In Arlington, Texas, Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles maintain their hold on the NFC East, despite experiencing uncommon back-to-back defeats and enabling the Dallas Cowboys to tie with them at the division’s top spot.
Despite their 10-3 record, the Eagles are not a dominant team, especially following their 33-13 loss to Dallas on Sunday night.
“I believe the most crucial aspect for our team at this moment is to identify the key players,” remarked veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. “I’ve been on teams where the players in the locker room take decisive action, and I’ve also been on teams where things fall apart. It’s now the moment to witness genuine leadership – leaders on this team, including myself, stepping up to address the situation.”
Their defense has faced challenges in the red zone, with close scores even in the games they emerged victorious, largely due to turnovers. Three key offensive players experienced fumbles: Hurts in the opening drive, receiver A.J. Brown at the beginning of the second half, and DeVonta Smith in the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia is experiencing back-to-back defeats for the first time this season. This follows their 42-19 home loss to the NFC West-leading San Francisco, which also boasts a 10-3 record and previously defeated Dallas 42-10 on Oct. 8.
Coach Nick Sirianni emphasized the need for the team to internalize this adversity and use it as an opportunity for improvement. He stated, “We’ve got to make sure that the adversity that we’re facing right now, we’re able to get through and ensure that we get better from it.”
Looking ahead, the Eagles, who have secured victories in seven one-score games, will face teams with non-winning records in their final four games. Their next match is against Seattle (6-7) next week.
Hurts hadn’t experienced back-to-back losses as Philadelphia’s starting quarterback since October 2021.
Starting the game in a deficit, Hurts fumbled at the conclusion of a run on the Cowboys’ 20-yard line and promptly made his way to the sideline without objection. Brown responded similarly after being stripped around midfield following a catch and a few steps into the fourth play of the second half.
“We need to secure the ball, but we’re trying to make plays,” commented Brown.
The Cowboys successfully scored on all three occasions within the 20-yard line, bringing the statistic to 70.4% of the time (31 out of 44) that opposing teams have garnered points when reaching the red zone against Philadelphia.
The Eagles, entering the game ranked 30th in the NFL in this category, faced the league’s only 8-1 team, holding a two-game division lead after a 28-23 home victory over the Cowboys on November 5. Although Dallas nearly clinched that game, orchestrating an 81-yard drive in 46 seconds on the final drive, aided by 56 penalty yards, CeeDee Lamb was tackled at the 5-yard line as time expired after a 22-yard gain.
Dallas (10-3) has achieved five consecutive victories since then, but faces challenging road games against the AFC East’s top teams, Buffalo (7-6) and Miami (9-3). Subsequently, the Cowboys host the NFC North-leading Detroit (9-4) in their home finale before concluding the season at Washington.