Brett's Cowboys Corner

Another Cowboys game that felt like it was over in the first quarter.

NFL Next Gen Stats tracks each teams likelihood to win throughout the game. The highest that percentage was for Dallas, 29%. That was 3 minutes into the game, when Cooper Rush throws a 7 yard completion to Jalen Tolbert, getting the ball to the Eagles 35. A great position to be in, after moving the ball nicely down the field, Dallas has an opportunity to take an early lead.

Two plays later, Cooper Rush makes a quick throw and doesn’t see Chauncey Gardener-Johnson sitting in front of the slant route. 69-yard pick-six.

Dallas answers with a 13 play drive that ends with a Jalen Tolbert endzone fade, touchdown. With back to back quick punts from Philly, the Cowboys could never capitalize.

A 22-yard TD pass from Pickett to DeVonta Smith followed by a Jake Ferguson getting the ball punched out to end a second Dallas drive in a turnover, this called for an early loss of hope halfway through the second quarter.

DeVonta Smith had a great night against Andrew Booth, as DaRon Bland stuck with A.J. Brown most of the day.

Smith was targeted frequently in matchups against Booth, catching 5 of 6 targets for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bland aligned across from Brown on 15 of his 19 routes (78.9%), allowing 3 receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown on 5 targets against Brown.

Kenny Pickett went down with a rib injury, so the Eagles had to roll with Tanner McKee but had no trouble holding onto the lead. Though Philly went away from the passing game. This allowed Saquon Barkley to get his carries.

Barkley really had a quiet day to begin, only 40 rushing yards in the first half of the game. Barkley needs 234 yards to break the single season rushing record, and it was looking like the Eagles were not giving him the carries to get the record.

He gained 127 of his 167 yards in the second half as the Eagles leaned into the run game as they were down to their third string quarterback, running the ball on 24 of 29 plays (82.8%).

Saquon Barkley gained 167 rushing yards on 31 carries in Week 17 against the Cowboys, becoming just the 9th player in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a single season.

As for Eric Dickerson’s rushing record, which sits at 2,105 yards, Barkley needs exactly 100 yards to tie Dickerson. It will be an interesting decision for the Eagles coaching staff and front office, as the Eagles are looking toward the Superbowl. They are NFC East Champs, and locked into the 2-seed in the playoffs.

How many carries are they willing to give Barkley to get the record?

The injury risk and fatigue of giving your featured back, 20 to 30 carries in a meaningless game.

To wrap up on a positive Cowboy note.

Rico Dowdle surpassed the 1,000 yard mark, becoming the first Cowboy undrafted RB to do so. This is a great accomplishment not only as a personal achievement but for the future of Rico. He is set to be a free agent in March, and if the Cowboys can’t come to an agreement on his contract, there are plenty of teams that would love to employ a 1,000 yard rusher.