Things started bad and got progressively worse for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Already eliminated from the playoffs and missing several key players, the 7-8 club traveled east to take on the division-leading Eagles in Week 17. The Eagles stood ready to claim the NFC East title with a victory, after being thwarted in a last-second loss to the Washington Commanders last week.

And a victory they earned, in dominating fashion. Safety CJ Gardner-Johnson intercepted QB Cooper Rush on the opening drive of the game, returning it for a score. The Cowboys answered to tie things up, but the Eagles’ backup QBs and dominant defensive effort corralled a lackluster showing from the Cowboys, scoring the final 34 points of the 41-7 victory.

Dallas turned the ball over four times and didn’t steal any possessions back as Rush once again was flummoxed by the Eagles’ defense. Rush is 9-5 as a career starter, with three of those defeats coming at the hands of Philadelphia, including two times this season.

Playing without WR CeeDee Lamb, the passing offense wasn’t able to accomplish much, gaining just 168 yards through the air. RB Rico Dowdle was able to bounce back from a bad Week 16 and crossed the 100-yard threshold for the fourth time in five games, gaining 104 on the ground.

The total allowed him to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career, becoming the first UDFA in NFL history to accomplish the feat. His accomplishment was drowned out by the blowout and overshadowed by Saquon Barkley becoming just the eighth player in NFL history to gain 2,000 yards on the ground in a season.

Barkley rushed for 167 yards on the game and has a chance to break the all-time NFL record of 2,105 held by Eric Dickerson. Dickerson accomplished the feat in 16 games.

Dallas will return to the field one last time in the 2024 season, in Week 18 when they host the Washington Commanders to close things out.