ARLINGTON, Texas – Toward the end of the night, an Eagles chant rang out from AT&T Stadium. It wasn’t a nice one.
Dallas 41, Philadelphia 21.
Yes, it was that kind of night for the Eagles who were beaten up on Monday night in front of 93,267. The Cowboys? Well they’re in first place in the NFC East all by themselves with a banged-up Carolina Panthers team coming to town next weekend. How bad was it? Well, the following offensive starters, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, CeeDee Lamb and Tony Pollard (yes he’s a starter) didn’t finish the game because the game was out of reach.
Here are five things of note from Cowboys-Eagles:
NFC East looks shaky
After three weeks, the Cowboys are in sole possession of first place in the NFC East. It’s early. You can’t really say the Cowboys are going to run away with things, but it’s apparent as we head into October, the Cowboys might be the best team in the division with a quality victory over the Chargers in Week 2, an impressive showing in the season-opening loss to Tampa Bay and a convincing victory over the Eagles on Monday night. This three-game home stand features two divisional games where the Cowboys have already beaten the Eagles and in two weeks they face the winless New York Giants.
Trevon Diggs strikes again
If you had any questions about the Cowboys’ No. 1 cornerback, look no farther than Trevon Diggs. The second-year man picked off another pass, his third of the season, and this one put the Cowboys-Eagles game out of reach. Diggs picked off a Jalen Hurts pass on the first possession of the second half and took it back 59-yards for a touchdown. It gave the Cowboys a 27-7 lead with 14:07 left in the second half. Before Diggs’ three INTs in the first three weeks of the season, Everson Walls was the last Cowboys’ player to achieve this — in 1985. Diggs finished with three pass breakups along with two tackles on the evening.
Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard a solid 1-2 punch
The Cowboys continued their 1-2 punch of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. When the game was over, the pair combined for 155 yards 28 carries and two touchdowns. Elliott took over the running attack gaining 95 yards on 17 carries and the two first half touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 21 yards. When the Cowboys were putting the game away, it was Elliott taking over, just like old times. Elliott didn’t need 20 to 25 carries to make an impact, neither. The Cowboys offensive line was pretty dominant giving him running lane to take control. There was a stretch where both runners will take over a series to keep both players fresh.
Micah Parsons with strong efforts
With rush ends DeMarcus Lawrence (toe) and Dorance Armstrong (ankle) out with health issues, the Cowboys asked first-round pick Micah Parsons to play defensive end for a second consecutive week. Parsons finished with four tackles, for the night, including a nice tackle on quarterback Jalen Hurts who tried to scoot out the pocket on a Run-Pass-Option. Parsons night was against tackles Andre Dillard and Lane Johnson. He did it standing and in the three-point stance. When Lawrence returns, the experience Parsons is getting on the pass rush will be valuable. Parsons also added a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup. He scared team officials when he left the game for two snaps in the fourth quarter when he was popped by Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell on a pass play.
Dalton Schultz with a nice game
The leading receiver for the Cowboys? Well it was tight end Dalton Schultz, who caught six passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns. It was the second-most yards and catches for Schultz in his career. The Cowboys utilized the middle of the field as Schultz was able to find open spaces as the Eagles played zone coverage with their linebackers. Philadelphia wanted to take out the wideouts of CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper, but that left Schultz open to make some plays, which he did.
