Cowboys Defeat Eagles, 24-21: 10 Takeaways From Philadelphia’s Disgraceful Loss
The Philadelphia Eagles had everything figured out on the road against the Dallas Cowboys…until they didn’t. Philadelphia’s offense pulled off another vanishing act, as they failed to score more points after jumping out to a 21-0 lead.
While Philadelphia’s defense was able to save them in recent weeks, the dam eventually broke in Dallas. The Cowboys scored 24 unanswered points to hand the Eagles their third loss of the regular season, dropping Philadelphia to second place in the NFC.
Here are my 10 takeaways from Philadelphia’s concerning performance.
It’s Time To Make a Change at OC (But They Won’t)
Many have been calling for Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to be fired for weeks. Following another half without scoring points, Philadelphia might finally make a change. The Eagles have now scored seven points or less in an entire half in eight of their 11 games played this season.
While Patullo’s offense got off to a hot start in Dallas, he failed to adjust once again. The Cowboys confused the Eagles with their five-man defensive front and Patullo seemingly had no answers for Dallas’ new-look defense.
Philadelphia’s offense has lacked flow all season long and Patullo is at the head of this dysfunctional snake. His lack of play-calling experience continues to show through as the Eagles struggle to make in-game adjustments with poor, nonsensical play sequencing.
The Eagles have a few potential in-house candidates to consider handing the reins of the offense over to. Quarterback coach Scot Loeffler is likely the most intriguing name, given his play-calling experience in college and the interesting ways that he maximized Harold Fannin Jr.’s skillset at Bowling Green.
Yet pass game coordinator Parks Frazier could provide the most seamless transition for an in-season change. Unlike Loeffler, Frazier has called plays in the NFL before and spent a year under Mike McDaniel with the Miami Dolphins last season. Either Loeffler or Frazier should at least get a chance to call plays in place of Patullo.
Unfortunately, the Eagles likely won’t make a change on a short week with Philadelphia set to host the Chicago Bears on Friday. Yet if the offense fails to show up again, we might finally see a new offensive play-caller in Week 14.
Nick Sirianni Could Hold Offense Back, Despite Any Potential Changes
While a change at offensive coordinator seems like the right move, I have my doubts that it would actually fix everything. Part of what is holding back this offense are the philosophical limits that Nick Sirianni has placed upon the Eagles.
Sirianni prioritizes winning the turnover battle over everything else, which is fair and often leads to success. Yet it has also led to the Eagles taking their foot off the gas when they’ve had big leads this season, despite Sirianni somehow saying that they aren’t doing that.
It’s not like these struggles are new in Philadelphia either. The Eagles have had spurts with an inconsistent passing offense that called cowardly draws on third-and-long before. It happened under Kellen Moore, this isn’t exclusively a Kevin Patullo problem. This is a Nick Sirianni problem.
Philadelphia’s offense has far too many weapons to play as conservative as they have this season. No matter who is calling the plays for the Eagles, Sirianni’s conservative nature could place a cap on Philadelphia’s offense.
Offensive Line Is the Weakest Link
Nobody wants to say it but Jeff Stoutland deserves just as much blame for this offensive mess as Patullo does. He is Philadelphia’s offensive line coach and run game coordinator, two areas that the Eagles have struggled in all season long.
The injuries along the offensive line can no longer be used as an excuse either, as the Eagles have struggled when everyone is healthy too. Stoutland is praised as one of the best assistant coaches in the NFL, yet he has fallen short this season.
Philadelphia’s offensive line is undisciplined, as nearly every player has been called for a crucial penalty this season. Meanwhile, the running game is stale and lacks any semblance of creativity. It’s time for Stoutland to live up to the standard that he has set for himself in recent years.
Saquon Barkley Is Right, He’s Been Nonexistent
Following a historic first season with the Eagles, Saquon Barkley has come crashing back down to earth in year two. Barkley is averaging just 3.7 yards per carry in 2025 and had arguably his worst game of the season in Week 12.
Barkley had 10 carries for just 22 yards and coughed up a costly fumble late in the game. Following his lackluster performance, Barkley took accountability for his poor play this season.
“I’ve been kind of nonexistent this year,” Barkley said. “I’ve gotta figure it out for the team.”
We’re now 11 games into the regular season and Barkley has yet to figure it out. While he could certainly turn things around down the final stretch, I have my doubts given his struggles and the offensive line’s poor play thus far.
Tank Bigsby Needs To Have a Bigger Role
While Barkley has struggled to make plays this season, Tank Bigsby has continued to make the most of his touches. Bigsby had nine carries for 104 yards against the Giants in Week 8. It felt like a breakout performance that should have surely led to a bigger role tor Bigsby.
Yet he has inexplicably had just eight carries in Philadelphia’s last three games. Bigsby has gained 49 rushing yards on those eight carries, an average of 6.1 yards per carry.
The 24-year-old running back is averaging an absurd 9.1 yards per carry with the Eagles. He had one carry for eight yards with 13:44 left in the second quarter against the Cowboys…and never touched the ball again. Bigsby needs to have a bigger role moving forward.
Eagles Still Can’t Stop Play Action Passes
In my game preview for Week 12, I stated that the Cowboys were going to test the Eagles through the air with play action passes. Philadelphia’s defense struggled in that area prior to this game and those struggles continued in Dallas.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed nine of his 11 play action passes for 174 yards against the Eagles in Week 12. It was the second most passing yards of Prescott’s career on play action, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Prior to this matchup, I discussed how Philadelphia’s defense allowed the highest yards per attempt on downfield passes (10+ yards) off play action this season at 17.8 yards per attempt. It’s safe to say that the Eagles didn’t improve that average against the Cowboys.
Pass Rush Takes a Step Back
Following the arrival of Jaelan Phillips and return of several other players, it felt like Philadelphia’s pass rush turned the corner in recent weeks. Yet the Eagles only managed to sack Prescott just one time in Week 12.
The Cowboys established a consistent running game with Javonte Williams, which slowed down Philadelphia’s pass rush just enough. Prescott was able to pick apart Philadelphia’s secondary, especially with play action passes.
While the Eagles would get close to Prescott at times, they weren’t able to disturb him enough. It brought back shades of Philadelphia’s pass rush struggles earlier in the regular season, when they were able to get pressure but not making enough of an impact overall.
Secondary Injuries Prove Costly
Outside of a rotating door at outside cornerback opposite of Quinyon Mitchell, the Eagles have been relatively fortunate with injuries in the secondary this season. Yet that all change against the Cowboys in Week 12.
Before the game was over, the Eagles were suddenly down three starters in their secondary. Adoree’ Jackson, Reed Blankenship and Drew Mukuba all left the game due to injuries.
Philadelphia’s lack of depth in the secondary proved costly as the Eagles had to shuffle players all over the backend of their defense. Cooper DeJean moved to outside cornerback and Michael Carter II played slot cornerback, before having to move to safety.
With the Eagles facing a quick turnaround and playing on Friday, they could be without all three players once again. It’s going to be interesting to see how Philadelphia adapts without three key players in the secondary.
Britain Covey Should Replace Xavier Gipson
Xavier Gipson was waived by the New York Jets earlier this season due to a costly fumble. While Gipson avoided any mistakes early in his career with the Eagles, he made a fatal mistake against the Cowboys.
Gipson fielded a punt inside the five-yard line and eventually coughed the ball up. While the Cowboys failed to convert Gipson’s turnover into points, it was a concerning mistake that could cost him his job in Philadelphia.
The Eagles have stashed veteran punt returner Britain Covey on their practice squad in 2025. Now it feels like it’s time for Philadelphia to turn back to Covey at punt returner. Gipson was also injured on the play, which could open up a spot on the 53-man roster for Covey as well.
Black Friday Will Make or Break This Team
This loss felt eerily similar to Philadelphia’s blown lead against the Denver Broncos in Week 5. The Eagles held a 17-3 lead in the fourth quarter before eventually losing 21-17. We all remember what happened to the Eagles the following week.
The Eagles faced a quick turn around against the New York Giants on Thursday night in Week 6 and got punched in the mouth. Philadelphia can’t afford to make the same mistake on a short week following another meltdown.
After going 4-3 over their last seven games, the Eagles have suddenly landed back on earth. Now they’ll host the scorching hot Chicago Bears on Black Friday, who are in first place in the NFC North at 8-3 and have won eight of their last nine games.
This matchup truly feels like a make or break moment for the Eagles in 2025. If this team wants to prove that it’s not another repeat of the collapse that we witnessed in 2023, they’ll have to prove the doubters wrong on Black Friday.