The Dallas Cowboys were six yards away from stealing a win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9's epic slugfest at The Linc. If the Cowboys could have made just one more play, they probably would have won that game. Instead, the Eagles took a commanding lead in both the division and conference races. Dallas' performance in Philadelphia was still one of their best of the season, considering their opponents. The last time the Cowboys faced an NFC contender was in San Francisco in Week 5. That didn't go nearly as well. For anyone still needing to point a finger for the disappointing loss, these players had rough games in Philadelphia.
The wide receivers
This one comes with a major caveat where CeeDee Lamb is concerned. Lamb followed up a career game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8 with another elite output in a huge divisional battle. Without Lamb, the Cowboys probably get blown out. Jake Ferguson turned in another nice evening too, but the Cowboys need more from the rest of their receiving threats.
Brandin Cooks had another quiet evening, but it's hard to fault him for that since he was only targeted twice. Jalen Tolbert and Kavontae Turpin each scored, but neither player had a profound impact on the game outside of those two plays. Finally, and maybe most importantly, Michael Gallup's dismal season continued. Gallup caught two of his three targets for a measly 19 yards against Philadelphia. That is not the production the Cowboys' front office had in mind when they traded Amari Cooper to free up the cash to pay Gallup before the 2022 season.
The blame doesn't fall only on Dallas' receivers. Mike McCarthy needs to find a way to get the rest of the receiving corps more involved. Dak Prescott's burgeoning connection with Lamb is keeping the Cowboys competitive in the passing game, but one elite wideout won't be enough against the best defenses in football come playoff time.
Tony Pollard
Here's another instance of both the player and the coaching staff failing against the Eagles. Tony Pollard's underwhelming 2023 campaign continued with just 12 carries for 51 yards. The efficiency was there thanks to a big run Pollard broke off at the start of the second half, but the Cowboys running back was neutralized otherwise.
The Cowboys' current strategy for using Pollard is not working. Running the shifty back up the gut is clearly not going to pay off any time soon. Whether McCarthy draws up more screen plays, runs Pollard to the edge, or commits more blocking to clear a way for him through the middle, something has to change. The inability of the Cowboys' offense to effectively establish the run this season has already come back to haunt them in several games.
Terence Steele
Week 9 in Philadelphia could very well go down as the worst game of Terence Steele's career. Prescott battled Philly's relentless pass rush all evening, and a lot of the pressure he felt came from the right side as Steele struggled. The game-sealing sack that took forced Dallas to take two Hail Mary Shots at the end zone in the game's final seconds happened because Josh Sweat blew past Steele in a crucial spot.
Steele has played like one of the top right tackles in football at times during his career, but he isn't himself at the moment. That probably has a lot to do with the gruesome knee injury he sustained during last year's playoffs, but there is no cavalry coming for the Cowboys at right tackle. Steele is the guy as long as he's healthy. The Cowboys need him to get back to the player he was before his injury.
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