Eagles fall to 2-5 as the Cowboys’ 31st-ranked run game bulldozes a $328 million defensive line

For one drive on Monday night, it felt like the Eagles might finally stop the bleeding.

Tanner McKee and a beat-up offense opened the third quarter with a 17-play, 84-yard touchdown march. It ate 9:16 off the clock and put the Eagles up 21-20. It was grind-it-out, take-the-air-out-of-the-building football, exactly what a 2-4 team needed.

Then the defense took the field and gave it all back.

Dallas went right down and scored on a 16-yarder to CeeDee Lamb in the corner, and Dak Prescott ran in the two-point try himself. That made it 28-21. From there the Cowboys scored 18 unanswered points on the way to a 38-21 final at the Linc.

The Eagles are now 2-5. That’s five straight losses, the longest skid this franchise has had since 2016 and unlike some of the earlier losses, you can’t pin this one on the offense.

Dallas couldn’t run on anybody until Monday night in South Philly

This is the part that should make everyone at NovaCare sick.

The Cowboys showed up to the Linc with one of the worst rushing attacks in football. They were 31st in the league at 76 rushing yards a game and dead last in carries. Javonte Williams had been held to 49 yards a game over Dallas’ previous two games.

On Monday night, Dallas ran it 38 times for 204 yards. Williams went for a career-high 155 on 25 carries. That’s the most by a Cowboys back since Zeke in 2016, and the most anyone has put on the Eagles since Rashad Jennings in 2016.

The Eagles front, in the trenches, got physically beaten by a group that couldn’t move anybody for six weeks.

The perfect addition to the 2026-27 humiliation ritual, honestly. It happened over and over again too, right down to the final whistle. With the game still technically alive, the Cowboys handed it to Williams six straight times, and he walked in from two yards out with 2:21 left.

Everybody in the building knew what was coming, and nobody in green could stop it.

The 204 rushing yards are the second-most allowed in Vic Fangio’s three seasons as defensive coordinator. Dallas finished with 416 total yards and 25 first downs, and went 8-for-13 on third down.

Prescott didn’t need to be special. He went 15-of-27 for 212 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. The Eagles didn’t record a single sack, QB hit or tackle for loss all night.

Monday Night Football in South Philly never looked so bad.

Paid like the best line in football, playing like one of the worst

The Eagles don’t get to hide behind a talent excuse here. They made their bet this offseason.

• Jalen Carter: 4 years, $152 million
• Jonathan Greenard: 4 years, $98 million
• Jordan Davis: 3 years, $78 million

That’s $328 million committed to three defensive linemen. Moro Ojomo, Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith are all lined up for paydays of their own down the road.

For that money, Monday night delivered zero plays behind the line of scrimmage.

Yes, the group was banged up. Greenard (ankle) and Hunt (ankle/knee) were playing hurt, and Smith missed the game with a concussion. That’s why Arnold Ebiketie, A.J. Epenesa and Keyshawn James-Newby keep showing up on the stat sheet more than anybody planned.

I really don’t care. Carter and Davis were out there. The two guys this franchise has built the interior around got moved off the ball by an offensive line that had done nothing all year.

To make matters worse, Davis was the only one who stood at his locker and owned it. Carter and Greenard declined to talk.

When you’re cashing the biggest checks on a 2-5 team that just got run over at home, you don’t get to duck out the side door, fellas.

Monday wasn’t a one-off. It was the rule.

The Eagles have 8 sacks through seven games. Among teams that have played seven, that’s the fewest in the NFL. The only team below them is Miami, sitting at 6 through six.

The last Eagles team with a number this low at this point of the season played in 1993.

Here’s who has them:

• Nolan Smith: 3
• Jalen Carter: 3
• Jihaad Campbell: 1
• Jordan Davis: 0.5
• Jeremiah Trotter Jr.: 0.5

Greenard, the $98 million edge rusher, isn’t on the list. The team leader is in the concussion protocol. A sack and a half came from off-ball linebackers.

It’s only getting worse for the Eagles…

For most of this losing streak, the easy target was the offense. No Jalen Hurts, a backup quarterback, nothing working.

Monday flipped that. The offense put together its best drive in weeks and handed the defense a lead in the second half. The defense answered by giving up 18 straight points.

Before anybody starts with the “at least the offense looked better” stuff, stop. There’s no such thing as a moral victory. Yeah, the offense was better on Monday. Better wasn’t good enough.

No such thing as moral victories my good brother https://t.co/wMryWYb1p9

— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) October 27, 2026

Nobody’s handing out participation trophies at the Linc. This is the NFL. You win the fucking game or you don’t. The Eagles didn’t, for the fifth week in a row.

Arnold Ebiketie said after the game that this team needs complementary football and the defense didn’t do its part. He’s right, and that should scare people. The unit that was supposed to carry this team while the offense figured itself out is now the thing dragging it under.

The Giants sit atop the NFC East at 4-2-1. Dallas was 2-4 and falling apart a week ago. Now it has climbed past the Eagles at 3-4, with two division wins.

The Eagles are 2-5 and chasing everybody, and the most expensive part of their roster is getting pushed around by teams that couldn’t run the ball last week.

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