Dallas literally accomplished nothing

 Its not like they didn't do anything, but their win doesn't say much

    If a teacher of a school is out, a substitute will likely fill the teacher's place. The stereotype is that the students will act up in from of the sub, due to the lack of effort often put forth by the substitute teacher. The sub is most likely not as good of a teacher as the regular teacher, and because of this, the students often don't learn as much as they usually would have.

     Gardner Minshew is the sub. He's not as good of a quarterback as Jalen Hurts, which is pretty obvious. Jalen Hurts has flipped the Eagles' team since the Carson Wentz era and obviously the team wouldn't do so well without their starting quarterback. 

    The Eagles played the Cowboys as well as they could. Lacking their quarterback, Gardner Minshew did a solid job, tossing two touchdowns and throwing for 355 yards. A.J. Brown continued a great season with 103 receiving yards, and DeVonta Smith had an incredible game catching eight balls, two for touchdowns, and 113 yards. Dallas Goedert came back on fire. He had 67 yards and and some great receptions. Miles Sanders also rushed for 65 yards. Smith has had back to back 100 yard games games, and from a late season burst has surpassed the 1,000 yard mark

Gardner Minshew played respectably against the Cowboys' defense

Photo Credit: The San Diego Union-Tribune  

      Philly's defense had both a great, and terrible game at the same time. Their line was lights out, but their secondary choked. The Eagles defensive line sacked Dak Prescott six times, which continues their four game streak of six or more sacks in a game. Although they gave up 6.8 yards per carry to Prescott, they only gave up 3.4 and 55 yards to Ezekiel Elliot. They've struggled with rushing quarterbacks this year, but in the last couple of games, they have done well against runningbacks. Josh Sweat also had a pick six, completely outrunning and out muscling Dak Prescott.

    The Eagles' secondary didn't have a great game. Prescott carved up their secondary throwing three touchdowns. Ceedee Lamb had 10 receptions and had 120 yards. He also caught two touchdowns. Tony Pollard had 61 yards. The Eagles' defensive line did hard work, but their secondary didn't finish. Their secondary gave up a huge play in the fourth quarter on third and thirty. If the Eagles hadn't gave up that play, they might have driven for a clutch touchdown and won the game, but they didn't, and they lost the game.

    And as we're bringing up mistakes. It is necessary to mention Minshew' two interceptions. One was a poor throw, but the other was ripped from Quez Watkins' hands. It was that kind of day for the Eagles. Miles Sanders fumbled, and Gardner Minshew also bobbled a handoff, resulting in another fumble. It was the turnovers that destroyed the Eagles. 

   On the flip side, if Jalen Hurts was in the lineup, the game probably would have went differently. Not only would Hurts have probably thrown two less interceptions, but he would probably not have bobbled a handoff. He has more chemistry with his players because he is the starting quarterback. That is evident. 

    What confuses me, is all the attention and praise Dallas is getting for the win. Sure they scored 40 points and generated four turnovers, but Eagles starting quarterback wasn't playing. Sure the Cowboys picked off two passes, but the Eagles starting quarterback wasn't playing. Sure Dallas won the game, BUT THE EAGLES' STARTING QUARTERBACK WAS NOT PLAYING! There is a reason that Gardner Minshew is the backup! Jalen Hurts is the fire for the team, and honestly, the fact that the Cowboys gave up 34 points and almost lost the game on a final Philadelphia drive AT THEIR OWN STADIUM is pretty embarrassing in and of itself. 

    The Eagles have a very winnable game against the Saints next week who were shutout by the 49ers, but have beat both the Falcons and Browns the last two games with scores of 21-18 and 17-10. That doesn't mean that they are a good team however, even if they ego has been boosted. They are 6-9, and the Falcons were 5-8 when they beat them and the Browns were 6-8. The Falcons were using rookie quarterback, Desmond Ridder, who isn't great, and the Browns were using Deshaun Watson, who seems a little rusty after missing a full season. Bottom line is: the teams the Saints have beaten aren't great, so even though they are on a win streak, it doesn't mean much, just like the Cowboys 40-34 win over Philadelphia. It doesn't mean much. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Photo above was taken from a San Diego Union-Tribune article. Article was written by Rob Maaddi. Photographer was AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez. Image used for commentary.