ARLINGTON, Texas – Halloween has passed and November has arrived. But the stadium better known as JerryWorld remains a house of horrors for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys have entered the eleventh calendar month since their last home win.
A team that lost only five games over three years has already surpassed that total.
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Cowboys, 34-6, in a Sunday afternoon matchup that improved the Eagles to 7-2 by edging the Washington Commanders in the NFC East. The Cowboys fell to 3-6 and their playoff hopes were all but lost.
In their first game this season without franchise quarterback Dak Prescott, the Cowboys showed that a long-struggling team could get a lot worse. Prescott’s hamstring tear, and its likely implications for the end of the season, may be the Cowboys’ biggest problem.
But he is far from the only one.
Dallas’ offense turned the ball over five times and did not score a touchdown, even as the Eagles began resting their starters.
Philadelphia repeatedly took advantage of the Cowboys’ mistakes as they ran up the score in a game in which the Cowboys surprisingly entered as underdogs by just 7 points.
For most of the first two quarters, the Cowboys’ defensive improvement showed a potential route to validating Vegas’ confidence.
Dallas sacked Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts twice on the first series and cornerback Trevon Diggs then jumped a pass intended for tight end Dallas Goedert for an interception in the end zone. Micah Parsons would later strip Hurts in Parsons’ first game back from a sprained ankle, and the sun’s famous glare seemed to help the Cowboys’ defensive efforts as Hurts took three sacks on three consecutive dropbacks.
But Hurts primarily leveraged his dual-threat ability to score two more rushing touchdowns in addition to his 14-of-20 passing for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
Running back Saquon Barkley gained 21 yards after the catch on third-and-6 to set up Hurts’ initial touchdown, on the Eagles’ signature “Brotherly Shove” play.
Cowboys quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Trey Lance each contributed to the turnover count, and running back Ezekiel Elliott also fumbled at the goal line.
While Dallas set up kicker Brandon Aubrey for field goals of 46 and 23 yards early, they were completely ineffective in the second half. An improved Eagles defense held Rush to just 45 yards on 23 pass attempts, and Dallas took advantage of each of its three opportunities to get the ball in the third quarter.
Trey Lance, active for the first time this season, threw an interception and a pass that tight end Jake Ferguson would fumble on consecutive drives.
The Eagles did what good teams do against cellar dwellers: beat the Cowboys. Wide receiver AJ Brown caught passes of 30 and 44 yards en route to a 109-yard day, Saquon Barkley ran for 66 yards on 14 carries.
The Eagles host the Commanders on Thursday night in a game where first place in the division is at stake.