October 26, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
There might only be blips of what the Eagles were the rest of the way.
The Eagles' opening drive Monday night was everything it needed to be, and so was their possession to begin the second half.
Saquon Barkley was back, and after the rival Dallas Cowboys kicked through the first field goal, the star running back answered with sprints and cuts into the open field like he was in his 2K 2024 form. On a goal-to-go handoff, he rounded the corner and scored to put the Eagles ahead.
And, offensively, they looked like the Eagles again, or what most imagined they should be. They led a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Barkley accounted for 49 of those yards, with 37 of them and the score coming through the ground game.
But it was fleeting.
Makai Lemon got crunched between two defensive backs, yet somehow held on to Tanner McKee's pass and twisted forward to break the plane. It was Lemon's first career touchdown, on a four-yard play to send the Eagles back ahead in the third quarter, and after his route to exploit busted coverage on a 4th and 1 for a gain of 15 highlighted what developed into a lengthy 17-play, 84-yard drive that chewed up 9:16 of clock.
It looked like the Eagles again, or at least what most were hoping they would be when they drafted Lemon 20th overall back in April as a developing receiver to help make up the difference for the departing A.J. Brown, which was also in the hopes of keeping that Super Bowl window open.
But it was fleeting.
Because then the Dallas Cowboys would send their offense back on to the grass of Lincoln Financial Field. Dak Prescott would break the huddle and see CeeDee Lamb lining up across from Riq Woolen, and the two would pick on the overmatched corner to what felt like guaranteed success – every time.
The Eagles lost to the Cowboys, 38-21.
They're 2-5 now, on the back of five straight losses. And despite existing within an NFC East this year where no one has their act together, the Birds rolled out another showing that only further drives home that this season for them is out the window.
It wasn't from the offense getting stuck in quicksand, though, at least not until Monday night completely unraveled for them at the end.
No, it was the defense's turn to get carved up.
This season is only getting further away from the Eagles.
Dallas had 275 total yards of offense through the first half.
Prescott threw for 174 yards and never got touched in the pocket.
Lamb caught his first touchdown on a nine-yard pass over the head of Cooper DeJean, the tough nickel corner who just doesn't look like that anymore; then George Pickens caught a 21-yard lob for six on his toes against a second-year safety in Andrew Mukuba who got crossed up and lost in coverage.
Before the first half was over, the Cowboys got into field-goal range to go up six on a 30-yard completion to Lamb because...Woolen fell down...
.@dallascowboys @Eagles what is Riq doing on this SluGo? He is too good to lose his feet like this...#BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/rwc9tBkjon
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 27, 2026
And then after the Eagles managed to orchestrate that nine-minute drive after the break, the Cowboys came back out, and Prescott and Lamb just torched Woolen outright on a 16-yard throw to the end zone (plus a successful two-point punch-in) that you just knew there was no coming back from.
CeeDee Lamb makes it look EASY for his second TD of the night! 😤
— ESPN (@espn) October 27, 2026
(via @dallascowboys) pic.twitter.com/qdboqi9Ydm
What did the Eagles really have left at that point?
Barkley had six carries through the first half, but then only had one more in the second, when a back injury designation pulled him out of the rest of the game after he was noticeably laboring for a while.
McKee looked better than he did last week against the Panthers, sure, but that came to a hard stop once the Eagles fell behind on Lamb's third-quarter touchdown, and they needed another good scoring drive to keep up.
But they were out of options, especially after Barkley exited, and out of gas, because Lemon isn't the receiver to take over a game on his own and already took his share of punishment.
And then there's the fact that there's no more Jalen Hurts the rest of the way, uncertainty on when – or if – DeVonta Smith can get back, that the offensive line is no longer a strength but a project, and that now a lot of fans are sitting and looking at that Nov. 10 trade deadline, and starting to wonder who general manager Howie Roseman is thinking about selling off.
And oh yeah, Riq Woolen has to cover.
There was good for the Eagles Monday night, moments where they did, genuinely, look like the team they wanted to play like – that they used to play like.
But it was all fleeting.
Such is the nature of a season that's only heading further down the drain.
Only ten more games of this.
Cooper DeJean isn't the All-Pro he was.
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