3 Cowboys takeaways following absolute demolition at hands of Eagles

After getting trampled by the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17, 41-7, the Dallas Cowboys will finish the regular season under .500 for the first time since 2020. That was Mike McCarthy’s first year as head coach with the team. Dallas started slow this season then picked things up over the second half of the year to where it seemed they might make a push for the playoffs.

Those aspirations ended last week when Dallas was eliminated from postseason contention before their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite this, the Cowboys showed pride in still playing like their season depended on it although it did not. It felt like we would see them continue with this fighting spirit over the last couple of weeks of their season but that obviously was not the case Sunday afternoon in Philly. The Eagles dominated the Cowboys in all aspects and made it look as if Dallas was finally ready to get that early vacation started.

Pride wasn’t enough for the Cowboys

After the Cowboys went out and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, although they’d been eliminated from playoff contention, it seemed like pride would carry them through. Well, pride was not nearly enough to deal with the butt-kicking Philly laid on Dallas in Week 17. The Eagles shut out the Cowboys over the final three-quarters of this game and completely dominated their division rival.

Philadelphia accomplished this behind a huge game from Saquon Barkley who rushed for 167 yards, upping his season total to 2,005. Barkley is now just 101 yards away from breaking Erick Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105. That record has been in place since 1984. Barkley also became the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season and he accomplished that in 16 games like seven of the eight before him. O.J. Simpson rushed for 2,003 yards in 1973 when the league still played a 14-game schedule.

The Cowboys desperately need depth at WR

When CeeDee Lamb is not on the field, Dallas’ need for another legitimate receiving threat is glaring. It’s noticeable when he’s in the lineup, but when he isn’t, you can see as clearly as day that no one gets open easily. Brandin Cooks caught four of his eight targets today for 52 yards, leading the team in all three categories. Jalen Tolbert caught the team's lone touchdown from Cooper Rush and ended the game with three catches on four targets for 30 yards.

That doesn’t come close to cutting the mustard so the Cowboys should be looking for more receiver help this offseason whether it be through the draft, free agency or both. They cannot go into next season with Lamb being the only guy creating separation consistently. It’s too hard to win that way as we’ve seen this season. Dallas has plenty of holes to plug on offense and WR is clearly one of the most important.

Jerry Jones has some big decisions to make in the offseason

Whether it’s the future of Rico Dowdle with the team or Mike McCarthy’s status, it should be a busy offseason for Jerry Jones and company. Dowdle is a free agent after the season and was the Cowboys’ most productive rusher this year by far. He surpassed the 1,000-yard threshold on Sunday for the first time in his career and has done it by averaging 4.7 yards per carry, surprisingly.

With that type of production, there will likely be other suitors for Dowdle’s services given he’s just 26 years old. There have been rumors circulating around the NFL Draft and many mock drafts have Dallas taking Boise State running back, Ashton Jeanty with their first-round pick. If that is indeed the route they go that could mean they’re willing to let Dowdle walk depending on what type of money the market determines he’ll demand.

McCarthy’s contract is also up at season’s end and it isn’t clear at the moment where Jones is leaning. Some feel McCarthy has earned an extension making the postseason the previous three years in Big D along with winning 12 games in each of those seasons. Even with that, Jones decided to let him coach his final year and now here we are. While it feels like Jones could opt to bring McCarthy back, Jerry Jones can still be unpredictable at times.