PHILADELPHIA − The Eagles were well on their way to an easy victory against their most hated rivals.
Until they weren’t.
For the third time this season, the Eagles took a 20-point lead in the first half only to struggle in the second half. This time, it nearly cost them.
But after the Cowboys cut the Eagles lead down to 3 early in the fourth quarter, Jalen Hurts led a 15-play drive that used up 7:37, culminating in his 7-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith.
Then Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who left the game early in the third quarter with a hand injury, intercepted his second pass of the game, and the Eagles held on for a 26-17 win Sunday night.
The Eagles remained the NFL’s only unbeaten team at 6-0. More importantly, they stayed one game ahead of the Giants in the NFC East and moved two games ahead of the Cowboys.
But it wasn’t nearly as easy as it looked in the first half. The Eagles were in complete control, taking a 20-0 lead with 1:47 left in the second quarter. The fans, still euphoric over the Phillies advancing to the NLCS, were in full throttle.
The Cowboys got a late field goal at the end of the first half, then nearly caught the reeling Eagles in the fourth quarter.
Right tackle Lane Johnson had left the game late in the first half with a concussion and was replaced by Jack Driscoll. That seemed to set Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons free. Meanwhile, the Eagles couldn’t stop the Cowboys’ running attack.
By the time Cooper Rush hit Jake Ferguson for a 7-yard TD pass with 14:39 left in the fourth quarter, the Eagles’ lead was down to 20-17.
At that point, Dallas had outgained the Eagles 172-6 in the second half.
Then Hurts and the Eagles’ offense went to work, much like they did in the fourth quarter last week against Arizona. The Eagles began with five straight runs, followed by a short pass, then five more runs. Then Hurts hit A.J. Brown for 22 yards down to Dallas’ 7.
He followed that with a strike to DeVonta Smith in the end zone.
Then Gardner-Johnson picked off Rush, who was going deep for CeeDee Lamb down the sideline. But Brandon Graham was in Rush’s face, and Rush ended up throwing it more to the middle of the field, where Gardner-Johnson dove and picked it off.
Finally, the Eagles could exhale.
It certainly appeared that would happen much earlier.
Rush, starting his fifth straight game in place of Dak Prescott, threw his first two interceptions of the season in the first half. The Eagles converted the first, by Gardner-Johnson, into a touchdown. The Cowboys also turned the ball over on downs, trying to convert a 4th-and-1 from their 34. The Eagles converted that into a field goal.
The Cowboys got a field goal in the final seconds of the first half, keyed by KaVontae Turpin’s 61-yard kickoff return. That was the first time Dallas was on the Eagles’ side of the field.
Hurts, meanwhile, was efficient throwing the ball and the Eagles were controlling the line of scrimmage on offense.
Then Johnson suffered a concussion, and the Cowboys slowly got back into the game.
That is, until the decisive series of plays on offense and defense for the Eagles.
Hurts finished 15-for-25 for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sanders had 69 yards rushing.
It was enough to hold off the Cowboys.
Another key player injured
In addition to Johnson, the Eagles lost safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a hand injury. Gardner Johnson, who had an interception in the first quarter, was hurt early in the third quarter.
He was replaced by K’Von Wallace. The Cowboys went at Wallace and ended up with a touchdown on their first drve with Wallace in the game.
Gardner-Johnson returned later in the third quarter.
2nd quarter domination
The Eagles came into the game outscoring their opponents 92-24 in the second quarter.
After scoring all 20 of their points in the frame, beginning with Sanders’ touchdown 5 seconds into the quarter, the margin is now up to 112-27.
Incredibly, it’s the third time in six games this season that the Eagles had at least a 17-point lead at the break. The Eagles led 24-0 against Minnesota in Week 2 and by the same score against Washington in Week 3.
Don’t call it a sneak
For the Eagles, the quarterback sneak is a misnomer.
Everyone knows it’s coming when the Eagles have about a yard or less to go for a first down or a touchdown. Yet just about every time, quarterback Jalen Hurts will line up under center, take the snap from Jason Kelce and push his way forward.
Sure enough, the Eagles made it work late in the first quarter against the Cowboys on Sunday night, when Hurts converted a 3rd-and-1 from Dallas’ 18. The Eagles ran the QB sneak seven times last week against the Arizona Cardinals, converting five times.
It’s easy to see why the Eagles are so good at it, and why they do it so often.
“If you run the play properly as an offense, you should execute it most of the time,” Kelce said. “You only need a yard. You know when the snap count’s coming. There aren’t many reasons why it shouldn’t work.”
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Eagles make a penalty work
It was risky even for the Eagles, going for it on 4th-and-4 from the Dallas 10 near the end of the first quarter. But it worked out when Cowboys linebacker Dante Fowler was whistled for lining up in the neutral zone.
The Eagles scored on the very next play as Miles Sanders took the ball up the middle from the 5, giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
The run culminated a 15-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up 7 minutes, 36 seconds.
Eagles fully healthy on O-line
The Eagles are back to full strength on the offensive line after left tackle Jordan Mailata, who missed last week’s game with a shoulder injury, was cleared to play. So were Jason Kelce and Landon Dickerson, who missed some plays last week.
In addition, RB Boston Scott was cleared to play after missing two games with a concussion. Cornerback Avonte Maddox was also cleared to return after missing two games with an ankle injury.
Left tackle Andre Dillard was activated off injured reserve Saturday and is expected to be on the game-day roster. Dillard was placed on IR after breaking his forearm during a practice in late August. Dillard would have started in place of Mailata last week.
The Eagles’ inactives included a surprise in DE Tarron Jackson, their sixth-round pick last season. The others were QB Ian Book, CB Josh Jobe, S Reed Blankenship, RB Trey Sermon and G Josh Sills.
For the Cowboys, quarterback Dak Prescott, listed as questionable after injuring his thumb in the season opener, was not on the game-day roster. Neither was tight end Dalton Schultz.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
