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Decoding Schotty Week 12 - An Explosive Display
The Cowboys needed to show some big plays in this game and pulled it off in best effort.
Bob Sturm
Nov 25, 2025
Here we go. Our objectives for today:
OVERALL OFFENSIVE EVALUATION
Last week, in our game preview, I made a point about the Cowboys offensive disposition that I wanted to see when they played the Eagles. If you will indulge me, allow me to review it:
Cowboys got explosive.
The Dallas offense attacked the Eagles defense in a way that hasn’t happened in a while – and it worked. In doing so, Dallas had its season-high in explosive plays (plays of 20-plus yardage) and the Eagles defense also allowed its season-high in explosive plays.
Dallas was adventurous – sometimes a big deficit early is the great motivator – and went after the Eagles. In doing so, they found seven big plays after they had been averaging 3.4 per game before.
The Cowboys have been uber-productive as an offense, yet not with enough shock and awe. They were second in points scored and third in yards gained, but only 18th in explosives. They were probably not looking for bigger plays as a way to protect their young offensive line. But, they went for it on Sunday and were rewarded.
Conversely, teams have not been challenging the Eagles defense much. They had not wanted to do anything too silly against Vic Fangio because they know better. They – Green Bay and Detroit – seemed far too worried about what would happen if we make a mistake and give the Eagles a short field? In doing so, they played right into their hands and allowed Philadelphia to set a tempo where 14 points might be enough to win. Big mistake, in my opinion. The Eagles strangled both offenses to punt after punt and slowed those attacks to match the Philadelphia offensive struggle bus. Thank goodness that Dallas trusted its weapons to go hunt.
So, we see something here. We see Dallas has not been attacking enough – often with their play-action game and we see that teams are probably being overly-timid against the Eagles. I think it is important here to offer some hat tipping to Schottenheimer and Prescott for going after the Eagles and putting them on defense rather than letting their defense basically set the agenda against a timid game plan. Dallas decided to go after them and had seven “chunk plays” with five of them in the second half.
Our entire lives, coaches talk about winning the turnover battle because it correlates to winning. I have found that the more coaches we talk to in these last few years, the more actually bring up the “explosives” or “chunk plays” differential. Which team can find those big chunks and prevent their opponent from doing the same. If you want the story of this game, I think Dallas winning the explosives, 7-2, is a good place to start.
The Eagles offense cannot get easy yards in chunks very often (25th in the NFL) and if you play carefully on your offense, you are willfully sinking to their level. Dallas did not do that and they deserve credit – even if the credit might be how quickly they were down two or three scores.
This was a game of “just keep playing.”
Sunday was a game of many twists and turns and dare I say, momentum shifts. The Eagles were given many gifts by Dallas in the first half and when you look at the drive chart, you will see what I mean:
If you believe, as I do, that punts are not bad (in moderation), then we know that points are always good (blue) and turnovers are always bad (red) because they then offer your opponent both a stop and better field position. There are other ways to get red that are not official turnovers, but “turnover on downs” often feels like one.
Missed field goals (although Dallas never really has to worry about it) also feels like one because of the penal nature of where the ball is taken over.
Dallas was very kind to the Eagles terrible offense by allowing them to start their first possession at midfield. That missed field goal gave the Eagles the ball at their own 41. Luckily the turnovers were mostly down in the Eagles end so at least you did not give them much of a short field.
But, to the Cowboys immense credit, they simply did not quit playing. They moved on to the next possession and the film study will show you – this was not in any way a perfect game (aside from “GP”), but it showed resilience, character, and perhaps a little inevitability.
Lots of good above, but obviously, multiple turnovers are quite bad and multiple “go for it” and failures suggest that all-in, Dallas won despite four turnovers and a missed field goal. That will usually doom you badly, but Dallas hung in there. I would say, though, the production – seven explosives and 473 yards – needs to be a 31-34 point day in almost every situation and Dallas only scored 24. So, in many ways, they got away with some inefficiency and therefore we will call this a very good character win while also acknowledging it doesn’t need to be this difficult.
It was just one of those days for CeeDee Lamb.
Let’s look at CeeDee Lamb’s 11 targets.
The Lamb discussion is interesting because I don’t sense he is as “likable” as some Cowboys diva WRs over the years. People will fight to the death on Michael Irvin or Dez Bryant, but Lamb seems to rub many the wrong way. I am not sure what the deal is here – is it the grill, the red hair, the Oklahoma Sooner stuff, the finger sniffing, or the incredibly bad body language that shows up from time to time, but he does not seem like a Cowboys legend to many fans.
Not sure the disconnect and also not sure I care too much, until people seem eager to want him out. Not sure why this is required, but for anyone who isn’t sure, CeeDee Lamb is a superstar WR who is somewhere between Top 5 and Top 10 in the world at what he does and has proven to be a warrior and a consistent performer. So, no, he is not a problem or a cap anchor. No, I would not switch him out for George Pickens. The 100% objective should be to marry him to George Pickens for the next several years as Dak Prescott finishes his prime.
Here is the 2025 Game log:
But, more importantly for Lamb, here is the six-year comparison (the length of his career) with literally every WR in the sport:
But, then I had some guy claim that this sample is too big. Six years is nuts. Ok, let’s just go back to the start of 2023 and put Lamb up against the world:
He is even better. So, yes, you might not like his grill decisions, his hair, his school, or his attitude. But, please don’t let your personal issues cloud your judgement on who is a superstar and who is not. CeeDee Lamb has had some weird issues over the years, but I am not going to let the people who convinced themselves Micah Parsons wasn’t good because of a podcast to now galaxy-brain themselves into turning on Lamb. Don’t do it.
Dak Prescott is having a year. Again.
Here is a sampling of the postgame notes on Dakota:
I suppose it shouldn’t shock us when he throws for 354 yards again. For many, that is a career high day. For Dak? It was his 18th most yards in a game. 18th! Again, as we will see below, he wasn’t perfect, but boy will that man fight for the cause with all of his might and will.
FILM STUDY
I meant for this week to be an abbreviated version of these entries on a short week, but apparently, not today. 15 plays!
1Q - 11:56 - 4-3-50 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short right to J.Williams.
This is 4th and 3 and Dak will be angry when he sees the film on this play because he tries to make a perfect throw to Javonte at the sticks as the Eagles are playing 2-man (man coverage with 2 deep) and the real opportunity is Jake Ferguson right down main street for what will be a huge play as his man, 53-Baun, falls down. Instead, Williams cannot come up with the play and Dak probably was trying to be too careful because 17-Dean is a beast and closes hard. Turnover on downs at midfield, but I like the decision and the play was there. QB just didn’t see it in time.
2Q - 15:00 - 3-8-PHI 43 - D.Prescott pass short middle to C.Lamb to PHI 30 for 13 yards (A.Jackson). FUMBLES (A.Jackson), touched at PHI 29, P4 RECOVERED by PHI-Q.Mitchell at PHI 29.
This is what we wanted to see on Sunday. How would Fangio cover the Lamb-Pickens combo and it turns out it is exactly what we expected in our preview: the plan for the Eagles is to put Quinyon on either Lamb or Pickens and then double-team the other guy and make Jake Ferguson beat you. Quinyon is on Pickens and they are playing Cover 6 (with Quarter-Quarter-Half) over Lamb. Despite all of that, Lamb is briefly open, Dak fits it in and Lamb moves the chains. He just makes it look perilous with the double-catch and then the fumble by the ground. But, the Dak-Lamb combo know what to do here and this is a nice and casual 3rd and 8 conversion.
2Q - 14:49 - 1-10-PHI 31 - K.Turpin left tackle to PHI 32 for -1 yards. FUMBLES, touched at PHI 29, RECOVERED by PHI-Z.Baun at PHI 34.
Next play is a disaster. But, I do think the first thing I see here is the push Dallas is getting up front and I like the concept of getting Turpin touches. But, yes, it all seems like a silly idea when he stumbles, falls, and coughs up a fumble without one Eagles player touching him. This could have been a disaster return with the wrong bounce, but the Eagles end a Dallas drive for the most comical of reasons. I am happy they allowed Turpin to redeem himself, because you would hate for someone to have to live with this for the rest of their time on this planet as why they got cut.
2Q - 5:07 - 2-5-PHI 5 - D.Prescott pass short right intended for C.Lamb INTERCEPTED by R.Blankenship at PHI -2. Touchback.
I hate this throw and I hate this read. I love Dak Prescott and he knows better here, but this was a high-stress game with a 21-0 problem and that is where Dak often forces throws to “hit a 3-run HR with the bases empty” and it often makes a bad problem even worse. Yes, the Eagles are in man and yes, the extra defender is always going to be on Lamb. I think this is why we see Patrick Mahomes use his RBs so much in the deep-red zone. If you watch, teams are spending so much time chasing Lamb and Pickens that Williams is a walk-in touchdown. You have to use Javonte in the deep red zone and it can be with runs, but more likely, it is available with the short passes. Look for Dallas to move to that as the season progresses. This is a bad interception and it felt like rock bottom in a bad half.
But, just keep playing…
2Q - 2:52 - 1-10-DAL 28 - D.Prescott pass short middle to K.Turpin ran ob at PHI 24 for 48 yards (Q.Mitchell).
Next drive, first play. Eagles go Cover 6 again and they will not let CeeDee Lamb have space. So, proper offense says that using Lamb to occupy “everyone” and slip Turpin in behind them is a brilliant counter. You don’t have to do it five times, but if he can get you a huge chunk, he is well worth the time and money. Turpin gets 48 yards, flips the field on one play, and changes the entire afternoon. Look at the secondary trying to chase him. The Cowboys have to find ways to make this happen. Look at 50-Phillips truck Tyler Smith, Jake Ferguson distract the defense to the right flat, and then some brilliant QB play as Dak directs Turpin on the run. This is great from the end zone view if you slow it all down.
2Q - 0:46 - 2-15-PHI 18 - D.Prescott pass short middle to J.Ferguson to PHI 1 for 17 yards (R.Blankenship).
4-verts! This is one of Dak’s favorites and it is not easy, as we can see. But, it is a confident throw and lo and behold, Jake Ferguson is coming down with a few of these seam shots now – unlike early September. This was a great TE game and a true big time throw right there.
3Q - 12:23 - 3-5-DAL 13 - D.Prescott sacked at DAL 7 for -6 yards (N.Dean).
Big drive to come out of halftime and get a stop and then to turn it into points, right? Well, no. They actually crashed on both of their first two drives in the 2nd half. This one was Nakobe Dean trucking Javonte Williams in pass pro. Dean is a monster and I loved him so much out of Georgia. He seems like he weighs 250, but he doesn’t. He just brings the freight train and Javonte will remember this later. But, this one is a loss and Dak pays the price.
3Q - 7:55 - 1-10-DAL 45 - M.Davis right guard to PHI 34 for 21 yards (A.Mukuba).
I want to show you this run for two reasons. First, Malik Davis with an explosive run is a beautiful thing to see. Second, Tyler Booker cranking Jalen Carter right out of the way is so encouraging. Sometime this offseason, remind me to come back to this game and do all the Tyler Booker vs Jalen Carter reps for a full essay. Potential clash of the titans stuff there for years to come.
3Q - 3:07 - 2-5-DAL 34 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short middle to C.Lamb (Z.Baun).
Here is an interesting rep and Dak’s other turnover-worthy play. When you run play-action passes, the Cowboys are having huge amount of success. They might actually be the best play-action team in the NFL right now – but that doesn’t mean it works every time. 12 personnel and Malik Davis on 2nd and 5 and the Eagles are not at all falling for your premise that you are running. So, they are sitting pass and you keep both TE’s in to pass protect. That means the entire Eagles defense is surrounding CeeDee Lamb (Quinyon locked on Pickens) and therefore, Dak has to either thread a needle on a 20-yard throw, or he might get in trouble. Here, just throw it at his feet. You can’t try this and Zack Baun nearly has a gift. 2nd and 5 calls for a much more reasonable idea, even if you just dirt the ball for 3rd and 5. This one was too cute.
3Q - 3:02 - 3-5-DAL 34 - D.Prescott pass deep right to C.Lamb pushed ob at PHI 18 for 48 yards (C.DeJean). P18 Penalty on PHI-C.DeJean, Defensive Pass Interference, declined.
But, here is the very next snap. This is great. Eagles are lining up in Cover-1 and Lamb and Pickens are out quite wide. Quinyon on George is not nearly as appealing as Cooper DeJean on Lamb. I would hope everyone would take that personally and that is what happens as Dak holds the safety and then gives Lamb a chance to redeem his entire day. There are flags there, but DeJean is not convincing anyone that he was the victim. Dak gets decent protection – the double A-Gap did not come – and he dropped it in the bucket. Lamb for 48. Huge.
3Q - 2:07 - 1-4-PHI 4 - D.Prescott pass short right to B.Spann-Ford for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN [N.Smith].
So, a moment later, we have this beauty. Quick snap, use Lamb as decoy and slip your backside TE to the end line. Once he stops stumbling, Dak delivers another strike. But, please watch Javonte Williams take off and try to get Nolan Smith. This is Javonte being a dude. He absolutely throws his body at a defensive end and takes the worst of it. He looks completely knocked out on his feet. But, he did his job and he bought Dak that split-second more. 21-14. This is elite QB play, again.
4Q - 13:09 - 1-10-DAL 46 - D.Prescott pass deep left to G.Pickens to PHI 11 for 43 yards (C.DeJean).
Here it is. George Pickens is a big man and he is playing against little boys. Sudden change and the drive starter is a shot play to Pickens because the Eagles think DeJean can handle him man-to-man. Cowboys took turns with 33 and this time Pickens goes up and gets 43. I wonder if they would have called DPI if he didn’t catch it, but I guess we will never know.
4Q - 11:48 - 2-7-PHI 8 - D.Prescott scrambles left tackle for 8 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
2 snaps later and it is Dak’s moment. I hope he puts the picture from yesterday’s piece in his living room it is so great. But, please pay particular attention to Ferguson blocking Nakobe Dean here. Dak does a lot, but Ferguson makes this possible. He has to decide when Dak is running and I suppose he catches a certain look in his eyes and then goes to work as a blocker. Such a moment for Prescott and the Cowboys to tie up this game.
But, tying the game isn’t winning the game.
4Q - 3:50 - 3-1-PHI 1 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short right to C.Lamb (C.DeJean).
Ok, we are going to ask for nuance here. Yes, CeeDee Lamb should have caught this pass and it hits him in the thighs. But, also, yes, he is emotional and upset because this is an easy touchdown in 99% of cases. He is 3 yards away from his man – Cooper DeJean again – the entire route. Dak simply throws it ahead of him and this thing is done. Instead, he sees 3-Nolan Smith dropping into coverage and tries to throw it in a tight window and this allows DeJean back into the play. Lamb is right to be mad at Dak for the throw, but he still could have made Dak right. So, I think the film shows that both can be true. Stay locked in, but also, it is an emotional game and I have a long leash for a guy like Lamb because he isn’t wrong here at all.
4Q - 1:03 - 3-2-DAL 35 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Ferguson to PHI 46 for 19 yards (S.Brown).
Now, let’s go win the game. 3rd and 2 and Dak wants Ferguson against 21-Brown. Easy throw and catch and that puts you close to field goal range right there. Excellent ball. Find the matchup and go get it.
4Q - 0:45 - 2-10-PHI 46 - D.Prescott pass short middle to G.Pickens to PHI 22 for 24 yards (S.Brown). PHI-A.Mukuba was injured during the play.
And then the winner is right here. Lots to look at again. First, the motion from Turpin takes his man, 35-Carter, and runs him into Pickens man, 27-Mitchell on a pick play that you didn’t even have to do anything illegal. Now, Pickens will be open, because the Eagles are sending 6 so if Dak can get the ball off, this game is won. But, can you block them up, Javonte? Here comes Nakobe Dean again. Javonte gives you everything he has got and Dak sort of jump-throws it right to Pickens and he does the rest. Doggone, I love Javonte Williams being such a dawg in this 2nd half on blitz pick-ups. That is hard work that goes unmentioned. Beautiful stuff.
OK, it is a very short week and I just gave you more than 4,000 words for some reason. I swear, the defense and the preview pieces are going to have to be short. Let’s see if I can show some self control so my wife still likes me for Thanksgiving Dinner.
The Cowboys needed to show some big plays in this game and pulled it off in best effort.
Bob Sturm
Nov 25, 2025
Here we go. Our objectives for today:
- Overall Offensive Evaluation - Cowboys got explosive.
- This was a game of “just keep playing.”
- It was just one of those days for CeeDee Lamb.
- Dak Prescott is having a year.
- Look at plenty of All-22 film and see what we can see.
OVERALL OFFENSIVE EVALUATION
Last week, in our game preview, I made a point about the Cowboys offensive disposition that I wanted to see when they played the Eagles. If you will indulge me, allow me to review it:
Ladies and gentlemen, I am not here to suggest that the Cowboys coaches need my help, but I am here to say we were definitely on the same page.
Cowboys got explosive.
The Dallas offense attacked the Eagles defense in a way that hasn’t happened in a while – and it worked. In doing so, Dallas had its season-high in explosive plays (plays of 20-plus yardage) and the Eagles defense also allowed its season-high in explosive plays.
Dallas was adventurous – sometimes a big deficit early is the great motivator – and went after the Eagles. In doing so, they found seven big plays after they had been averaging 3.4 per game before.
The Cowboys have been uber-productive as an offense, yet not with enough shock and awe. They were second in points scored and third in yards gained, but only 18th in explosives. They were probably not looking for bigger plays as a way to protect their young offensive line. But, they went for it on Sunday and were rewarded.
Conversely, teams have not been challenging the Eagles defense much. They had not wanted to do anything too silly against Vic Fangio because they know better. They – Green Bay and Detroit – seemed far too worried about what would happen if we make a mistake and give the Eagles a short field? In doing so, they played right into their hands and allowed Philadelphia to set a tempo where 14 points might be enough to win. Big mistake, in my opinion. The Eagles strangled both offenses to punt after punt and slowed those attacks to match the Philadelphia offensive struggle bus. Thank goodness that Dallas trusted its weapons to go hunt.
So, we see something here. We see Dallas has not been attacking enough – often with their play-action game and we see that teams are probably being overly-timid against the Eagles. I think it is important here to offer some hat tipping to Schottenheimer and Prescott for going after the Eagles and putting them on defense rather than letting their defense basically set the agenda against a timid game plan. Dallas decided to go after them and had seven “chunk plays” with five of them in the second half.
Our entire lives, coaches talk about winning the turnover battle because it correlates to winning. I have found that the more coaches we talk to in these last few years, the more actually bring up the “explosives” or “chunk plays” differential. Which team can find those big chunks and prevent their opponent from doing the same. If you want the story of this game, I think Dallas winning the explosives, 7-2, is a good place to start.
The Eagles offense cannot get easy yards in chunks very often (25th in the NFL) and if you play carefully on your offense, you are willfully sinking to their level. Dallas did not do that and they deserve credit – even if the credit might be how quickly they were down two or three scores.
This was a game of “just keep playing.”
Sunday was a game of many twists and turns and dare I say, momentum shifts. The Eagles were given many gifts by Dallas in the first half and when you look at the drive chart, you will see what I mean:
If you believe, as I do, that punts are not bad (in moderation), then we know that points are always good (blue) and turnovers are always bad (red) because they then offer your opponent both a stop and better field position. There are other ways to get red that are not official turnovers, but “turnover on downs” often feels like one.
Missed field goals (although Dallas never really has to worry about it) also feels like one because of the penal nature of where the ball is taken over.
Dallas was very kind to the Eagles terrible offense by allowing them to start their first possession at midfield. That missed field goal gave the Eagles the ball at their own 41. Luckily the turnovers were mostly down in the Eagles end so at least you did not give them much of a short field.
But, to the Cowboys immense credit, they simply did not quit playing. They moved on to the next possession and the film study will show you – this was not in any way a perfect game (aside from “GP”), but it showed resilience, character, and perhaps a little inevitability.
Lots of good above, but obviously, multiple turnovers are quite bad and multiple “go for it” and failures suggest that all-in, Dallas won despite four turnovers and a missed field goal. That will usually doom you badly, but Dallas hung in there. I would say, though, the production – seven explosives and 473 yards – needs to be a 31-34 point day in almost every situation and Dallas only scored 24. So, in many ways, they got away with some inefficiency and therefore we will call this a very good character win while also acknowledging it doesn’t need to be this difficult.
It was just one of those days for CeeDee Lamb.
Let’s look at CeeDee Lamb’s 11 targets.
- No. 1 - Deep route that was lost in the sun or something where he never saw it.
- No. 2 - Deep crosser that he normally catches in his sleep. 0-2
- No. 3 - Dig Route that he double catches and then nearly fumbles.
- No. 4 - Quick stop and tackled on short gain.
- No. 5 - Interception forcing the ball into coverage.
- No. 6 - Quick hitter for completion.
- No. 7 - Another quick slant in traffic that falls incomplete.
- No. 8 - Quick slant incomplete when Quinyon Mitchell breaks it up.
- No. 9 - Deep-in where Dak throws ball into danger and Cowboys lucky.
- No. 10 - Massive deep ball catch for arguably biggest play of game, +48.
- No. 11 - Lamb is wide open and Dak under-throws ball into traffic.
The Lamb discussion is interesting because I don’t sense he is as “likable” as some Cowboys diva WRs over the years. People will fight to the death on Michael Irvin or Dez Bryant, but Lamb seems to rub many the wrong way. I am not sure what the deal is here – is it the grill, the red hair, the Oklahoma Sooner stuff, the finger sniffing, or the incredibly bad body language that shows up from time to time, but he does not seem like a Cowboys legend to many fans.
Not sure the disconnect and also not sure I care too much, until people seem eager to want him out. Not sure why this is required, but for anyone who isn’t sure, CeeDee Lamb is a superstar WR who is somewhere between Top 5 and Top 10 in the world at what he does and has proven to be a warrior and a consistent performer. So, no, he is not a problem or a cap anchor. No, I would not switch him out for George Pickens. The 100% objective should be to marry him to George Pickens for the next several years as Dak Prescott finishes his prime.
Here is the 2025 Game log:
But, more importantly for Lamb, here is the six-year comparison (the length of his career) with literally every WR in the sport:
But, then I had some guy claim that this sample is too big. Six years is nuts. Ok, let’s just go back to the start of 2023 and put Lamb up against the world:
He is even better. So, yes, you might not like his grill decisions, his hair, his school, or his attitude. But, please don’t let your personal issues cloud your judgement on who is a superstar and who is not. CeeDee Lamb has had some weird issues over the years, but I am not going to let the people who convinced themselves Micah Parsons wasn’t good because of a podcast to now galaxy-brain themselves into turning on Lamb. Don’t do it.
Dak Prescott is having a year. Again.
Here is a sampling of the postgame notes on Dakota:
- Dak Prescott completed 23-of-36 passes (63.9%) for 354 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He finished with a 103.2 passer rating, his sixth 100.0-rating game in 2025.
- Prescott surpassed Tony Romo (34,183) for the most passing yards in franchise history. Prescott holds franchise records in passing yards, completion percentage, completions, passer rating, etc.
- Prescott improved his home record against the NFC East to 22-2, a .917 win percentage which is the highest home winning percentage by any quarterback against one’s own division since the NFL merger.
- Prescott has won 19 consecutive home games against the NFC East.
I suppose it shouldn’t shock us when he throws for 354 yards again. For many, that is a career high day. For Dak? It was his 18th most yards in a game. 18th! Again, as we will see below, he wasn’t perfect, but boy will that man fight for the cause with all of his might and will.
FILM STUDY
I meant for this week to be an abbreviated version of these entries on a short week, but apparently, not today. 15 plays!
1Q - 11:56 - 4-3-50 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short right to J.Williams.
This is 4th and 3 and Dak will be angry when he sees the film on this play because he tries to make a perfect throw to Javonte at the sticks as the Eagles are playing 2-man (man coverage with 2 deep) and the real opportunity is Jake Ferguson right down main street for what will be a huge play as his man, 53-Baun, falls down. Instead, Williams cannot come up with the play and Dak probably was trying to be too careful because 17-Dean is a beast and closes hard. Turnover on downs at midfield, but I like the decision and the play was there. QB just didn’t see it in time.
2Q - 15:00 - 3-8-PHI 43 - D.Prescott pass short middle to C.Lamb to PHI 30 for 13 yards (A.Jackson). FUMBLES (A.Jackson), touched at PHI 29, P4 RECOVERED by PHI-Q.Mitchell at PHI 29.
This is what we wanted to see on Sunday. How would Fangio cover the Lamb-Pickens combo and it turns out it is exactly what we expected in our preview: the plan for the Eagles is to put Quinyon on either Lamb or Pickens and then double-team the other guy and make Jake Ferguson beat you. Quinyon is on Pickens and they are playing Cover 6 (with Quarter-Quarter-Half) over Lamb. Despite all of that, Lamb is briefly open, Dak fits it in and Lamb moves the chains. He just makes it look perilous with the double-catch and then the fumble by the ground. But, the Dak-Lamb combo know what to do here and this is a nice and casual 3rd and 8 conversion.
2Q - 14:49 - 1-10-PHI 31 - K.Turpin left tackle to PHI 32 for -1 yards. FUMBLES, touched at PHI 29, RECOVERED by PHI-Z.Baun at PHI 34.
Next play is a disaster. But, I do think the first thing I see here is the push Dallas is getting up front and I like the concept of getting Turpin touches. But, yes, it all seems like a silly idea when he stumbles, falls, and coughs up a fumble without one Eagles player touching him. This could have been a disaster return with the wrong bounce, but the Eagles end a Dallas drive for the most comical of reasons. I am happy they allowed Turpin to redeem himself, because you would hate for someone to have to live with this for the rest of their time on this planet as why they got cut.
2Q - 5:07 - 2-5-PHI 5 - D.Prescott pass short right intended for C.Lamb INTERCEPTED by R.Blankenship at PHI -2. Touchback.
I hate this throw and I hate this read. I love Dak Prescott and he knows better here, but this was a high-stress game with a 21-0 problem and that is where Dak often forces throws to “hit a 3-run HR with the bases empty” and it often makes a bad problem even worse. Yes, the Eagles are in man and yes, the extra defender is always going to be on Lamb. I think this is why we see Patrick Mahomes use his RBs so much in the deep-red zone. If you watch, teams are spending so much time chasing Lamb and Pickens that Williams is a walk-in touchdown. You have to use Javonte in the deep red zone and it can be with runs, but more likely, it is available with the short passes. Look for Dallas to move to that as the season progresses. This is a bad interception and it felt like rock bottom in a bad half.
But, just keep playing…
2Q - 2:52 - 1-10-DAL 28 - D.Prescott pass short middle to K.Turpin ran ob at PHI 24 for 48 yards (Q.Mitchell).
Next drive, first play. Eagles go Cover 6 again and they will not let CeeDee Lamb have space. So, proper offense says that using Lamb to occupy “everyone” and slip Turpin in behind them is a brilliant counter. You don’t have to do it five times, but if he can get you a huge chunk, he is well worth the time and money. Turpin gets 48 yards, flips the field on one play, and changes the entire afternoon. Look at the secondary trying to chase him. The Cowboys have to find ways to make this happen. Look at 50-Phillips truck Tyler Smith, Jake Ferguson distract the defense to the right flat, and then some brilliant QB play as Dak directs Turpin on the run. This is great from the end zone view if you slow it all down.
2Q - 0:46 - 2-15-PHI 18 - D.Prescott pass short middle to J.Ferguson to PHI 1 for 17 yards (R.Blankenship).
4-verts! This is one of Dak’s favorites and it is not easy, as we can see. But, it is a confident throw and lo and behold, Jake Ferguson is coming down with a few of these seam shots now – unlike early September. This was a great TE game and a true big time throw right there.
3Q - 12:23 - 3-5-DAL 13 - D.Prescott sacked at DAL 7 for -6 yards (N.Dean).
Big drive to come out of halftime and get a stop and then to turn it into points, right? Well, no. They actually crashed on both of their first two drives in the 2nd half. This one was Nakobe Dean trucking Javonte Williams in pass pro. Dean is a monster and I loved him so much out of Georgia. He seems like he weighs 250, but he doesn’t. He just brings the freight train and Javonte will remember this later. But, this one is a loss and Dak pays the price.
3Q - 7:55 - 1-10-DAL 45 - M.Davis right guard to PHI 34 for 21 yards (A.Mukuba).
I want to show you this run for two reasons. First, Malik Davis with an explosive run is a beautiful thing to see. Second, Tyler Booker cranking Jalen Carter right out of the way is so encouraging. Sometime this offseason, remind me to come back to this game and do all the Tyler Booker vs Jalen Carter reps for a full essay. Potential clash of the titans stuff there for years to come.
3Q - 3:07 - 2-5-DAL 34 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short middle to C.Lamb (Z.Baun).
Here is an interesting rep and Dak’s other turnover-worthy play. When you run play-action passes, the Cowboys are having huge amount of success. They might actually be the best play-action team in the NFL right now – but that doesn’t mean it works every time. 12 personnel and Malik Davis on 2nd and 5 and the Eagles are not at all falling for your premise that you are running. So, they are sitting pass and you keep both TE’s in to pass protect. That means the entire Eagles defense is surrounding CeeDee Lamb (Quinyon locked on Pickens) and therefore, Dak has to either thread a needle on a 20-yard throw, or he might get in trouble. Here, just throw it at his feet. You can’t try this and Zack Baun nearly has a gift. 2nd and 5 calls for a much more reasonable idea, even if you just dirt the ball for 3rd and 5. This one was too cute.
3Q - 3:02 - 3-5-DAL 34 - D.Prescott pass deep right to C.Lamb pushed ob at PHI 18 for 48 yards (C.DeJean). P18 Penalty on PHI-C.DeJean, Defensive Pass Interference, declined.
But, here is the very next snap. This is great. Eagles are lining up in Cover-1 and Lamb and Pickens are out quite wide. Quinyon on George is not nearly as appealing as Cooper DeJean on Lamb. I would hope everyone would take that personally and that is what happens as Dak holds the safety and then gives Lamb a chance to redeem his entire day. There are flags there, but DeJean is not convincing anyone that he was the victim. Dak gets decent protection – the double A-Gap did not come – and he dropped it in the bucket. Lamb for 48. Huge.
3Q - 2:07 - 1-4-PHI 4 - D.Prescott pass short right to B.Spann-Ford for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN [N.Smith].
So, a moment later, we have this beauty. Quick snap, use Lamb as decoy and slip your backside TE to the end line. Once he stops stumbling, Dak delivers another strike. But, please watch Javonte Williams take off and try to get Nolan Smith. This is Javonte being a dude. He absolutely throws his body at a defensive end and takes the worst of it. He looks completely knocked out on his feet. But, he did his job and he bought Dak that split-second more. 21-14. This is elite QB play, again.
4Q - 13:09 - 1-10-DAL 46 - D.Prescott pass deep left to G.Pickens to PHI 11 for 43 yards (C.DeJean).
Here it is. George Pickens is a big man and he is playing against little boys. Sudden change and the drive starter is a shot play to Pickens because the Eagles think DeJean can handle him man-to-man. Cowboys took turns with 33 and this time Pickens goes up and gets 43. I wonder if they would have called DPI if he didn’t catch it, but I guess we will never know.
4Q - 11:48 - 2-7-PHI 8 - D.Prescott scrambles left tackle for 8 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
2 snaps later and it is Dak’s moment. I hope he puts the picture from yesterday’s piece in his living room it is so great. But, please pay particular attention to Ferguson blocking Nakobe Dean here. Dak does a lot, but Ferguson makes this possible. He has to decide when Dak is running and I suppose he catches a certain look in his eyes and then goes to work as a blocker. Such a moment for Prescott and the Cowboys to tie up this game.
But, tying the game isn’t winning the game.
4Q - 3:50 - 3-1-PHI 1 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short right to C.Lamb (C.DeJean).
Ok, we are going to ask for nuance here. Yes, CeeDee Lamb should have caught this pass and it hits him in the thighs. But, also, yes, he is emotional and upset because this is an easy touchdown in 99% of cases. He is 3 yards away from his man – Cooper DeJean again – the entire route. Dak simply throws it ahead of him and this thing is done. Instead, he sees 3-Nolan Smith dropping into coverage and tries to throw it in a tight window and this allows DeJean back into the play. Lamb is right to be mad at Dak for the throw, but he still could have made Dak right. So, I think the film shows that both can be true. Stay locked in, but also, it is an emotional game and I have a long leash for a guy like Lamb because he isn’t wrong here at all.
4Q - 1:03 - 3-2-DAL 35 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Ferguson to PHI 46 for 19 yards (S.Brown).
Now, let’s go win the game. 3rd and 2 and Dak wants Ferguson against 21-Brown. Easy throw and catch and that puts you close to field goal range right there. Excellent ball. Find the matchup and go get it.
4Q - 0:45 - 2-10-PHI 46 - D.Prescott pass short middle to G.Pickens to PHI 22 for 24 yards (S.Brown). PHI-A.Mukuba was injured during the play.
And then the winner is right here. Lots to look at again. First, the motion from Turpin takes his man, 35-Carter, and runs him into Pickens man, 27-Mitchell on a pick play that you didn’t even have to do anything illegal. Now, Pickens will be open, because the Eagles are sending 6 so if Dak can get the ball off, this game is won. But, can you block them up, Javonte? Here comes Nakobe Dean again. Javonte gives you everything he has got and Dak sort of jump-throws it right to Pickens and he does the rest. Doggone, I love Javonte Williams being such a dawg in this 2nd half on blitz pick-ups. That is hard work that goes unmentioned. Beautiful stuff.
OK, it is a very short week and I just gave you more than 4,000 words for some reason. I swear, the defense and the preview pieces are going to have to be short. Let’s see if I can show some self control so my wife still likes me for Thanksgiving Dinner.
But overall, I like him more than Dez. Dez was a talent of course, but too much of a hothead and not professional enough for me. He couldn't even run more than a limited route tree.