By Connor Donald, Sports Talk Philly Contributing Writer 
You think you got all the scares out of you Saturday night with Halloween. Well you ain’t seen nothing yet, Sunday night football, 2-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles versus the 2-5 Dallas Cowboys for first place in the NFC East. Usually I would say toss the records out, its Dallas week, it’s all about the bitter rivalry and hatred that this rivalry drives through your blood. Well I disagree this time, it is all about the win heading into the bye with the ability to control the NFC East by a game and a half is more important than it ever has been.
How was the first half? You know the puke emoji, yeah that is the best one word or symbol description I have for you. The score was really Greg Zuerlein nine and the Philadelphia Eagles seven. That’s right Ben Dinucci came exactly as advertised, but the Eagles offense played down to almost that exact same level. Reagor caught his first career NFL touchdown and that would be the only score the Eagles got, as turnovers and Wentz’s decision making once again came front and center.
The second half started out very similar to how the first half as a whole was playing out, how you ask, why with a Carson Wentz interception. Thankfully the near automatic Greg the Leg missed his next field goal attempt to keep it 9-7. The Eagles were able to take advantage of the field position as Wentz used all his weapons to his disposal including his feet, capping it off with a Travis Fulgham touchdown. After the touchdown the Eagles and Cowboys took turns with some ugly three and outs on offense, making the defenses look like the top two in the NFL. The Cowboys and Dinucci seemed to be getting comfortable and running down a significant chunk of time in the fourth quarter, when Schwartz sent the farm and TJ Edwards laid a big hit forcing a fumble, which somehow the refs didn’t believe Curry had possession, which led to McLeod recovering and returning the fumble for a touchdown putting the Eagles up 21-9. The Eagles likely got away with the fumble return, that was the final dagger and the teams exchanged garbage time play for the remaining five minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Best:
Well this took a lot of thinking because finding the best out of this game is pretty frustrating, especially when looking back at the season we are suffering through. I could say the defense, who largely kept the offense afloat, but was it really Jim Schwartz and his defense or was it just how bad Ben Dinucci really is? I believe it is the latter, but let’s not discredit the fact that the defense did their job and tried its damndest to keep the score close for the offense. Jim Schwartz called a fairly strong game as well. The Eagles defense allowed only nine points on 265 yards (132 passing and 133 rushing).
Brandon Graham, king of the strip sack, had himself yet another game and has really stood out as the best player on this defense this season. He finished with a sack, a fumble recovery and a quarterback hit to go with four total tackles. He is silently mounting a career season and with that sack tonight he is now third behind Myles Garrett and Aaaron Donald. I will do a quick name drop of Fletcher Cox who also caused Dinucci’s night to be hell with one sack, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.
Offensively, we can’t have a 2020 Eagles game without talking about Travis Fulgham. Fulgham caught his fourth touchdown pass of the season late in the third quarter and finished with a final line of six receptions for 78 yards and a TD. He is the unsung hero of the 2020 Eagles and continues to prove that he is here to stay, well should be here to stay, please Howie!
The Good:
Two returnees had massive impacts for the good, Jalen Reagor and TJ Edwards. TJ Edwards return was much needed as Nate Gerry and Genard Avery headed to the injured reserve earlier in the week. Despite our frustration for Gerry, he is the Eagles leader in tackles and Edwards picked up right where Gerry left off in that department, making twelve total tackles, six solo, one sack and one tackle for a loss. Edwards presence was felt and welcomed in the middle of the field including late in the fourth quarter as Dinucci and the Cowboys were marching he came in hard on a blitz and forced the fumble which decided the game.
Jalen Reagor was a huge return despite not being the sexiest of stat lines all the way across he did score his first career NFL touchdown and helped with a successful two point conversion on Travis Fulgham’s third quarter touchdown. Without Desean Jackson and Jalen Reagor, the Eagles deep threat has been John Hightower who has been hit or miss and Reagor may not have been used as a deep threat much, his presence opens up the field and re-adds elements to Pedersons playbook. Reagor finished with a line of three receptions for 16 yards and a touchdown and successful two point conversion.
The Bad:
The Eagles offensive line is one of the worst in the NFL and it certainly is doing them no justice that they ruled out yet another starting line combination after Lane Johnson was a late scratch due to knee swelling. This forced Jordan Mailata from the left tackle position to right tackle, just a couple weeks after his first ever NFL start. This offensive line entered with Wentz tied as the most sacked quarterback with Joe Burrow, he is the most pressured quarterback in the NFL and is also the most hit quarterback in the NFL. Well things didn’t get any better against Dallas, they forced two fumbles on him, hit him four times and sacked him three times. Although things looked every so slightly better in the second half, there is work to be done along the offensive line and it starts largely with getting healthy.
Oh, did I forget to mention that there were injuries, in an Eagles game, no way! Darius Slay left the game with an ankle issue and Malik Jackson also left with a quad injury. Jason Kelce came up hobbled at one point, but stayed in the game and seemed ok, thank goodness as this offensive line could not afford to lose their anchor. It just wouldn’t be fair for the Eagles to be getting healthy.
The Ugly:
The Dallas Cowboys entered this game as one of the five worst defenses in the league and had only caused three total turnovers. Well the Philadelphia Eagles, mainly Carson Wentz, sure gave the Dallas Cowboys defense the ego boost they needed. In the first half alone, two fumbles and one interception, making it eight straight games with turnovers for Carson Wentz. Wentz would go on to throw another interception to kick off the second half. Carson Wentz decision making remains one of the more frustrating elements to this 2020 Eagles team and he needs to fix it yesterday! He seemed to settle down much more in the second half, despite the one interception, but the amount of turnovers which ultimately land on his shoulders are beyond inexcusable at this point.
Was it pretty, nope. Was it a divisional win and a successful end to the first of two Dallas weeks? Absolutely. The Eagles are somehow getting wins in the ugliest, most stressful of fashions possible. We officially take over first place in the NFC East by a game and a half, heading into an all important bye week where the guys can rest and hopefully the team continues to get healthy and get bodies back. There continues to be things to work on, but let’s accept the reality that that’s how it will be for the rest of the season. Enjoy the bye week and rest your heart for the rest of the season. And oh yeah, Dallas sucks!
