Cooper Rush or Trey Lance’s best friend.