Eagles-Cowboys takeaways: Coaching staff, resurgent defense are battle-tested and playoff-ready

The Eagles ended the meaningful portion of their regular-season schedule with the type of win that has become a constant over the last few months.

Their 41-7 romp against the Dallas Cowboys not only sealed the NFC East and locked up the No. 2 seed, it also served as a meaningful response after last week’s loss to the Washington Commanders in what many players branded a “T-shirt game” because of the division implications at play each of the last two weeks.

Now that the division title shirts and hats are behind them, here’s what we learned about this team with the postseason quickly approaching.

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After an uncharacteristically shaky performance against the Commanders, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was the first to say the group couldn’t dismiss the poor stretch as merely a blip.

Perhaps that’s exactly why it seems like one, especially in the aftermath of another smothering performance with Fangio’s imprint readily apparent.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson deserves the lion’s share of the credit for his pair of interceptions against Dallas, but on each of them the veteran safety correctly identified the Cowboys’ route concepts and made adjustments on the fly to take advantage. He said he picked up on the Cowboys’ tendencies based off their formations and wide-receiver splits, emblematic of the level the Eagles defense is playing at late in the season.

While Quinyon Mitchell got bested on a pair of stop routes while seemingly trying to protect from getting beaten deep (more on that later), the secondary as a whole typically was in favorable situations after Fangio said the group needed “better calls” from him against the Commanders.

Add in the two forced fumbles, one from Oren Burks and another from Nolan Smith, and the Eagles turned in the latest in a long line of dominant performances against overmatched offenses.

But the foundation of the Eagles defense should hold up even against the elite offensive systems and individual stars the next month will present. The group tackles well, limits explosive plays because of a disciplined secondary, and can turn a game on its head by forcing turnovers. That’s been the formula for the regular season, and it’s one that shouldn’t waver much in the coming weeks.

» READ MORE: ‘Got to grow the hell up’: Gardner-Johnson atones with 2 INTs as Eagles clinch NFC East

The Eagles had a familiar, winning formula on the other side of the ball as well.

With Kenny Pickett starting in place of Jalen Hurts, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore elected to simplify things for the backup quarterback while also picking his spots to scheme things up for big plays downfield. The plan centered on feeding the trio of Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, and A.J. Brown as much as possible, and it was obvious but effective. The three stars combined for 323 of the Eagles’ 376 total yards, with Barkley serving as the steadying force and Smith and Brown acting as the changeups in the passing game.

Against a reeling Cowboys defense, the plan turned out to be quarterback agnostic to a certain degree. Even when Pickett was knocked out of the game because of a worsened injury to his ribs, third-stringer Tanner McKee did well to find Brown on a back-shoulder pass in the end zone and hit Smith in stride on a slant route for the first two touchdown passes of his career.

But Pickett’s touchdown pass may be the one Moore deserves the most credit for, sending Smith on a corner route from a slot alignment with two in-breaking routes creating traffic for Dallas cornerback Andrew Booth. It required some nice pocket management from Pickett and a well-placed throw, but the separation Smith created against Booth came partly as a result of Moore’s ability to get his pair of star receivers into advantageous looks by mixing up formations and route combinations.

Sunday’s win was an encouraging step for the Eagles offense, especially for when Hurts returns.

» READ MORE: Kenny Pickett played hurt to help the Eagles — his childhood team — capture the division crown

With the initial Pro Bowl roster announcement coming in the next week or two, let’s look at some of the Eagles players’ cases.

By my count, the Eagles should have at least six players named to the initial roster, with others in the mix as well. Barkley, Brown, Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, Jalen Carter, and Zack Baun should all be firmly on the roster and each has a strong case for an All-Pro nod as well. Hurts, Landon Dickerson, Smith, Nakobe Dean, Mitchell, and Gardner-Johnson have also made strong cases.

Hurts won’t have the counting numbers, but efficiency stats like passer rating, completion percentage, and yards per attempt will fall in his favor. His 32 total touchdowns (18 passing, 14 rushing) will also help his case.

Now up to six interceptions this season, Gardner-Johnson will have the counting stats in his favor. It’s worth noting that his six interceptions in 2022 weren’t enough for him to get the nod that season, though.

Ultimately, the Eagles players hope to have a scheduling conflict for the Pro Bowl, but they should be one of the most well-represented teams on the initial roster at the very least.

» READ MORE: Barkley passed a milestone, but what about Dickerson’s record? ‘I want a banner up there.’

McKee, up: McKee’s preseason performances, albeit in a limited sample size, made it easier to envision his starting this season as the Eagles’ No. 2 quarterback behind Hurts before the team traded for Pickett. Sunday further proved he has the makings of a quality backup; he came in for Pickett and made accurate throws on time when asked to. Pickett is under contract through next season, but McKee is making a strong case to be a long-term answer as the No. 2.

Mitchell, neutral: Dallas tested Mitchell early and often and got a few completions throwing the rookie cornerback’s way. This marks two consecutive weeks in which Mitchell hasn’t been rock solid after a dominant start to his first year, but it’s important to note he’s still playing at a high level despite a couple of catches allowed. The dreaded rookie wall is a legitimate concern, but I don’t think there’s enough evidence yet to suggest that is what’s going on with Mitchell.

Jake Elliott, up: It turns out Elliott is all the Eagles’ kickoff coverage was missing. After using punter Braden Mann on kickoffs partially in an effort to conserve Elliott for most of the season, Elliott took over the role against the Cowboys and delivered five touchbacks in his seven kicks one week removed from watching the unit struggle. While the warmer weather was likely a contributing factor in Elliott’s ability to launch the ball out of harm’s way, it’s worth noting the wind at Lincoln Financial Field wasn’t exactly mild. If Elliott can continue to blast kickoffs through the elements, it will be another box checked for this Eagles team heading into the postseason.