Eagle defense stymies Dak PresEverything seemed poised for Dak Prescott to save the day. He lit up the Eagles defense in the fourth quarter. The Eagles collapsed under unexpecteԀ late-game blunders.
Two major opportunities to win it in the last minutes, make it a contest in the NFC East, and establish they were the greatest team in the NFC were given to the Dallas Cowboys.
But the Eagles do this to opponents. They bend enough to make them believe they can defeat them.
Someone steals the opportunity.
The Eagles’ defense held off the Cowboys despite Prescott’s impressive second half to win 28-23. Prescott passed for 374 yards and 3 TDs. He threw 173 yards in the fourth quarter.
But …
Griffin: “I know what the stats sаy,” Dallas played well, particularly passing. But our players made clutch plays.”
They had to because it appeared like they were attempting to keep the Cowboys in the division championship Һunt for a time. The Cowboys were close, but the Eagles (8-1) stopped Dallas drives with Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat sacks and CB James Bradberry’s fourth-down pass defense with 1:17 left.cott, Cowboys when it counts
On the last play, cornerback Darius Slay sacked Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb at the Eagles’ 3-yard line, maybe the greatest play of the game.
Never mind that the Cowboys gained 78 yards on two possessions in the last 4:43 or that the Eagles defense committed four penalties, including three in the final 46 seconds.
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They just cared that someone was present when it counted.
“We’ve got guys in here that make a lot of plays,” Slay. “This room has All-Pros and future Hall of Famers. Guys here are dogs. We know we’re not flawless.”
They were not. Dallas shredded them for 406 yards. Lamb was irrepressible, catching 11 catches for 191 yards as the Eagles’ defensive emphasis. He grabbed six catches for 93 yards in the fourth quarter.
Every time the Cowboys looked to be breаking through, the Eagles defense made huge play after big play. Prescott connected rookie tight end Luke Schoonmaker with a short ball over the middle near the goal line on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter. A score would have brought them within a touchdown with plenty of time left. Except Eagles linebacker Nick Morrow pounced on Schoonmaker and knocked him down before the goal.
Next drive, Cowboys score to make it 28-23 with 6:23 left. Just the two-point convert would make it a field goal contest. As he ran toward the right-side pylon, Prescott appeared certain to score. However, 35-year-old Graham raced him down and pushed him out of bounds before he could score.
Graham continued. After Dallas reached the Philadelphia 31, he had his first solo sack of the season and joined with rookie Jalen Carter for another sack on the following play. Graham’s awakening energised the Eagles’ bench.
“When he makes a play like that, I promise you everybody feeds off that,” added Sirianni. “Everybody feels that.”
Maybe they did, as the Cowboys turned the ball over again on downs. After an unfortunate Eagles three-and-out, the Cowboys received the ball back with 46 seconds left. Pass-interference penalties on cornerback James Bradberry and roughing the passer on Haason Reddick helped them move the ball downfield swiftly. With 27 seconds remaining, the Cowboys were at their 6-yard line, threatening the Eagles’ win.
“We aged in dog years (on that drive),” Eagles tackle Lane Johnson said. “I entered the game 33, but I’m probably 42 right now.”
He could only chuckle because Sweat’s sack moved the Cowboys back out of the red zone, putting Dallas into desperation with 20 seconds left.
“That’s what great players do in pressure,” Sirianni added. “Make plays like that.”
They got one more from Slay on the last play to send the Cowboys leaving like most of their opponents, wondering how they lost.
“We were close,” Prescott remarked. We were near. We were doing things correctly. Simply said, we must… 1 inch here or there.”
This is what the Eagles do, particularly defensively. They offer opponents space and cause to think, but they seldom concede ground. They seem to detect major occasions, know when to turn up, and always do.
“In big, big moments our guys really stepped up when they needed to,” remarked Sirianni. “The Cowboys scored 17 first-half points and 6 second-half points. Our defense excelled.”
They did. The Eagles were likely fortunate. Their defense had many of terrible moments. However, the Eagles know that big occasions always matter most.
