The Cowboys had no chance on Sunday in Philadelphia.
The Dallas Cowboys took the field on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles knowing that no matter what they did, their season would be over in less than 10 days regardless. While this was true a week ago, the news was still raw and happened so close to kickoff that it was clearly very different than having been the reality the team was living in for a full week. To be frank, the Cowboys looked on Sunday like a team who was mathematically not in the overall equation.
In no way was that the case for the Eagles as they withstood an injury to their second quarterback and saw their third toss a touchdown to make the game even more out of reach with time remaining in the third quarter. It was that kind of day in what has been that kind of season.
There were a few good things in the middle of all of the funk. Here is our stock report following the game.
Stock Up: Eric Kendricks
The Cowboys signed Eric Kendricks for the sole purpose of having someone with experience in running Mike Zimmer’s system as the one calling it. They were correct in believing in Eric Kendricks.
Obviously the defensive effort from Dallas was lacking on Sunday in a general sense, but Kendricks certainly did what he could to mitigate the damage. If Zimmer does return then there is certainly an argument to bringing Kendricks back as well.
Stock Up: Jalen Tolbert
Last week we threw kudos at Jalen Tolbert for fighting through his finger injury, something he did again on Sunday against Philadelphia. Tolbert had an impressive touchdown early on when the tiniest of tiny thoughts existed that Dallas may be able to pull off an upset. Good for him for battling through.
Stock Up: DaRon Bland
We have grown accustomed to DaRon Bland making headlines when he has interceptions, particularly one that he returns for a touchdown. The Cowboys defense did not have their best day on Sunday, but that was certainly not due to a lack of effort from players like DaRon Bland.
Bland was incredibly physical and clearly willing to give his all against the Eagles. It ultimately was an effort that fell short, but it was nice to see nonetheless.
Stock Up: Rico Dowdle
This is a stock up offered with a bit of a grain of salt. Rico Dowdle hit 1,000 rushing yards on the season on Sunday which is a big deal and why he is here. He had over 100 yards on the day specifically.
The salt is necessary because in the process of trying to get the 1k late in the game, with it already over from a competitive standpoint, Dowdle fumbled. You can’t do that.
Stock Down: Cooper Rush
There are two instances in which Cooper Rush has thrown multiple interceptions in his NFL career and they have both come on the road at Philadelphia. The first was in 2022 and the second was on Sunday.
It is very difficult to find anything about how Rush played on Sunday and pat it on the back. He seemed a bit more reckless than he ever had been and avoided the low-hanging fruit which has always been his specialty. Put simply, this was one of the worst games of Rush’s career.
Stock Down: Andrew Booth
Early on it seemed like Andrew Booth was in for a good game, but then the game kept going and the onslaught got larger. Ultimately handling the Eagles’ wide receiver group is a very difficult assignment and one that Booth struggled mightily with. He got worked throughout the second and third quarter in a manner that made the game no longer one for the Cowboys.
Stock Down: Jake Ferguson
It has not exactly been a stellar season for Ferguson (set to become eligible for a contract extension for the first time by the way) and on Sunday he had a critical fumble that helped really break things open for the Eagles.
Stock Down: Ezekiel Elliott
Ezekiel Elliott had three carries on Sunday in Philadelphia.
The longest run that Elliott had went for five yards.
Elliott finished the day with two yards.
Stock Down: Mike McCarthy
It is hard for me to feel like this was Mike McCarthy failing the Cowboys because they appear very ready for this season to be over and were up against an Eagles team champing at the bit to lock up their division title and playoff position. It was a highly movable object meeting an unstoppable force.
But as we are now single-digit days (in all likelihood) from his coaching status being determined relative to this team, I don’t know how you can’t be at least seriously disappointed. The Cowboys looked outdone and out-prepared in every single facet of the game and got worked by two different quarterbacks. That has to matter to a significant degree.
Stock Down: Jerry Jones
Before the game Jerry Jones mentioned that he had been told by an Eagles fan to keep up the job he was doing. Clearly the Eagles fan was joking about how bad the Cowboys have been this year.
The annoying thing isn’t even that the Eagles fan said it. The annoying thing is how it has to become a everybody-look-at-us-we-are-turning-everything-into-positive-attention-for-us thing because the Dallas Cowboys are the Dallas Cowboys.
This is a football team that is a serious need of some quiet time away from the spotlight. Maybe missing out on the playoffs and having other people succeed around them will be good in that sense. But this team has been drowning under the attention that the owner stirred up way back at the beginning of last offseason in a manner that has been palpable.
It is almost over.
