The 5 Numbers That Tell The Story of Eagles vs Cowboys Week 8
By Dylan MacKinnon
Another ugly win. A final score of 23-9 doesn’t look ugly on paper, but anyone who watched the game saw the ugly. Wentz had 4 turnovers, the offense got off to a slow start, but they did win. Granted they won because of the Cowboys inept offense, and some strong Eagles defense play, but it’s a win. Ugly wins might get them the division crown, but it wont get them much further than that. There are a number of issues to work out still, but Eagles go into the bye 3-4-1, with sole possession of the NFC East lead. Here are 5 numbers that tell the story of this game.
7
Brandon Graham has 7 sacks this year. He has also forced 2 fumbles. One of those 2 came in this game, the other came to seal the win vs the Giants last week. There was a ton of talk a couple years ago when they resigned him, and many people thought he was overpaid. But now he might just be their best defensive player. The underlying stats have always suggested he is better than his raw numbers say, and this year he seems to be putting together a season that shows up in the box score in a big way. He deserves praise, even if the team as a whole does not deserve much.
That's sack #7 this year by Brandon Graham. Career high is 9 1/2 in 2017. And two straight games with a strip sack. Playing the best football of his 11-year career.
— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) November 2, 2020
16
Wentz has 16 Turnovers on the year, 5 more than anyone else. He has at times made great plays this year, but his carelessness with the ball is killing the team. He has 12 interceptions, and has lost 4 fumbles. He was a complete disaster tonight, and there are no excuses to be made for him. He needs to cut the turnovers, or something has to change. He can be magical at times and make elite plays, tonight he again led a game winning TD drive, but this team cant function with the QB averaging 2 turnovers a game.
435
There hasn’t been much to celebrate this year, but the discovery of Travis Fulgham is definitely something to get excited for. He has 435 yards, 4 TDs, and has at least 70 yards in 4 out of 5 games. Not only is he productive, but he plays smart. He had a veteran type play and drew a pass interference tonight. Eagles found a legit WR. Jalen Reagor showed some real potential tonight too scoring a TD and a 2pt conversion. Those two along with Greg Ward make up a good young WR core.
https://twitter.com/KrystleRich/status/1323086436204224513?s=20
9.3
The Eagles average 9.3 pts per first half this year. The offense has been mostly non existent in the first half, especially over the last 3 games. They scored 0 vs the Ravens, 10 vs the Giants, and then only 7 tonight. They can not keep putting themselves in these positions where they need to make up ground. The only reason they were not in a big hole tonight is that the Cowboys Offense is completely dysfunctional. Against a good team, like the Seahawks or Packers who they play later this year, they could find themselves in a hole too big too dig out of.
3.3
The Eagles held Zeke Elliot to only 3.3 yards per rush. He averaged 4.1 coming into the game. The Eagles defense has not been very good this year. But they have been very good vs running backs. I’ve mentioned their issues vs non traditional runners, but there is something to be said with how well they have played vs running backs. Running backs average under 3.5 yards on the season vs the Eagles. They again gave up some big runs to the QB and also to Cee Dee Lamb, but it was only a couple plays and didn’t hurt them quite as much as those plays have in other games.
