The Eagles moved to 13-2 on the season after a Christmas Eve loss to the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
Buy Eagles TicketsThe Birds can still clinch the No. 1 seed – Philadelphia needs to win just one of the final two games to clinch the NFC East, the No. 1 seed, the first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The Eagles are battered and a bit flustered after an ugly performance that was buoyed by four turnovers on offense, and an inability to get off the field on third downs as a defense.
Gardner Minshew was 24-40 for 355 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in place of an injured Jalen Hurts.
Minshew also had one rushing touchdown on the afternoon but was credited with one lost fumble as well.
DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown both went over 100 yards on the day but were overshadowed by CeeDee Lamb’s 10 catch, 120 yards, and 2 touchdown performance to carry the Dallas passing game.
Here are ten takeaways from Saturday.
Eagles-Cowboys III almost certain to happen
If Philadelphia can secure the No. 1 seed, they’ll face the lowest-seeded winner from the Wild Card round and that means a potential second matchup with Dallas in the divisional round.
The Cowboys will now be no worse than the fifth seed in the playoffs with the 40-34 win vs. the Eagles. They need to win out and have Philly lose out to win the division and could have outside shot at top seed.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) December 25, 2022
Eagles continued the pressure
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was sacked six times on the afternoon, continuing a hot streak for the Eagles’ defensive line.
The Eagles have now had 6+ sacks in 4 straight games, tied with the 1976 49ers for the longest streak in the Super Bowl era.#FlyEaglesFly @Eagles
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 25, 2022
CeeDee Lamb is lethal
Kellen Moore did an excellent job of featuring Lamb from the slot, avoiding every down matchup with Darius Slay and James Bradberry while getting Lamb touches on the move.
CeeDee Lamb has his 2nd career game with 10+ receptions, 100+ rec yards & 2+ rec TD, tied with Amari Cooper for the most in Cowboys history.
Lamb has more such games than the rest of the 88 Club combined (Dez Bryant, HOF Michael Irvin, and HOF Drew Pearson).#DallasCowboys
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 25, 2022
Dallas passed on Justin Jefferson as well in 2020, but the consolation prize is solid.
Quez Watkins
Watkins may be the fastest player in the NFL, but he also has moments where he’s aloof or one step slow.
DaRon Bland took it away from him for the INT!
📺: #PHIvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Gd75wOq015 pic.twitter.com/UK3UFzb4bW— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2022
New school defensive backs
Josiah Scott isn’t the only player in the NFL to do this, but with good ball skills and range, the Eagles cornerback could have easily knocked the ball down or broken it up with a timely hit on this 3rd and 30 play.
3rd and 30… FIRST DOWN @dallascowboys
📺: #PHIvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Gd75wOq015 pic.twitter.com/7alkEGa8qM— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2022
Eagles resorted to passive ways
The Eagles had allowed 201 passing yards per game coming into today. The Cowboys threw for 304 yards.
A very impressive game for Prescott, and perhaps a cause for concern about the legitimacy of the PHI D for an Eagles team that has feasted almost entirely against weak QBs.
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) December 25, 2022
Best WR Duo in Eagles history?
The only Eagles WR duo to each have 1,000 yards in a season:
A.J. Brown & DeVonta Smith 🦅 pic.twitter.com/K3x0U6X0t7
— PFF (@PFF) December 25, 2022
Lack of man coverage
The loss of Avonte Maddox causes a trickle-down impact that makes defense susceptible to top passers.
Per @NextGenStats, Dak Prescott went 24-for-24 for 300 yards when Eagles played zone.
Eagles defense allowed points (4 TDs, 4 FGs) on 8 of 10 Cowboys possessions.
Eagles' 2nd-worst defensive performance of the season, based on EPA per drive.
— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) December 25, 2022
3rd down efficiency
Philadelphia was 8-14 on third downs, while Dak Prescott and Dallas went 8-15. Both teams struggled to get off the field on third downs, thus the 40-34 score.
Random Notes
Linval Joseph was impactful on Saturday, logging an initial 89.8 grade on the first review, per PFF.
Joseph had five tackles on the day.
T.J. Edwards paced Philadelphia with 14 tackles, while Reed Blankenship posted 8 tackles in his return to the lineup.
The Eagles didn’t allow any sacks to Micah Parsons or the Cowboys’ defense while only giving up six pressures on 30 pass-blocking snaps per PFF. Right tackle Lane Johnson and center Jason Kelce went the whole game without allowing a single pressure.
