ARLINGTON, Texas – Halloween is over and November is here. But the stadium best known as JerryWorld remains a house of horrors for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys have entered calendar month 11 since their last home win.
A team that lost just five games in three years has already surpassed that total.
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Cowboys 34-6 in a Sunday afternoon game that improved the Eagles to 7-2 as they passed the Washington Commanders in the NFC East. The Cowboys fell to 3-6, their playoff hopes all but lost.
In their first game this season without franchise quarterback Dak Prescott, the Cowboys showed that a long-struggling team could indeed get a lot worse. Prescott’s torn hamstring and its likely season-ending implications could be the Cowboys’ biggest problem.
It is far from their only one.
Dallas’ struggling offense turned the ball over five times and scored no touchdowns, even as the Eagles began resting their starters.
Philadelphia repeatedly took advantage of the Cowboys’ mistakes as they ran up the score in a game where the Cowboys surprisingly came in as only 7-point underdogs.
Through most of the first two quarters, the Cowboys defensive improvement showed a possible route to reaffirming Vegas’ confidence.
Dallas sacked the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts twice on the first series and cornerback Trevon Diggs later jumped a pass intended for tight end Dallas Goedert to snag an interception in the end zone. Micah Parsons would later pick off Hurts in Parsons’ first game back from a high ankle sprain, with the famous glare of sunlight appearing to aid the Cowboys’ defensive efforts as Hurts took three sacks on three consecutive dropbacks.
But most of all, Hurts powered his dual-threat ability to score two more rushing touchdowns, in addition to his 14-of-20 passing for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
Running back Saquon Barkley gained 21 yards after the catch on third-and-6 to set up Hurts’ first touchdown, on the Eagles’ signature “Brotherly Shove” play.
Cowboys quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Trey Lance each contributed to the turnovers, while running back Ezekiel Elliott also fumbled at the goal line.
While Dallas set up kicker Brandon Aubrey early for field goals of 46 and 23 yards, they were completely ineffective in the second half. An improved Eagles defense held Rush to just 45 yards on 23 passing attempts, with Dallas going three-and-out on each of three chances to move the ball in the third quarter.
Lance, playing for the first time this season, threw both an interception and a pass that Jake Ferguson would fumble in consecutive series.
The Eagles did what good teams do against cellar dwellers: blow them out. Wide receiver AJ Brown caught passes of 30 and 44 yards en route to a 109-yard day, and Barkley rushed for 66 yards on 14 carries.
The Eagles host the Commanders on Thursday evening in a game with first place in the division on the line.
