Eagles 41, Cowboys 7: Saquon Barkley gets 2000-yard milestone ...

8 days ago

The News Journal

Eagles 41 Cowboys 7 Saquon Barkley gets 2000yard milestone

PHILADELPHIA − It's easy to forget that Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett was a full-time starter during his previous two seasons with the Pittsburgh"...

Show Caption

Hide Caption

Eagles Saquon Barkley, Kenny Pickett: It's hard replacing Jalen Hurts

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley and backup QB Kenny Pickett on what it was like without Jalen Hurts

PHILADELPHIA − It's easy to forget that Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett was a full-time starter during his previous two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So it shouldn't be a big deal for Pickett to replace Jalen Hurts, who's out with a concussion, when he starts Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

After all, Pickett was the Steelers' first-round pick in 2022 (No. 20 overall) and was 14-10 as a starter. The speed of the game isn't as much of an adjustment to Pickett as are the players around him.

But Pickett couldn't finish the game as he re-aggravated his rib injury. No worry. Saquon Barkley ended up going over 2,000 yards as he had 127 yards in the second half as the Eagles scored the last 34 points of the game to beat Dallas 41-7.

Tanner McKee, replacing Kenny Pickett, seemed like a seasoned veteran instead of a second-year player making his NFL debut. He completed his first pass, a 9-yarder to DeVonta Smith, and ended the drive with a 20-yard back-shoulder touchdown pass to A.J. Brown with 2:44 left in the third quarter.

That gave the Eagles a 34-7 lead.

Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett left the game with a little more than 8 minutes left in the third quarter Sunday when he was hit in the ribs by Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons on a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown.

Pickett was taken to the locker room, and he is questionable to return. He was replaced by Tanner McKee, who had never played in an NFL game before.

Still, it wasn't easy, at least until the final 36 seconds of the first half. That's when CJ Gardner-Johnson's second interception set up Pickett's tush push from the 1 as time expired, giving the Eagles a 24-7 lead.

It was a bizarre ending, though. Saquon Barkley started the drive with a 15-yard run. Then Pickett hit DeVonta Smith on a 49-yard pass down to the 1 with 13 seconds left. Pickett was then stopped on a tush push with 2 seconds left. He tried again on second down and got in.

Gardner-Johnson's 69-yard interception return for a touchdown opened the scoring. Jordan Davis' fumble recovery set the Eagles up at Dallas' 39 late in the first half. The Eagles needed 11 plays to 26 yards for a field goal with 1:55 lead.

That's because Cowboys keyed in on Barkley without having to worry about Hurts as a running threat. Barkley had just 25 yards on 12 carries up until the final minute of the first half. In all, he had 13 carries for 40 yards, well short of the 268 yards he needs to pass Eric Dickerson's record of 2,105 yards in a season.

Pickett was 9-for-14 for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Here's how Pickett and the Eagles are faring:

Finally, the Eagles offense got untracked after getting outgained 117-14 in the first quarter. Kenny Pickett and the offense still had their share of fits and starts on the TD drive that ended with Pickett's 22-yard TD to DeVonta Smith.

There was a backwards pass to Saquon Barkley that went as a 7-yard loss as a run, and a pass to Barkley that lost 4 yards. But on 3rd-and-8 from the Eagles' 46, Grant Calcaterra made a one-handed over-the-shoulder catch for 34 yards to the Cowboys' 20.

It's almost unheard of for the Eagles to pass up an opportunity to go for it on 4th-and-1 from midfield. Yet the Eagles did just that late in the first quarter. That's because Jalen Hurts isn't in the game. But the Eagles were likely also reluctant to try it because Kenny Pickett is playing with a rib injury.

Also, it appears as if rookie Jeremiah Trotter has replaced Oren Burks at linebacker. Burks started in place of Nakobe Dean, who's out with an abdominal injury.

CJ Gardner-Johnson made up for getting ejected from last week's game by intercepting Dallas' Cooper Rush and returning the ball 69 yards for a touchdown on the Cowboys' first possession of the game. The Cowboys faced a 3rd-and-3 from the Eagles' 42 when Gardner-Johnson stepped in front of Rush's pass over the middle for Brandin Cooks.

That gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 11:43 left in the first quarter.

The Cowboys came back down the field and tied the game on Rush's 4-yard TD pass to Jalen Tolbert with 5:38 left in the first quarter. So the Eagles offense has yet to tie the game.

SAQUON TRACKER: Saquon Barkley tracker: How is Philadelphia Eagles RB faring against the Dallas Cowboys

Jalen Hurts wasn't the only Eagles star sitting out the game Sunday. Linebacker Nakobe Dean, who was listed as doubtful with an adomen injury, is also ruled out. Dean was a limited participant in practice this week. It's expected that Oren Burks will start in his place.

The Eagles' other inactives are RB Will Shipley (concussion), QB Ian Book and OL Trevor Keegan, Darian Kinnard and Nick Gates.

The Cowboys won't have star WR CeeDee Lamb, who has 101 catches for 1,194 yards. He was placed on IR with a shoulder injury.

Eagles activate DE Bryce Huff, make other roster moves

On Saturday, the Eagles activated edge rusher Bryce Huff (wrist) from injured reserve and signed QB Ian Book to the 53-man roster after signing him to the practice squad earlier in the week. To make room for both players, the Eagles waived DE Chuck Harris and placed PR/WR Britain Covey (neck) on IR.

In addition, the Eagles gave practice-squad elevations to RB Tyrion Davis-Price and LB Dallas Gant. Davis-Price is taking the place of Will Shipley, who was ruled out with a concussion.

Eagles vs Cowboys time today

Date: Sunday, Dec. 29
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

What channel is Eagles vs Cowboys today?

TV: FOX
Radio: 94 WIP, Merrill Reese (play-by-play), Mike Quick (analysis) and Howard Eskin (sideline)

Eagles vs Cowboys history

Series record: Cowboys lead, 74-57
Eagles' last win: Nov. 10, 2024 (34-6)
Cowboys' last win: Dec. 10, 2023 (33-13)

Eagles vs Cowboys prediction

It's only fitting that a marquee matchup in the coveted 4:25 p.m. national TV time slot has already been flexed back to 1 p.m., and will end up as "The Battle of Backup Quarterbacks." So in the Kenny Pickett vs Cooper Rush matchup, the difference will come down to the supporting casts. The Eagles' is better, especially since the Eagles have Saquon Barkley and the Cowboys don't have CeeDee Lamb.

The pick: Eagles 23, Cowboys 19

Eagles vs Cowboys betting odds

Game lines and odds from BetMGM:

Spread: Eagles by 7.5
Over/under: 38
Moneyline: Eagles minus-375 (bet $375 to win $100) and Cowboys plus-300 (bet $100 to win $300)

Eagles vs Cowboys weather update

It should be mostly cloudy, but dry, at game time. It will be warm for late December, with a temperature of 61 degrees and holding throughout the game. Winds will be out of the south southeast at 10-15 mph.