3 Eagles most to blame for Christmas Eve nightmare loss to Cowboys
By Scott Rogust
The Philadelphia Eagles suffered their second loss of the season, this time to the rival Dallas Cowboys. Here are three Eagles most to blame for the defeat.
The Philadelphia Eagles had the opportunity to clinch the NFC East division for the first time since 2019. All they had to do was defeat the rival Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Eve. Not only would they win the division title, but home field advantage throughout the entirety of the playoffs.
Philadelphia was without starting quarterback and NFL MVP favorite Jalen Hurts due to a shoulder injury. Gardner Minshew filled in his place, and performed admirably. However, it wasn’t enough, as the Cowboys defeated the Eagles 40-34 in what was a hectic, back-and-forth game.
The Eagles still have a chance to win the NFC East and clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference with a win in the next two weeks. But, this was a game that Philadelphia could have won.
When it comes to who is to blame for the loss, these three Eagles stand out.
3 Eagles most to blame for Christmas Eve nightmare loss to Cowboys, No. 3: Darius Slay, CB (and secondary as a whole)
This was a bad day for Philadelphia’s secondary. They surrendered 304 passing yards on the day and were susceptible to giving up touchdown receptions.
One name that does stick out is Darius Slay, the team’s No. 1 cornerback. He had a rough game statistically against Prescott and whichever wide receiver he was covering. Slay was targeted six times on the day, and he gave up five receptions for 82 yards, per CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr.
Darius Slay was targeted 6 times and allowed 5 completions for 82 yards -- 79.2 passer rating when targeted.
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) December 25, 2022
James Bradberry was targeted four times -- allowed just 1 catch for 7 yards and a TD (79.2 passer rating when targeted).#Eagles
As you can see, James Bradberry was solid in terms of coverage. He did, however, surrender a big touchdown to CeeDee Lamb for seven yards. Lamb hit Bradberry with a stutter step to give himself enough distance in the end zone to catch the pass from Prescott..
https://twitter.com/nfl/status/1606802764969152512?s=46&t=J8xqkcoD8O9QWTyWuz7WhA
Oh, and then there was T.Y. Hilton’s huge 52-yard reception on a third-and-30 situation.
This is a game that the Eagles secondary would like to forget and move on from.