Eagles’ backups fall to Cowboys 51-26 in regular season finale

Last night’s game against the Dallas was everything Eagles fans expected it to be. Before kick-off, most of the Eagles starters, including Jalen Hurts were ruled inactive in the meaningless Week 18 matchup against the Cowboys.

As we all know by now, there was no need for any Eagles starter to play outside of DeVonta Smith and Jason Kelce. Kelce continued his Iron Man streak of consecutive games played, entering the night on a 121-game starting streak. He played one snap to extend his streak to 122 games. Smitty entered the night just 38-yards short of DeSean Jackson’s Eagles rookie receiving yards total and was able to break the record.

.@DeVontaSmith_6 is a technician with the routes. #FlyEaglesFly

📺: #DALvsPHI on ESPN/ABC
📱: https://t.co/db0DaDFSBa pic.twitter.com/2jfWd4ZSHq

— NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2022

For whatever reason, the Cowboys decided to play their starters for the duration of the game and still managed to play down to the Eagles’ backups. It was 17-17 halfway through the second quarter before the Cowboys ran away with the game, mainly thanks to some horrible punts from Arryn Siposs.

Gardner Minshew

Minshew didn’t live up to the hype of the Jets game. The backup quarterback was protected by third-string linemen for the duration of the game and had to throw against the Cowboys’ starting secondary with Jalen Reagor as his top target.

Minshew completed 19 of his 33 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns. It’s hard to criticize Minshew because of what who else was on the field with him. I don’t think anyone else would have done much better. The good news is it spares us a week of senseless “QB controversy” topics from Philly sports talk radio.

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside

JJAW continues to cement himself as arguably the worst receiver draft pick in franchise history. Arcega-Whiteside had a grand total of two receptions for 36 yards on the year, totaling 16 catches for 290 yards over three seasons with the Eagles.

Such an elite “possession” wideout pic.twitter.com/KsSpw9GMCM

— Jack Connell (@JackPConnell) January 9, 2022

His tenure with the franchise was perfectly summed up by the dropped touchdown that would have put the Eagles in the lead. Wide-open looking directly at the football, JJAW whiffed and let the ball fall right through his hands. But hey! at least he can block, right?

Cowboys’ fragile ego

The Cowboys felt it was best to play their starters after being beaten up by the Arizona Cardinals last week. Dallas fans celebrated and talked trash as Dak Prescott threw for a career-high five touchdowns against Tay Gowan and Zech McPhearson for four quarters.

The last time Dallas went undefeated in the NFC East, they lost in the divisional round (1998 against the Cardinals), so take that as you will.

Such a great job Dallas, you should be incredibly proud of yourselves. I’m sure you will hold onto this game after you get pummeled by the Rams or Cardinals in the Wild Card next weekend.

Several Eagles backups left with injuries, including Andre Dillard, Tyree Jackson, and Marvin Wilson. Jackson left with a non-contact knee injury, but luckily, the early belief is that it isn’t an ACL injury.

Arguably more important than any other takeaway from tonight’s game is that the Eagles and Cowboys committed an act of Scorigami.

DAL 51 – 26 PHI
Final

That's Scorigami!! It's the 1072nd unique final score in NFL history.

— Scorigami (@NFL_Scorigami) January 9, 2022

The Eagles officially end their season at 9-8 and await their playoff future, which will be decided tomorrow afternoon. Tampa Bay is the likely opponent, but it is not set in stone just yet. There is still a chance they play the Rams, Cardinals, or even the Cowboys once again.

Mandatory Credit: AP News