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Morning After Week 1 – Opportunity Missed
Cowboys had the Super Bowl Champions on the ropes – but, close was not enough.
Bob Sturm
Sep 05, 2025
The joy and pain of another season was on full display on Thursday in Philadelphia.
It was wonderful theater that was incredibly compelling where two teams refreshed a rivalry that was coming to boil. It was a road underdog that was given almost no chance by anyone who had a platform. It was a very strong performance in so many ways by so many in white. And with just a few minutes left in this contest in enemy territory, the game was sitting right there asking to be had.
But, in the end, the Cowboys paid dearly for scoring zero points in the second half.
They lost a 24-20 game that was begging them to take it and flew back to Dallas feeling both good and bad about what they had showed in Philadelphia on Thursday Night with the whole nation expecting them to get drilled.
But, mostly bad.
This is the NFL. Yes, there are great performances in losses and poor outings in wins, but they know the drill. You go to play a rival in a big spot and either you win or you talk about all of those moments where one play decides the game.
It is a game of inches. And on Thursday, the inches were all around us. Which one was the biggest one left unclaimed?
You could easily argue that there is that moment when Dallas is going in to take the lead where Dak Prescott hits Jake Ferguson in both hands in the end zone for a touchdown.
Ferguson, however, bobbled the catch and then was smashed by Reed Blankenship for a penalty. Nobody is saying that is an easy catch, but I am positive Ferguson will tell you that is a ball he must secure before the hit even arrives.
Opportunity missed.
Or, the very next play after the personal foul that set the Cowboys up with a first down at the 11. Miles Sanders, who’s long run had flipped the field moments earlier, was given a key carry in the red zone that he then fumbled. Luckily, Prescott was able to tackle the man with the recovery, Quinyon Mitchell, because otherwise it was about to be a 90-yard touchdown for the Eagles the other way. But, it definitely ended the Cowboys dreams of taking the lead there in the third quarter.
Or, perhaps you think the key play was the 3rd and 10 throw from midfield on the first play of the 4th Quarter (on the very next drive) where Dak fired a pass into a spot where CeeDee Lamb could continue to terrorize the Eagles secondary. Lamb is open at the Eagles 35 on what would be a massive third-and-long conversion, but somehow the ball goes through his hands and actually hits him in the face. You can’t catch it for them.
Or, might we interest you in the Cowboys eighth and final drive of the night. The Cowboys defense has done a brilliant job of holding the Eagles at 24 points since the first drive of the second half. They allowed four scores on the first four drives, but have since turned up the heat and only conceded three 1st downs on the next three drive as well as zero points. Heck, they even found a sack in there which appears a lot more difficult than it once was (before a certain trade was made).
In this drive there are two incredible missed opportunities to not only take the lead, but to win the game – given that both plays happen inside the final three minutes of the contest.
In both cases, you are going to have an opportunity that involves your QB giving your best play-maker a chance to do what he has done his whole career and most of this night in Philadelphia – make big plays and be the best option in the huddle to knock off the champs in their own building on banner night.
On first down with 2:47 left, Dallas demonstrates that they plan on being aggressive. I thought the tone of the play-calling and design of the offense is built on the idea that Prescott knows what he is looking for and that Dallas enjoys two massive threats at the wide receiver position that can match most any duo in the league.
In this play, you can see they want trips right where the inside two players are going to simply occupy the safety on the right in the split-safety look from the Eagles. So, Tolbert and Ferguson are merely making sure that he doesn’t drop back to keep Lamb from being available behind them all.
The moment works brilliantly and now Lamb has the inside lane on his corner who sees it all happening in slow motion.
This is the opportunity that you waited for and you took the shot on 1st down so they were not expecting it like they would in a moment of desperation. From here you put a great ball right on the hands of – at worst - one of the very best receivers on the planet. You will take your chances with the great CeeDee Lamb all day, every day.
But, somehow, he cannot come up with this moment. If he catches it, he might score, but more than likely he will take a hit just inside the 20. There are no guarantees from here, but Lamb is a reliable player who makes difficult look easy every Sunday of his career. He has played top-level football for long enough that he can get the benefit of the doubt. But, holy heck. That one is a moment that shows that everyone can do their job brilliantly and it still comes down to one player making one catch that hits him right in the mitts.
Lastly, the final missed opportunity came three plays later. That was first down and this was 4th down. Again, there are times where stats tell the story of a performance, but Dallas left so much meat on the bone in the passing game due to guys not coming up with catches we see in the NFL every Sunday that I do think we can definitely suggest that Prescott’s 188 yards of passing do not flatter him.
All told, this felt like he fired for 300 and a couple scores in what was one of the more brilliant performances we can recall from him. There is something about these season opener’s where he just looks his best and is pushing the ball down the field like a guy who wants to score on every drive.
But, this is the last chance. 4th and 3 from the Dallas 45 with 2:00 to go. Move the chains and you can go down and win the game because Philly may have no time to respond.
Again, Prescott wants Lamb if he sees man coverage against a slot corner. He gets that and Lamb stacks Cooper DeJean out of the break. He has a step on his man and the safety cannot arrive until the catch is made. The ball is in a very good spot, but it will require Lamb to leave his feet to secure the ball. Of course it is difficult, but probably not that difficult for someone as good as Lamb. Incredibly catchable ball and again, like the other fourth quarter moments that Lamb did not secure, I would expect him to make a play on this ball nine out of ten times. He is that good.
But, on this night, he cannot secure the rock. It hits his forearms and falls to the ground. He looks like he has taken a lot of punishment in this game and also appears to be quite exhausted. All seems understandable as this was a game that dished out a ton of punishment to the main characters on both sides.
The performance was very good, but not good enough. The team showed out very well, but still left the stadium with a loss. From the standpoints of this being a results-driven business, the result was exactly what was expected. They did not shock the football world.
However, I come back to this – the Cowboys stood toe-to-toe with a team that I expect to be the best team in the NFC and was able to measure up incredibly well. You would never suggest there are things like moral victories, but in a game where you were expected to be outclassed, you certainly were not.
The defense was able to defend at a reasonable level and were able to force three punts to keep hope alive and only allowed three points in the entire second half. That should certainly put you in a position to compete, but there was just one sack, little pressure early, and of course, no takeaways of an Eagles offense that was not risking the ball a whole lot.
They lean on you as an offense and run the ball early and often. I thought as a general overview that Dallas did a nice job of hanging in there for most all of the night. The run defense will have to prove they can do this every week, but the test on Thursday in Pennsylvania is one of the stiffest in the NFL. There was a lot of battle and fight from this defense and the overhauls of personnel show some players who are interested in the fight.
Now, how do they find consistent pass rush?
Early indications are that Sam Williams and Marshawn Kneeland are going to be important pieces who are ready to step forward and contribute. At the same time, young Donovan Ezeiruaku is going to take some time to develop and patience on our part. Incidentally, that is how I would describe big Tyler Booker on the other side, but these breakdowns can wait until Monday on each of these pieces.
But, yes, this game probably required a guy like CeeDee Lamb to make a game-defining play late for the Cowboys to secure this upset win to launch the Brian Schottenheimer era in memorable fashion. And yes, it probably also required a special defender like Micah Parsons to make a splash play of substance and to flip the field as he so often would.
But, that ship has sailed. They will try to replace his dozens of splashes with everyone pitching in and getting their half-dozen each. The Cowboys have $38m in cap room this year that is unused and a few 1st round picks, but it does look like they decided to take a step back in talent to try to go forward in 2026 and beyond. It is defendable, to a point. But, when you see your QB and offense looking so competitive just by freshening up the scheme and design, you wonder if calling the bluff of Parsons and getting him to play 2025 under his deal would have been the right move. I don’t believe he would ever have sat out a game and last night was made for him.
I am plenty convinced that Schottenheimer is a positive hire right now.
He seems to say and do many of the right things. I am not positive the Matt Eberflus hire is quite as good, but of course, the trade affects everything about his tools available. And without Parsons or DeMarvion Overshown at his disposal, this job is infinitely more difficult against a running QB like Jalen Hurts. They just couldn’t catch him when it mattered most.
I can go on and on about this season opener and will do so with our upcoming pieces that will study the tape carefully very soon. But, for now, I leave being of two minds. On one hand, I think this showing should put some wind in the sails of 2025 and this coaching regime in terms of what they are capable of and how they stack up in their own division. Most nights, if the game is in the hands of CeeDee Lamb, you are going to like the results. This one was not one of them.
But, on the other hand, you can see that they are not playing with a full deck and if attrition hits – and it always does in this league – we are left to wonder why more hasn’t been done to fortify the roster with available resources.
They made a call about the direction of the franchise last week that might suggest that the guys who run this organization did not think a performance last night was terribly likely. In some ways, they bet against their offense being able to be a top attack right out of the gate. But, there were quite a few moments during that game where that was exactly what they appeared to be.
The toughest game on the schedule is behind them and they have a long week to prepare for their home opener. It was definitely a loss, but there is plenty to feel good about. Maybe the head coach and quarterback have plans to not just sit and wait until next year. They appear interested in making some noise right here and now.
Trust me, if they get plus performances from those two spots, 2025 can go a lot further than the big bosses might have thought possible when they dialed the league to call in a trade.
Cowboys had the Super Bowl Champions on the ropes – but, close was not enough.
Bob Sturm
Sep 05, 2025
The joy and pain of another season was on full display on Thursday in Philadelphia.
It was wonderful theater that was incredibly compelling where two teams refreshed a rivalry that was coming to boil. It was a road underdog that was given almost no chance by anyone who had a platform. It was a very strong performance in so many ways by so many in white. And with just a few minutes left in this contest in enemy territory, the game was sitting right there asking to be had.
But, in the end, the Cowboys paid dearly for scoring zero points in the second half.
They lost a 24-20 game that was begging them to take it and flew back to Dallas feeling both good and bad about what they had showed in Philadelphia on Thursday Night with the whole nation expecting them to get drilled.
But, mostly bad.
This is the NFL. Yes, there are great performances in losses and poor outings in wins, but they know the drill. You go to play a rival in a big spot and either you win or you talk about all of those moments where one play decides the game.
It is a game of inches. And on Thursday, the inches were all around us. Which one was the biggest one left unclaimed?
You could easily argue that there is that moment when Dallas is going in to take the lead where Dak Prescott hits Jake Ferguson in both hands in the end zone for a touchdown.
Ferguson, however, bobbled the catch and then was smashed by Reed Blankenship for a penalty. Nobody is saying that is an easy catch, but I am positive Ferguson will tell you that is a ball he must secure before the hit even arrives.
Opportunity missed.
Or, the very next play after the personal foul that set the Cowboys up with a first down at the 11. Miles Sanders, who’s long run had flipped the field moments earlier, was given a key carry in the red zone that he then fumbled. Luckily, Prescott was able to tackle the man with the recovery, Quinyon Mitchell, because otherwise it was about to be a 90-yard touchdown for the Eagles the other way. But, it definitely ended the Cowboys dreams of taking the lead there in the third quarter.
Or, perhaps you think the key play was the 3rd and 10 throw from midfield on the first play of the 4th Quarter (on the very next drive) where Dak fired a pass into a spot where CeeDee Lamb could continue to terrorize the Eagles secondary. Lamb is open at the Eagles 35 on what would be a massive third-and-long conversion, but somehow the ball goes through his hands and actually hits him in the face. You can’t catch it for them.
Or, might we interest you in the Cowboys eighth and final drive of the night. The Cowboys defense has done a brilliant job of holding the Eagles at 24 points since the first drive of the second half. They allowed four scores on the first four drives, but have since turned up the heat and only conceded three 1st downs on the next three drive as well as zero points. Heck, they even found a sack in there which appears a lot more difficult than it once was (before a certain trade was made).
In this drive there are two incredible missed opportunities to not only take the lead, but to win the game – given that both plays happen inside the final three minutes of the contest.
In both cases, you are going to have an opportunity that involves your QB giving your best play-maker a chance to do what he has done his whole career and most of this night in Philadelphia – make big plays and be the best option in the huddle to knock off the champs in their own building on banner night.
On first down with 2:47 left, Dallas demonstrates that they plan on being aggressive. I thought the tone of the play-calling and design of the offense is built on the idea that Prescott knows what he is looking for and that Dallas enjoys two massive threats at the wide receiver position that can match most any duo in the league.
In this play, you can see they want trips right where the inside two players are going to simply occupy the safety on the right in the split-safety look from the Eagles. So, Tolbert and Ferguson are merely making sure that he doesn’t drop back to keep Lamb from being available behind them all.
The moment works brilliantly and now Lamb has the inside lane on his corner who sees it all happening in slow motion.
This is the opportunity that you waited for and you took the shot on 1st down so they were not expecting it like they would in a moment of desperation. From here you put a great ball right on the hands of – at worst - one of the very best receivers on the planet. You will take your chances with the great CeeDee Lamb all day, every day.
But, somehow, he cannot come up with this moment. If he catches it, he might score, but more than likely he will take a hit just inside the 20. There are no guarantees from here, but Lamb is a reliable player who makes difficult look easy every Sunday of his career. He has played top-level football for long enough that he can get the benefit of the doubt. But, holy heck. That one is a moment that shows that everyone can do their job brilliantly and it still comes down to one player making one catch that hits him right in the mitts.
Lastly, the final missed opportunity came three plays later. That was first down and this was 4th down. Again, there are times where stats tell the story of a performance, but Dallas left so much meat on the bone in the passing game due to guys not coming up with catches we see in the NFL every Sunday that I do think we can definitely suggest that Prescott’s 188 yards of passing do not flatter him.
All told, this felt like he fired for 300 and a couple scores in what was one of the more brilliant performances we can recall from him. There is something about these season opener’s where he just looks his best and is pushing the ball down the field like a guy who wants to score on every drive.
But, this is the last chance. 4th and 3 from the Dallas 45 with 2:00 to go. Move the chains and you can go down and win the game because Philly may have no time to respond.
Again, Prescott wants Lamb if he sees man coverage against a slot corner. He gets that and Lamb stacks Cooper DeJean out of the break. He has a step on his man and the safety cannot arrive until the catch is made. The ball is in a very good spot, but it will require Lamb to leave his feet to secure the ball. Of course it is difficult, but probably not that difficult for someone as good as Lamb. Incredibly catchable ball and again, like the other fourth quarter moments that Lamb did not secure, I would expect him to make a play on this ball nine out of ten times. He is that good.
But, on this night, he cannot secure the rock. It hits his forearms and falls to the ground. He looks like he has taken a lot of punishment in this game and also appears to be quite exhausted. All seems understandable as this was a game that dished out a ton of punishment to the main characters on both sides.
The performance was very good, but not good enough. The team showed out very well, but still left the stadium with a loss. From the standpoints of this being a results-driven business, the result was exactly what was expected. They did not shock the football world.
However, I come back to this – the Cowboys stood toe-to-toe with a team that I expect to be the best team in the NFC and was able to measure up incredibly well. You would never suggest there are things like moral victories, but in a game where you were expected to be outclassed, you certainly were not.
The defense was able to defend at a reasonable level and were able to force three punts to keep hope alive and only allowed three points in the entire second half. That should certainly put you in a position to compete, but there was just one sack, little pressure early, and of course, no takeaways of an Eagles offense that was not risking the ball a whole lot.
They lean on you as an offense and run the ball early and often. I thought as a general overview that Dallas did a nice job of hanging in there for most all of the night. The run defense will have to prove they can do this every week, but the test on Thursday in Pennsylvania is one of the stiffest in the NFL. There was a lot of battle and fight from this defense and the overhauls of personnel show some players who are interested in the fight.
Now, how do they find consistent pass rush?
Early indications are that Sam Williams and Marshawn Kneeland are going to be important pieces who are ready to step forward and contribute. At the same time, young Donovan Ezeiruaku is going to take some time to develop and patience on our part. Incidentally, that is how I would describe big Tyler Booker on the other side, but these breakdowns can wait until Monday on each of these pieces.
But, yes, this game probably required a guy like CeeDee Lamb to make a game-defining play late for the Cowboys to secure this upset win to launch the Brian Schottenheimer era in memorable fashion. And yes, it probably also required a special defender like Micah Parsons to make a splash play of substance and to flip the field as he so often would.
But, that ship has sailed. They will try to replace his dozens of splashes with everyone pitching in and getting their half-dozen each. The Cowboys have $38m in cap room this year that is unused and a few 1st round picks, but it does look like they decided to take a step back in talent to try to go forward in 2026 and beyond. It is defendable, to a point. But, when you see your QB and offense looking so competitive just by freshening up the scheme and design, you wonder if calling the bluff of Parsons and getting him to play 2025 under his deal would have been the right move. I don’t believe he would ever have sat out a game and last night was made for him.
I am plenty convinced that Schottenheimer is a positive hire right now.
He seems to say and do many of the right things. I am not positive the Matt Eberflus hire is quite as good, but of course, the trade affects everything about his tools available. And without Parsons or DeMarvion Overshown at his disposal, this job is infinitely more difficult against a running QB like Jalen Hurts. They just couldn’t catch him when it mattered most.
I can go on and on about this season opener and will do so with our upcoming pieces that will study the tape carefully very soon. But, for now, I leave being of two minds. On one hand, I think this showing should put some wind in the sails of 2025 and this coaching regime in terms of what they are capable of and how they stack up in their own division. Most nights, if the game is in the hands of CeeDee Lamb, you are going to like the results. This one was not one of them.
But, on the other hand, you can see that they are not playing with a full deck and if attrition hits – and it always does in this league – we are left to wonder why more hasn’t been done to fortify the roster with available resources.
They made a call about the direction of the franchise last week that might suggest that the guys who run this organization did not think a performance last night was terribly likely. In some ways, they bet against their offense being able to be a top attack right out of the gate. But, there were quite a few moments during that game where that was exactly what they appeared to be.
The toughest game on the schedule is behind them and they have a long week to prepare for their home opener. It was definitely a loss, but there is plenty to feel good about. Maybe the head coach and quarterback have plans to not just sit and wait until next year. They appear interested in making some noise right here and now.
Trust me, if they get plus performances from those two spots, 2025 can go a lot further than the big bosses might have thought possible when they dialed the league to call in a trade.
