Photo courtesy of WAMC Public Radio

Jalen Hurts led the Eagles to another W against a division rival on November 5

In a tense down-to-the-last-second game on November 5, the Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys 28–23 to increase their record to 8–1. The Eagles continue to have the best record in the NFL after the victory.

In the first quarter, Jalen Hurts found Dallas Goedert for a gain of 15 yards on fourth-and-3. Then, Kenneth Gainwell had a 12-yard rushing touchdown for the Eagles to take a 7-0 lead. The Cowboys would strike back with a pass to Jake Ferguson for a 4-yard touchdown to tie the game up 7-7. 

In the second quarter, the Cowboys took the lead with a touchdown by KaVontae Turpin on a 5-yard pass to make the score 7-14 Cowboys. The Eagles then responded with a touchdown of their own, as Jalen Hurts scored a rushing touchdown thanks to the brotherly shove to make the score 14-14. The Cowboys kicked a field goal with 1:15 remaining in the half to head into halftime with a 17-14 lead. 

After halftime, Hurts connected with DeVonta Smith for a 29-yard touchdown to give the Eagles the lead at 21-17. AJ Brown, after surpassing 1,000 receiving yards on the season, took a 3-yard pass into the end zone for a touchdown to extend the lead 28-17. 

In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys put together a quick drive to find the end zone. Prescott found Jalen Tolbert for a 7-yard touchdown. However, the Cowboys failed to convert the two-point conversion attempt, after Prescott stepped out of bounds before the ball crossed the plane. The Eagles stopped the Cowboys on a penalty-filled final drive to conclude the game with a 28-23 victory. 

“I think that they played very well, they have had a rough start to the season,” said sophomore Xavian Flower. “But I feel like they really came through this week to beat a division rival.”

Despite their rocky start, the Eagles have, of late, been playing what many think is great, fundamentals football with tremendous production from Hurts, Brown, Smith and their defense. 

Hurts had a great game, throwing 207 yards with a 74% completion rate with two touchdowns and one with his legs. Jalen had already come into the game with a bone bruise on his knee and was seen limping after a hit from the Cowboys defense in the first half. Nonetheless, he came back in the second half and put together an amazing second-half performance to finish the job. 

“Jalen Hurts had a great game period,” said Flowers. 

AJ Brown, who had six straight games with 125 receiving yards or more, had a relatively silent game. Brown had a mere seven receptions with 66 yards receiving, along with one touchdown to contribute to the win. 

DeVonta Smith has had a slow start to the 2023 season but had a better game. He only had three receptions but had 51 receiving yards with a touchdown with those three catches. 

“He just needs to be targeted more,” said Flowers. “Once he gets targeted more, he will start to do better.”

The Eagles’ defense played great with stand-out players like safety Reed Blankenship, defensive end Brandon Graham and linebacker Zach Cunningham. Reed Blankenship had seven tackles with one pass defended (PD) and one fumble recovery (FR). Brandon Graham had a good day with two tackles, one and a half sacks, and one TFL. Lastly, Zach Cunningham had ten tackles with one PD and one TFL. 

The Birds spent their bye-week last weekend working on one goal: getting healthy. Hurts with that bone bruise needs to get in tip-top shape for their next game against the Kansas City Chiefs on the November 20. Beating the Cowboys is another step in the right direction for the birds, and hopefully, it leads to more good things to come. 

“This is a momentous step,” said Flowers, “Hopefully this can lead to a ring this year.”