PHILADELPHIA – Football is back, and it was definitely electric Thursday night in Philadelphia.
While the Cowboys came up firing, scoring on all four possessions of the first half, they never scored in the second half and came up short, 24-20, to the defending champions.
Here are some plays that might be forgotten but could've changed the outcome.
Injury allowed time for ejection – This game will be remembered for the Eagles losing their best defensive player before a single snap was taken. But just why was there so much time? Well, that was because Philadelphia lost Ben VanSumeren to a knee injury on the opening kickoff. Him being on the field is why the Eagles and Cowboys were jawing at the line of scrimmage, leading to Carter's spit on Dak Prescott's jersey. Without that injury, the ball gets spotted, the two sides likely go to their respective huddles and the game begins as usual. Now, the Eagles still managed to win, but the loss of Carter certainly affected the middle of Philly's defense and allowed the Cowboys to have offensive success, at least in the first half.
Hurts scramble leads to second TD – On the Eagles' second drive, Philadelphia faced a third-and-5, and it appeared Jalen Hurts would be sacked in the pocket. Instead, he eluded about three defenders and scrambled his way for a 16-yard gain to the 10. That not only kept the drive alive, but Hurts scored on an 8-yard run two plays later to tie the game.
First drop by Lamb stalls drive – This one wasn't as crucial as some of the second-half misses, but a second-quarter drop by CeeDee Lamb turned out to be big. He couldn't come up with a slant on second down, and the Cowboys ended up kicking a field goal. It was the first time either team didn't score a touchdown, and in a game that ended with a four-point loss, that might have been one of the biggest drops of the night.
Deep ball to Dotson – The Dallas defense, leading 17-14 late in the first half, had a chance to get off the field on third-and-6. But Hurts heaved a bomb to Jahan Dotson for 52 yards down the middle of the field. Dotson beat cornerback Kaiir Elam on the play, and instead of the Cowboys getting the ball back to try to close out the half, the Eagles kept possession and took their first lead with a Saquon Barkley touchdown run.
Sanders fetched, then fumbles – Midway through the third quarter, the Cowboys were driving for the lead when Miles Sanders broke off a 49-yarn run down the left sideline. But the running back was run down from behind by linebacker Zack Baun at the 11-yard line. Sanders appeared to be in the clear but couldn't get to the end zone. After a couple of personal foul penalties by both teams, the ball was back at the 12 and Sanders got the ball again. But he fumbled on first down, coughing up a chance to take the lead.
Lamb's second drop over the middle – On the first play of the fourth quarter, on a third-and-10 at midfield, Prescott found Lamb over the middle, but the star receiver dropped the ball, which ricocheted off his helmet for an incomplete pass. Although Lamb had the distance for a first down, the drop led to the Cowboys' first punt of the game and wasted another chance to score in the second half.
