The Dallas Cowboys had a chance to eat into the lead of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East in their Week 9 confrontation, and head coach Mike McCarthy and his team came close. However, getting close but failing to get the job done means the 8-1 Eagles have substantial lead on the on the 5-3 Cowboys in their race for the division title.

The Eagles outlasted the Cowboys 28-23  as Dallas was unable to finish off a late drive that would have allowed them to move into the lead. Dallas got the ball at its own 14-yard line with 46 seconds to go. The Cowboys were able to drive to the Philadelphia 6-yard line before multiple penalties and a sack pushed Dallas back to the 27-yard line.

On a 3rd-down play with 5 seconds remaining, Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb at the 4 yard line, but he was stopped at that point and the Eagles secured the victory as the receiver fumbled and Rodrigo Blankenship recovered the football.

Despite the painful loss, Mike McCarthy attempted to support his players. “We know who we are. We needed to make one more play tonight. … I love the way our team plays.”

It's one thing to boost up a young team after a close loss against an elite opponent. However, the Cowboys are supposed to be an elite team themselves. They have failed against both the San Francisco 49ers and the Eagles, and they also are the only team in the NFL to lose to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cowboys may be too inconsistent to be considered elite, even though they have a number of brilliant players including Lamb, Prescott and Micah Parsons. The Cowboys lack of consistency falls on the shoulders of McCarthy and his coaching staff.