5 plays that doomed the Cowboys against Eagles

Things were close… until they weren’t

The Dallas Cowboys finally got back to looking like they have most of the year, getting blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles 41-7. It’s easy to forget now, but things were actually pretty close in this one early on. But a deluge of plays in the second quarter that all broke Philadelphia’s way opened things up. These five plays were especially devastating for the Cowboys.

Missed pass interference penalty sets up pick-six

The Cowboys got the ball to start and the offense did a surprisingly good job of moving the ball down the field. Before long, they had reached the Philadelphia 35-yard line and had second and short.

Cooper Rush opted for a deep shot to Brandin Cooks, who was closely covered by Darius Slay and couldn’t bring it in. When the replay came up, though, it was revealed why: Slay had a fistful of Cooks’ jersey, but no flag was thrown.

That set up third down, and Rush was picked off by C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who returned it 69 yards for a touchdown. However, if the pass interference flag had been thrown, the Cowboys would’ve been looking at first and goal and the pick-six never happens.

Deep shot to Jonathan Mingo doesn’t connect

The Cowboys, namely Rush, managed to bounce back from the pick six. Rush hit Jalen Tolbert for a touchdown and the defense forced back-to-back three-and-out punts. Two big plays from Rush helped overcome a first down holding penalty and set up third and one.

Rush dropped back and saw that Jonathan Mingo had beaten his man on a go route down the sideline. Rush launched the ball, but it fell incomplete. Mingo was looking for it to be laid out in front of him, while Rush threw more of a back shoulder fade.

The miscommunication between backup quarterback and backup receiver (who, remember, joined the team in November) led to a fourth-down situation. With the ball on the Dallas 41, it was a bit of a toss-up over whether or not to go for it, but the Cowboys opted to punt. Had Mingo caught the ball, though, it may very well have been a touchdown.

Grant Calcaterra makes ridiculous bobbling catch on third down

That incompletion to Mingo can easily be seen as the point where things fell apart for the Cowboys. At the time, they were tied 7-7 and the Dallas defense had yet to give up a first down. They did on the ensuing drive, but they still put the Eagles into a tough third-and-long at their own 46.

Zimmer dialed up a pressure, which has been so lethal in recent weeks for the Cowboys, but Kenny Pickett managed to evade the rush and roll out of the pocket. With a defender bearing down on him, Pickett threw to Grant Calcaterra, who made a bobbling catch through tight coverage from Israel Mukuamu.

The big play picked up 34 yards, extending the drive and flipping the field in the process. Had the Cowboys managed to get a stop here, the Eagles would have punted for the third time in as many drives. Instead, they scored a touchdown three plays later.

Jake Ferguson’s costly fumble

The touchdown gave the Eagles the lead again, but they were only up 14-7 and the Cowboys offense had been getting some opportunities against a very stout defense. All they needed to do was capitalize on them.

That didn’t happen. In fact, the exact opposite happened. On the very first play, Rush hit Jake Ferguson on a play-action bootleg play, and Ferguson let the ball pop out. An Eagles defender managed to snatch it away underneath the pile, too.

It marked just the second time in Ferguson’s career that he’s lost a fumble, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Philadelphia took over right on the cusp of field goal range, and they ultimately settled for three points. Still, though, it extended the game from a one-score deficit to a two-score deficit, all because of Ferguson’s fumble.

Cooper Rush throws awful interception

The Cowboys got the ball back, down 17-7, with just under two minutes left in the first half. With the Eagles getting the ball to start the third quarter, Dallas desperately needed points before the break if they wanted to preserve any chance of coming back.

After a few plays and a first down, the Cowboys had third-and-six at their own 42-yard line. Rush stepped up and launched a deep shot supposedly for Brandin Cooks that flew far past his receiver and into the arms of Gardner-Johnson for another pick.

Gardner-Johnson then returned it for an additional 25 yards, setting the ball up at the Philadelphia 35 with 36 seconds and two Eagles timeouts left. Even if Rush intended this to be an arm punt, the return negated any of that benefit. The Eagles then managed to score a touchdown on the final play of the second quarter, going up 24-7 and sucking any remaining life force out of this team.