Knee Jerk Reactions: Oh My Doug
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A rookie head coach in the NFL is going to make some mistakes in his first season. It's inevitable.
We just didn't expect all of Doug Pederson's mistakes to come in one game, arguably the most of the season.
- Ryan Mathews: 5 touches (4 carries, 10 yards, 1 TD and 1 catch for 1 yard).
- Mathews had four touches on the Eagles' first touchdown drive, where he scored the touchdown and he never got the ball again.
- I know he's been fumbling the ball, but when your offense already lacks weapons -- and I know Mathews has two fumbles in the last three games -- how do you completely ignore your 29-year-old 12th overall pick 4.45 all-purpose back and arguably most talented offensive player?
- Therefore, the Eagles used Darren Sproles like the workhorse he isn't.
- Sproles was great in that role however, rushing for 86 yards on 15 carries (5.7) and catching five of seven targets for 17 yards.
- It was the first time in his career he played over 80-percent of the snaps.
- But one of the snaps Sproles didn't play was on the Eagles' first play of a new drive, when they were leading 23-13 with 13:05 left in the 4th quarter.
- Instead, Wendell Smallwood got his first and only touch: a costly fumble.
- 3rd-and-8 on the Dallas 30-yard line (Eagles lead 23-16 with about 7 minutes to go in the game): Pederson calls a swing pass to Darren Sproles, which goes for a six yard loss.
- Sturgis already nailed a 55-yarder, twice thanks to a Cowboys timeout, before the half and has made 16 straight field-goals (3-for-3 on 50+ yarders).
- So here comes Caleb Sturgis to attempt to 53-yard FG to ice it? Nope. Pederson punted.
- Ensuing drive, the Cowboys went 90-yard to tie the game on a Dak Prescott to Dez Bryant touchdown.
- Trey Burton was targeted twice, once on one of the most important plays of the game -- a third down with less than two-minutes remaining.
- Zach Ertz caught four balls for 19 total yards.
- Dorial Green-Beckham caught five of nine targets for 55 yards.
- Nelson Agholor had three catches for 25 yards and one bad drop.
- The other receivers were pretty bad once again.
- Their longest pass attempt came from Josh Huff, not Wentz.
- How is that possible? That's redefining dink and dunk.
- Jordan Matthews caught 11 of his 14 targets...for 65 yards. Or 5.9 yards per catch.
- Carson Wentz completed 32 of his 43 passes (74.4-percent)...for 202 yards. Or 4.7 yards per pass attempt.
- Defensively, not that that's an easy offense to stop, but the Eagles allowed 460 total yards.
- Prescott threw for 287 and two touchdowns and Ezekiel Elliott ran for 96 yards and 22 carries (4.4) and had a 60-yard run called back for holding. He also caught four balls for 52 yards.
- Bryant had just four catches, but for 113 yards -- a complete contrast to what the Eagles' receivers did.
- Brandon Graham and Jordan Hicks played strong games once again for the Eagles, and Leodis McKelvin -- other than getting beat early in the game by Bryant -- came back and played strong game getting two pass deflections.
- The Eagles sacked Prescott just twice (the Cowboys entered the game averaging just 1.5 sacks allowed per game).
- The Eagles never got the ball in the overtime.
