Eagles blow out Cowboys to officially clinch NFC East and no worse than the No. 2 seed, 41 to 7

The Philadelphia Eagles are 13-2 after demolishing the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field! Final score: 41 to 7.

With this win, the Eagles officially clinched the NFC East crown and no worse than the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture. The Birds will still be alive for a first-round bye in Week 18 if both the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions lose in Week 17.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before but the Eagles got off to a slow start against the Cowboys. But the Kenny Pickett-led offense eventually got going up to take a 24-7 lead enter halftime.

Pickett then got knocked out of the game and Tanner McKee came in to keep the rout going, tossing two touchdowns in his first-ever NFL action.

Pickett’s final stat line: 10/15, 143 yards (9.5 average), 1 TD, 0 INT, 119.6 passer rating … 3 runs, 3 yards, 1 rushing TD.

McKee’s final stat line: 3/4, 53 yards, (13.5 average), 2 TD, 0 INT, 156.2 passer rating.

With 167 yards on the ground, Saquon Barkley went over 2,000 rushing yards in the Eagles’ win to put him in position to potentially break Eric Dickerson’s all-time record in Week 18. Barkley is 101 yards shy from surpassing Dickerson. Though it’s quite possible the Eagles might opt to sit their starters if they have nothing to play for.

All told, pretty awesome win for the Eagles. Great way to follow up last week’s loss to the Washington Commanders.

Next up for the Eagles: regular season finale at home against the New York Giants, who were able to beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday!

Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage.

FIRST QUARTER

• The Eagles won the opening coin toss and elected to defer, as they normally do. The Cowboys were up to receive first with Jake Elliott, not Braden Mann, handling the opening kickoff. Elliott kicked the ball through the end zone to prevent dangerous return man KaVontae Turpin from having a chance to field the ball. Cooper Rush hit Brandin Cooks for a first down despite Jalen Carter bearing down and logging a QB hit on the Cowboys quarterback. Dallas picked up another first down with some Rico Dowdle runs. Facing 3rd-and-3 after Quinyon Mitchell had tight coverage to force an incompletion on a deep throw, Rush threw right to C.J. Gardner-Johnson for a pick-six! 69 yards on the return. That’s a nice way to start. EAGLES 7, COWBOYS 0.

• The Cowboys began their second drive at their own 30-yard line after another Elliott touchback. Dallas slowly but surely picked up three first downs into plus territory. Facing 3rd-and-9, Slay gave up a big first down catch to Cooks (and also got called for defensive holding, which was declined) to allow the Cowboys to enter the red zone. Facing 3rd-and-7 after Ezekiel Elliott got tackled for a loss, Nolan Smith batted down Rush’s pass. But Smith got called for defensive holding to give the Cowboys a first down at the 4-yard line. Rush then completed a jump ball pass to Jalen Tolbert with Mitchell allowing the score. 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive by the Cowboys’ offense to tie the game and take 6:05 off the clock. EAGLES 7, COWBOYS 7.

• The Eagles took over at their own 39-yard line after a nice return by Kenny Gainwell. Landon Dickerson immediately false started to knock the offense back. Kenny Pickett’s first pass was sailed and incomplete. Pickett had nothing open for him and he threw the ball away. Facing 3rd-and-15, the a short completion to Gainwell only picked up five yards. The refs missed a facemask penalty and the Eagles punted. Three-and-out. No Saquon Barkley touches there, somehow?!

• Braden Mann’s punt forced the Cowboys to take over at their own 9-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-6, the Cowboys ran a draw to Dowdle that only picked up four yards. Three-and-out.
• The Eagles took over at their own 36-yard line. Saquon Barkley logged his first touch, a carry for three yards. The Eagles then motioned Pickett out wide for a wildcat snap to Barkley for four yards. Facing 3rd-and-3, the Cowboys took their first timeout. Facing 3rd-and-3 for real, Barkley picked up two yards. Facing 4th-and-1, Nick Sirianni decided to be a coward and punt it from the Eagles’ 46-yard line.

• The Cowboys took over at their own 20-yard line after Mann’s punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback. The Cowboys got to 3rd-and-1 to end the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

• Facing 3rd-and-1, Dowdle took a carry for a first down. The Cowboys got set back with a Tolbert holding penalty. Mitchell allowed a 12-yard reception. Facing 3rd-and-1 after Slay allowed another catch to Cooks, the Cowboys took their second timeout. Facing 3rd-and-1 for real, Rush took a deep shot to Jonathan Mingo that was off target and incomplete. Mitchell would’ve allowed a catch there with a better throw. Not great to allow the Cowboys to pick up 19 yards there with ease but, hey, they got the stop. In part due to fourth down cowardice from Mike McCarthy.
• The Eagles took over at their own 19-yard line after a Cooper DeJean fair catch. Pickett completed a short pass to DeVonta for five yards. Pickett got strip-sacked and Barkley recovered for a loss but the Cowboys got called for illegal contact to give the Eagles’ offense their first first down. Barkley could’ve ran for a first down but tripped for just a gain of one yard. Facing 3rd-and-2, Barkley was able to redeem himself by ripping off a seven-yard run. Pickett scrambled and threw downfield to Grant Calcaterra, who made a pretty incredible one-handed grab to put the offense in the red zone. Wow. Facing 3rd-and-12 after replay assist ruled Barkley was down for a loss on a swing pass, Pickett hit DeVonta Smith in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown! Nice throw. Much-needed drive for the offense.EAGLES 14, COWBOYS 7.

• The Cowboys took over at their own 30-yard line. Rush completed a pass to Jake Ferguson and Oren Burks punched the ball out for a Jordan Davis recovery!

• The Eagles took over at the plus 39-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-5, Barkley ran just short of the marker. Facing 4th-and-1, the Eagles went Brotherly Shove with Pickett and picked up the first down. Oh, hey, it was worth a try! Who could’ve guessed? Facing 3rd-and-4, a Barkley run put the Eagles just short of the marker. Facing 4th-and-1, the Eagles went Brotherly Shove again … and Micah Parsons was called for being offside for another Eagles first down at the plus 14-yard line. Pickett had a pass to E.J. Jenkins (!) broken up. Facing 3rd-and-9, the Eagles took their first timeout. Facing 3rd-and-9 for real, Pickett’s pass was batted down by Parsons. Jake Elliott came in for the 31-yard field goal attempt and made it to make it a two-score game. 11 plays, 26 yards, 4:35 off the clock. EAGLES 17, COWBOYS 7.
• The Cowboys took over at their own 26-yard line after Turpin’s first return of the game. 1:47 on the clock and only one timeout to work with. Nolan Smith dropped a deflected pass by Jalen Carter. Oof, would’ve been big. Facing 3rd-and-3, Rush to Cooks resulted in a first down just beyond the marker. Facing 3rd-and-6, Rush threw an arm punt to CJGJ (Mitchell was also open for his first career pick but no dice) for the safety’s second pick of the first half! CJGJ returned it 27 yards.

• The Eagles took over at their own 35-yard line with 0:36 on the clock and two timeouts to work with. A Barkley run (!) picked up 15 yards and the Eagles called their penultimate timeout at 0:29. Pickett aired it out deep to an open DeVonta for the touchdown! Or not. After review, DeVonta was ruled down at the 1-yard line. The Eagles went Brotherly Shove and it was ruled short of the end zone. Replay showed Pickett was in … but the ruling on the field was upheld. The Eagles called their final timeout at 0:02 and ran Brotherly Shove again for a touchdown this time. The Cowboys had a 12 men on the field penalty but instead of opting for a two-point conversion from the 1-yard line, they opted for a shorter PAT kick to make it a three-possession game. EAGLES 24, COWBOYS 7.

THIRD QUARTER

• The Eagles began the second half at their own 33-yard line. Pickett threw a pick that got dropped but the refs ruled a roughing the passer penalty to give the Eagles a first down. Pickett was in pain after the hit but remained in the game. Barkley ran twice for another Eagles first down. Then two more times for another first down. Facing 3rd-and-4 in the red zone, Pickett to DeVonta went for a first down to bring up goal-to-go from the 9-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Pickett threw a great touchdown pass to A.J. Brown in the back of the end zone that got wiped out by a penalty on Landon Dickerson. Pickett was injured on the play and Tanner McKee came in to hand off to Barkley. Elliott came in for the 26-yard field goal make. 12 plays, 59 yards, 6:57 off the clock. EAGLES 30, COWBOYS 7.
• The Cowboys took over at their own 30-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-10 after a Nolan Smith TFL, a screen to Turpin might’ve gone for a first down (and more) but he dropped the ball. Quick three-and-out.
• The Eagles took over at their own 35-yard line after a 14-yard return by DeJean. McKee’s first career pass attempt was a short pitch (nearly a toss) ahead to Barkley for nine yards. Almost broke it for more. Barkley ripped a run for 23 yards into Cowboys territory. McKee threw a quick pass to DeVonta to bring up third down. Facing 3rd-and-2, Barkley picked up a first down. McKee aired to out to A.J. Brown, who almost made an insane one-handed TD grab but couldn’t get both feet inbounds. Facing 3rd-and-8, Parsons was flagged for jumping early. Calcaterra then got flagged for a false start to knock the offense back to where they were. Facing 3rd-and-8 again, McKee threw a nice ball to A.J. Brown for the second-year QB’s first career TD pass! 8 plays, 65 yards, 3:50 off the clock to cement the rout. EAGLES 34, COWBOYS 7.

• The Cowboys took over at their own 30-yard line. They used six plays to drive to the plus 19-yard line to bring up the end of the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

• Facing 3rd-and-6 from the 12-yard line, the Cowboys went with a Dowdle run but the running back got stripped by Nolan Smith for a DeJean recovery! After the play, Jalen Carter drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Cowboys.

• The Eagles took over at their own 25-yard line with 14:25 left in the game. Five straight Barkley runs put him over 2,000 on the season at got the Eagles to the plus 23-yard line. McKee hit DeVonta on a slant for 25 yards and a touchdown! EAGLES 41, COWBOYS 7.

• The Cowboys took over at their own 13-yard line with 9:53 left. They drove for a 61-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal attempt, which he single-doinked for a miss. Lol.
• The Eagles took over at the plus 49-yard line with 4:40 left in the game. The Eagles put most of their backups in, including Tyrion Davis-Price at running back. Three straight TDP runs resulted in eight yards and a punt. After the punt, there was a big scrum. Sydney Brown was ejected and so were two Cowboys players.

• The Cowboys went three-and-out and punted.
• The Eagles took over for victory formation!

FINAL SCORE: EAGLES BEAT THE COWBOYS, 41 to 7

EAGLES LINEUP NOTES

• Jake Elliott, not Braden Mann, handled the opening kickoff for the Eagles.
• Oren Burks started in place of Nakobe Dean at linebacker, as expected. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. entered the game on the Cowboys’ third drive. JTJ got another drive before Burks came back in. Apparent LB rotation.
• Kenny Pickett started in place of Jalen Hurts at quarterback, as expected.
• Sydney Brown saw playing time at safety after Avonte Maddox originally came in to replace an injured CJGJ.

EAGLES INJURY NEWS

• Bryce Huff (shoulder) walked to the locker room in the first quarter. He was originally ruled questionable to return. Huff returned to the sideline before the second quarter. He then visited the medical tent again in the second quarter. And then again in the third quarter.
• DeVonta Smith (hand/wrist) was banged up after getting shoved later in the first quarter. He was evaluated in the medical tent before returning to the bench.

• Mekhi Becton limped off the field late in the second quarter. Tyler Steen came in at right guard. Becton did not visit the medical tent. He re-entered the game on the Eagles’ next drive. Becton was in the game to begin the third quarter.
• Kenny Pickett (ribs) remained in the game despite being in pain after a Cowboys roughing the passer penalty early in the third quarter. Pickett got banged up again later on the same drive and Tanner McKee came in. Pickett was taken to the locker room and originally ruled questionable to return. Pickett returned to the sideline not dressed in uniform and thus did not return to the game.
• CJGJ went down early in the fourth quarter. He was tapping the ground as he remained on the field for some time. CJGJ was able to get up and slowly walk off the field and into the medical tent. Avonte Maddox, not Tristin McCollum, entered the game at safety. CJGJ was later ruled questionable to return with an abdomen injury, though the Eagles announced it was C.J. Uzomah who was instead questionable to return with that injury.
• Jalyx Hunt got banged up early in the fourth quarter and jogged off the field.