The Philadelphia Eagles bounced back with a dominant 41-7 rout of the Dallas Cowboys, clinching the NFC East. After a heartbreaking loss to the Washington Commanders a week ago, the Eagles looked like the team that had previously won 10 games in a row.
After a slow first quarter, the Eagles took over the game and never looked back. The Eagles improved to 13-3 with one game remaining and locked up the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. Here are four takeaways from the division-clinching win over the Cowboys:
Eagles superstar running back Saquon Barkley headed into Week 17 chasing history. The 27-year-old needed 268 rushing yards to pass Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson as the NFL’s single-season rushing yards leader. Barkley and the Eagles’ offense got off to a slow start, but like most weeks this season, the run game exploded in the second half.
Barkley finished with a season-high 31 carries for 167 yards. The former No. 2 overall pick became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards a season. To break Dickerson’s record, he needs 101 rushing yards next week against his former team, the New York Giants. Barkley rushed for 176 yards in his previous matchup against the Giants and has had over 101 yards in 11 games this season.
How head coach Nick Sirianni will manage his players in the regular-season finale remains to be seen. With the Eagles already locked into the No. 2 seed, Sirianni may opt to rest his starters or give them limited snaps as they prepare for a playoff run. With the 40-year-old record in reach, it’s hard not to give Barkley every opportunity to make history. What better way to set the record than against his former team right, John Mara?
The Eagles were without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, who remains in concussion protocol after suffering the injury during the first quarter of last week’s loss. Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett replaced Hurts and was named the starter for the Week 17 game against the Cowboys. Pickett was banged up with a rib injury in Week 16, but he was good to go for his first career start in an Eagles uniform.
Pickett was off to a good start against the Cowboys. The former first-round pick was 10/15 for 143 yards and a touchdown with a 24-7 lead early into the second half. He left the game early in the third quarter after taking two big hits to the midsection and didn’t return. Tanner McKee, the Eagles’ 2023 sixth-round pick, replaced Pickett for the first NFL action of his career.
The Eagles’ offense didn’t miss a beat with McKee as the quarterback. He found A.J. Brown for a 20-yard touchdown on his first full drive and then DeVonta Smith for a 25-yard touchdown on their next possession. The Stanford product finished the game 3/4 for 54 yards and those two touchdown passes. McKee may be in line for his first NFL start if the Eagles decide to rest the starters against the Giants next week and if Pickett cannot suit up.
The Eagles have had one of the best defenses in the league this year. After allowing just 14 points through three quarters to the Commanders in Week 16, the defense uncharacteristically fell apart in the fourth quarter. They had five takeaways in that game but allowed 22 points in the final quarter. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected in the matchup after his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Gardner-Johnson made up for his disqualification a week ago with a 69-yard pick-six on the game’s opening possession against the Cowboys to give the Eagles a quick 7-0 lead. He tracked down a deep ball attempt for his second interception of the game with 50 seconds left before halftime. The Eagles scored a touchdown four plays later, taking a 24-7 lead into the locker rooms.
After forcing five turnovers last week, they forced another four turnovers against the Cowboys. The defense held the Cowboys’ offense to 268 total yards and only seven points. The lone touchdown came early in the first quarter after Gardner-Johnson’s pick-six. The Cowboys scored just 13 combined points in the two matchups against the Eagles this year.
Smith dropped a wide-open pass late in the fourth quarter against the Commanders last week, which would’ve resulted in a first down and a win. Instead, the Eagles had to settle for a field goal and wound up losing the game.
The Eagles’ star wide receiver went into Week 17 on a mission. Smith caught six passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He was about half of a yard short of a three-touchdown game. His drop against the Commanders proved costly, but Smith seems to have put that in the rearview mirror.
The 2024 NFL season is ending, but Philly is gearing up for what it hopes will be a deep playoff run. First, in Week 18, the team will host the Giants for the regular season finale. The divisional foes last faced off in Week 7 when the Birds won 28-3 on the road.
There will be a lot of talk in Philadelphia about whether to play the starters as they prepare for the playoffs. Is Barkley’s chase for history worth more than avoiding injuries to key players? Only time will tell.
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