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Lost Season – 23 Immediate Takeaways from Cowboys 38, Eagles 21
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This was a narrative game.
If the Eagles lost, they were expected to. No Jalen Hurts, no DeVonta Smith, no hope, no prayer.
But if they won, then hoo boy do the Cowboys stink! We could have weaponized that now and forever.
Alas, the Birds did not win. They lost the football game 38-21. They were a 4.5 home dog going in.
The big picture takeaway is that they’re now 2-5 with two more divisional games coming up in the next two weeks, before the bye. If they win both, they get back to 4-5 and stay afloat in the NFL’s worst division. If they lose one or both to Washington and New York, the season is definitely over, and Howie Roseman should unload a guy or two for draft picks.
We’ll know soon enough whether or not this is a lost season. It feels like it, even though they haven’t even play half of their games. We may have to take the remaining eggs out of the Eagles basket and put them in the LeBron basket.
But right now, we go to the observations!
1) That guy did a really nice job with the national anthem. Hiruy Tirfe, his name was. Best saxophone performance since Bill Clinton went on Arsenio Hall’s show.
2) Good job by the defense on the opening drive. They got in Dak’s face and made him get rid of the ball quickly. He missed CeeDee Lamb twice and started out 1-3 throwing the ball. You’ll settle for a 55-yard field goal.
3) Rollercoaster stuff with Saquon Barkley on the opening drive. He caught a checkdown for a nice gain, then ripped off a 29-yard run in which Troy Aikman pointed out that Barkley re-injured his hamstring. Which was true – it was noticeable. But he came back in two plays later to score a touchdown, his first of the season. Aikman was right, but also looked like a bozo at the same time, if that’s possible.
4) Second Cowboys drive was pretty ugly. Nine play, 82 yards for a touchdown. Lots of holes opening up in the defensive line. A missed tackle on the big Ryan Flournoy gain. Then Cooper DeJean got toasted by CeeDee Lamb on the touchdown. Tough assignment, but he gave up just one touchdown in coverage during his first two seasons. He’s given up a bunch already this year.
5) Quinnen Williams jumping offside to punch Tanner McKee in the helmet on the tush push. Just a tad early!
6) McKee audibled into a screen play at the end of the 1st quarter. Not only did it work, but it went for 17 yards on 3rd and 10! They must have gone back into the lab this week and tweaked some designs, because this play actually had the receivers clearing out while Markel Bell and Tyler Steen got out in space to block:
They ran a screen against Carolina in which 0 offensive linemen were involved. Who does that?
7) The Dallas kickoff return went for a touchdown, but was called back for holding. Which was good because Jake Elliott’s attempted tackle was so bad that he made Asante Samuel look like Luke Kuechly.
8) Crazy that the ref can be standing 2 feet away yet miss a facemask on Quinyon Mitchell. It was on the opposite side of the ref’s vision, but still. We’ve got a hundred cameras and numerous zebras out there and they don’t see it… to the Eagles’ benefit.
9) Never forget:
10) Tell ya what… that was a hell of a throw and catch on the George Pickens touchdown. Coverage was pretty good. That’s just big boy stuff right there. Not sure there’s anybody to be mad at. The D line pressure could have been better, but Dak stepped into the pocket and threw a really nice ball.
11) They tried another screen on the drive before halftime and lost three yards. It was too slow to develop. Not sure how you expect those interior linemen to hold those blocks for that long.
12) Not sure why, but this shot of Lurie made me laugh. When you’re about to get inducted in the Eagles Hall of Fame but you also have indigestion:
13) Good situational football before halftime. They pinned Dallas on the 1 with a great punt. Then they forced a quick three and out (just 49 seconds off the clock), and got the ball back on their own 41 with 1:39 on the clock and a timeout.
14) Only problem is that McKee had a really bad series coming out of the commercial break. He missed Darius Cooper on 1st down, throwing a Donovan McNabb worm burner into the ground. Then he threw behind Makai Lemon on second down, a play Lemon could have made, but not a great pass either way. They ended up burning a timeout, throwing short of the sticks on 3rd down, and then punting.
That possession was so bad after giving themselves an opportunity for points before the half.
15) This one also made me laugh:
16) Saquon opened the 2nd half with a 10-yard run, then immediately came off the field with some bad body language. No doubt he wasn’t close to 100% after that opening drive. Dameon Pierce ran hard, but he’s obviously not Barkley.
17) Curious how Lemon looks so much better when you throw the ball to him down the field and let him run. He had 502 YAC during his final season at USC! And then he caught a TOUGH slant to get into the endzone for his first NFL touchdown. Good for him.
18) Anybody else uninterested in the “Aikman and Joe Buck hate each other” storyline? I’ve hated both for years!
19) Riq Woolen didn’t exactly cover himself in glory on that third quarter drive. 3rd down penalty, beat a few plays later for 16 yards, then beat in the end zone by Lamb. Another good pitch and catch from Dak, but yeah… 9 plays, 61 yards for Dem Boyzzz. Way too easy.
20) Kelee Ringo tackled Jonathan Mingo. Ringo vs. Mingo.
21) Not sure how to honestly feel about the defense. On one hand, they’re a lot better than what they showed in this game. They had close to a starting lineup out there, and underperformed at home. On the other hand, the offense had been butt for weeks, Hurts is done for the year, and the D was the only reason the LA, Jacksonville, and Carolina games were close. So what can you realistically expect from these guys considering the larger situation? They outperformed the offense through the entirety of 2025 and it’s the same story now. That has to wear on you.
22) McKee was unimpressive in this game. 20 for 30, 189 yards, a touchdown and a pick before garbage time. And it’s not going to get any easier than playing against the league’s worst defense at home. I know he didn’t have DeVonta Smith or even Tay Wicks out there, but his accuracy wasn’t great on the night. The interception was gross. I guess the days of “McKee should start over Hurts” are over. Maybe we’ll get a Joe Milton game this year, or two.
23) Kinda switched off when the Cowboys went up 31-21. You too?
To be completely honest with you, I’m not sure I ever switched on.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com