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Here are Jean-Jacques Taylor’s grades from the Cowboys’ 17-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field...
Run offense
Ezekiel Elliott was a non-factor for much of the game. He finished with 13 carries for 47 yards but had only 9 yards on five carries in the first half, when Philadelphia set the game’s tone. Tony Pollard fumbled on a third-and-1 at the Philadelphia 25 on the first possession of the second half, when the Cowboys were driving for their first lead of the game. The Eagles stacked the line and dared Dak Prescott to beat them -- he couldn’t. GRADE: D.
Pass offense
Prescott, who didn’t practice this week because of his sprained shoulder, was awful. He badly overthrew a wide-open Amari Cooper on third down in the third quarter, which would’ve put Dallas in position to attempt a field goal. He overthrew a potential 75-yard touchdown pass to Tavon Austin with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Prescott finished with 265 yards passing. Cooper was terrible. He caught four of 12 passes directed to him for 24 yards with a long of 6. Michael Gallup was the best receiver on the field with five catches for 98 yards, but he also dropped a deep ball on the final drive that would’ve been good for at least 40 yards. Dallas receivers dropped as many as eight passes. GRADE: F.
Run defense
Miles Sanders had gained just 41 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown until he broke free for a 38-yard run on his last carry as the Cowboys stacked the line with about 30 seconds left. The Cowboys tackled well and did a good job of keeping him under control with a long of 8 until that final run. GRADE: C.
Pass defense
The Cowboys never figured out how to stop Philadelphia’s variety of screen passes, which helped set up 10 points. Carson Wentz started fast, completing 9 of 11 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown on the first two drives as the Eagles took a 10-0 lead they never relinquished. The Cowboys did not sack Wentz until the fourth quarter and didn’t pressure him all that much. He completed 31 of 40 passes for 319 yards and tight end Dallas Goedert caught nine passes for 91 yards and a score. GRADE: F.
Special teams
Kai Forbath positioned the Cowboys to make a fourth-quarter rally by making field goals of 49, 32 and 49 yards. He’s 4 for 4 from 40-49 yards. Brett Maher was 1 for 5 from 40-49 yards, which is why he was fired. All Forbath’s performance does is make you wonder why the Cowboys waited so long to cut Maher, who had struggled for weeks. As usual, the return units gave Dallas nothing. GRADE: B.
Coaching
It seemed awful at times -- on both sides of the ball. The Cowboys played a lot of zone against a team that had no real offensive weapons. They didn’t put much blitz pressure on Wentz, allowing him to operate in comfort. Two plays on offense stand out. Kellen Moore called for a sprint or pass on third-and-1 in the fourth quarter, when Elliott was running the ball well. It fell incomplete. On the first drive of the third quarter, Moore called an option to Pollard on third-and-1, which failed miserably -- he fumbled -- and didn’t seem smart, considering Prescott missed practice with a sprained shoulder this week. GRADE: F.
Overall
We’ve talked about the Cowboys’ sorry starts seemingly all season, and they did it again in their most important game of the year. This is the biggest waste of talent since Garrett became the head coach -- and he’s probably going to pay for this disappointing season with his job. The Cowboys aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but the odds are lower than a crippled cricket’s butt. GRADE: F.
