It took a week longer than expected, but the Eagles have clinched the NFC East. In doing so, they also clinched the 2-seed. They will not have a first-round bye week, and they do not yet know who they will play in the 1st round, but they do know the game will be at home, and that they will be playing at home vs any team other than the 1-seed.

Even without Jalen Hurts, they crushed the Cowboys. They beat them 41-7. They even lost their backup QB and had to go to 3rd string QB Tanner McKee, and yet they still added 17 more points.

Related: Saquon Barkley Hits 2000, And Eagles Clinch The 2-Seed

Both sides got off to a rocky start, as we are used to by now. The defense was letting the Cowboys move the ball with ease on the first drive before CJ Gardner Johnson got a pick 6, but they followed that up by letting the Cowboys easily move down the field again to tie it up. Meanwhile, the offense went 3 and out on their 1st two drives. but like they did in every other game this season, they kicked it into another gear in the 2nd quarter and rattled off 34 unanswered points.

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

And of course, Saquon Barkley made history, becoming just the 9th player in NFL history to reach 2000 rushing yards. He came up 100 yards short of the All-Time record, and might not get the chance now that the Eagles have nothing to play for next week, but they made sure to send Saquon back out there so he could at least get 2000.

But how did it all go down? How impressive was the win really? Let’s break the Eagles win down by the numbers.

These 5 Numbers Tell The Story Of The Eagles Win Over The Cowboys:

• 3.9

  As already mentioned, the Eagles defense started off slow. Yes they got the pick 6, but the Cowboys were moving the ball. They averaged 5.5 yards per play on those two drives, gaining 105 total yards on 19 plays. It seemed like the struggles from late in the Commander’s game were carrying over to this game. But the defense shut them down from then on.

  They gave up just 163 yards the rest of the way on 41 plays. Down from 5.5 yards per play, to 3.9. And down from 52.4 yards per drive to 20.4. 104 of those yards came on two drives, one that ended in a fumble. On the other 6 drives, they averaged 9.8 yards per drive and 2.9 yards per play. The Eagles were back to their usual selves.

  Yes it was the Cowboys, and yes they had no CeeDee Lamb. But we have seen this defense do this exact thing to much better offenses. It was just good to see them bounce back from how ugly it looked at the end of last week.

  97.5 The Fanatic on X (formerly Twitter): "Cowboys gained 105 yards on their first 2 drives. They have gained just 56 yards since on 5 drives, including 2 more turnovers. Defense got its groove back. / X"

  Cowboys gained 105 yards on their first 2 drives. They have gained just 56 yards since on 5 drives, including 2 more turnovers. Defense got its groove back.

• 3

  Nolan Smith had a very rocky start to his Eagles career. He barely got on the field during his rookie season, and when he did he was mostly ineffective. Even to start this season, he was not flashing the potential that made him a 1st round pick. But the Eagles patience eventually paid off. Sunday made it 4 straight games with at least 3 pressures. He never got to Cooper Rush, but he led the Eagles with 3 pressures and forced a fumble.

  Smith is up to 31 pressures and 6.5 sacks. And in the 5 games since Brandon Graham was injured and Nolan Smith was forced into an increased role Smith has 17 pressures and 3 sacks. We knew they were going to have to rely on him this season. Even more so with all the injuries they had at Edge Rusher. He has answered the call.

  PFF PHI Eagles on X (formerly Twitter): "The highest-graded Eagles in Week 17 vs the Cowboys:🥇 C.J. Gardner-Johnson - 94.4🥈 Nolan Smith - 91.0🥉 DeVonta Smith - 90.5🏅 Oren Burks - 81.8🏅 Jordan Mailata - 80.4(min. 25 snaps) pic.twitter.com/i0LhqhNCeO / X"

  The highest-graded Eagles in Week 17 vs the Cowboys:🥇 C.J. Gardner-Johnson - 94.4🥈 Nolan Smith - 91.0🥉 DeVonta Smith - 90.5🏅 Oren Burks - 81.8🏅 Jordan Mailata - 80.4(min. 25 snaps) pic.twitter.com/i0LhqhNCeO

• 5

  Kickoff were a major issue last week. Braden Mann didn’t get a single touchback. Which is why they made the switch to Jake Elliott. Now granted, it was much warmer and hence easier to kick the ball out of the End Zone, but 5 of his 7 kickoffs went for a touchback. When the kick was returned, the Eagles did a much better job covering the return. Kavonte Turpin, the best return man in the league, averaged just 24 yards per return.

  After giving up favorable field position on nearly every drive against the Commanders, the Eagles were able to win that battle this week. Elliott should continue to handle those duties going forward. Maybe it will help him keep warm too and lead to better results on long FGs.

  

• 6

  It was a bit of a struggle with Kenny Pickett last Sunday. The Eagles were not able to run their usual offense, the Commanders showed him no respect, and he could not make them pay. Because of that, Saquon could not get going either, as he faced stacked boxes every time he touched the ball.

  So with a week of practice, and a gameplan designed to suit his skillset how did he fare? Much better. After the slow start, Pickett was able to do what he needed to keep the Cowboys’ defense honest and let Saquon have some space to run. Even when Tanner Mckee came in, the offense kept humming. In fact between Pickett and McKee, there were only 6 incompletions, compared to 3 TDs. And it is not like they took no chances. Picket was 3 for 3 on passes of over 20 yards. Tanner Mckee was 1 of 2. They had 2 TDs on those deep throws.

  They still obviously missed what hurts brings to the table still. But Pickett and McKee were able to keep the ship afloat.

  NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "GO BACK TO AJ BROWN.Great throw by Tanner McKee.📺: #DALvsPHI on FOX📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/ZeW6Syi6nF / X"

  GO BACK TO AJ BROWN.Great throw by Tanner McKee.📺: #DALvsPHI on FOX📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/ZeW6Syi6nF

• 2000

  This one is obvious, but it needs to be stated. Saquon Barkley reached 2000 yards on the season. Not only the becoming the 1st Eagle to ever do that, but only the 9th player period. The game was well in hand. The Eagles could have sat their started, and not given Barkley the chance to reach that milestone. But they left their starters in a bit longer, Barkley quickly rattled off the yards he needed, closing it out with a 20+ yard run, and then all the starters came out, and they celebrated.

  NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "SAQUON BARKLEY. 2K RUSHING YARDS. pic.twitter.com/HDS8Jy1MRK / X"

  SAQUON BARKLEY. 2K RUSHING YARDS. pic.twitter.com/HDS8Jy1MRK

  We knew Saquon was good. I don’t know of many people expected him to have one of the greatest RB seasons of all time though. Saquon Barkley, behind this O-Line, with these WRS pulling pressure off him, is a match made in heaven. To stop him, you would have to completely sell out to stop the run like the Commanders did. The Steelers tried that too though, and with a healthy Hurts, they made them pay. You can’t leave AJ brown or Devonta Smith in single-man-to-man coverage. But the more people you drop back, the harder it is to stop the Eagles run game. If you leave these O-Linemen in 1-on-1s, they are going to win too.

  pretty much what I am saying is that when everyone is healthy, the Eagles offense is impossible to stop for 4 quarters.

   

Sign Up For The Fanatic MVP Insider Newsletter

Get the info you need on the Philly Sports landscape, events you need to know about, exclusive contests, and more.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.