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What Happened?

The Eagles lost.

They jumped out to a 21-0 lead, their defense was dominating again, and then it just all stopped.

Then it was all gone.

The Cowboys completed a 24-21 comeback at AT&T Stadium on a last-second Brandon Aubrey field goal. All 24 of their points went unanswered as Jalen Hurts and the Eagles' offense stalled out while their defense got banged up and picked apart.

They're 8-3. The loss isn't going to hurt them too much in the NFC East standings at this point, but this was a devastating defeat, and a tough one that Hurts, Nick Sirianni, and once again, Kevin Patullo are going to have to answer for.

Here's how Sunday in Dallas unraveled...

Dallas didn't listen

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys wanted to get ambitious right away.

Faced with a 4th and 3 at midfield on the game's first possession, the Dallas offense stayed out to go for it and challenge the Eagles early.

But here's the thing: The Lions tried going for it on fourth down five times last week, failed all five times, and afterward, linebacker Nakobe Dean said those constant decisions to gamble against the Philly defense felt "almost disrespectful."

The Cowboys must not have seen that part of the tape while preparing for this week, nor that soundbite.

So Dean caught them up to speed.

He and fellow linebacker Zack Baun broke up the quick pass for Cowboys running back Javonte Williams at the line, forcing the turnover on downs that put the ball at a favorable spot for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles' offense to get started.

They quickly flipped that into a 50-yard march, capped off with a 16-yard touchdown pass over the middle to A.J. Brown, which gave the Eagles the opening lead, 7-0.

Dismal discipline

The Cowboys forced a 4th and 10 and had the ball coming back their way, but then Marist Liufau hit Braden Mann after the punt to wash that away and get the Eagles' offense back out there with a fresh set of downs.

They had the Eagles on the doorstep of another stop a few plays later, but then Jadeveon Clowney got tagged for an offside that cut a 3rd and 10 to a 3rd and 5 with a repeat of the down.

Hurts hit Brown on a slant to the inside for a 22-yard gain and another first down a play later, then after Brown's initial catch and reach for the pylon was ruled incomplete with a foot out of bounds, Hurts kept it himself and barreled through seven yards for the score.

The Eagles went up 14-0, with time still left in the first quarter and everything running smooth for them.

The Cowboys? Well, the only thing they were doing well at was shooting themselves in the foot.

Watch your step

CeeDee Lamb, no sooner after dropping a pass straight to his hands, was walking forward and celebrating a first down while the ball was live on the ground with everyone else scrambling for it.

Quinyon Mitchell recovered it for the Eagles, but replay review ruled that Lamb was down from contact before Adoree' Jackson created the fumble on the 12-yard catch.

Dallas kept the ball. Lamb was saved from some absolutely horrible optics. But then KaVontae Turpin fell on the sword a snap later.

On a handoff, Turpin tripped and slammed down to the turf, losing control of the football before anyone could touch him for the play to remain live.

Zack Baun fell on it to give possession back to the Eagles – for real this time.

DeVonta Smith somehow tracked and caught this 41-yard bomb from Hurts as he was falling onto his back:

Then, after Smith caught another 10-yard completion that brought the Eagles down to the 1, the Tush Push punched in another touchdown for a 21-0 lead.

It was all Eagles, with 11:32 still left in the first half by that point.

It helped, too, that it was almost like the Cowboys were handing them the game – not that they were about to do themselves any favors to dispel that.

Drawing a Blank

Dallas tried again after falling into that 21-0 hole, and looked to be finally putting something together with a 55-yard drive to the doorstep of the goal line.

But at the Philadelphia 1, offensive tackle Tyler Guyton moved a second to early, everyone on the field in a Kelly Green uniform pointed at him, and Dallas was sent five yards back on the false start.

That forced Prescott to pass on the next play. The quarterback went looking for Lamb trailing toward the right side of the end zone as he let the throw go, but all he got was Reed Blankenship grabbing the ball instead for the interception.

The Eagles didn't flip that turnover into any points, but for a team that constantly emphasizes winning the turnover battle, they were destroying Dallas in that regard, or, depending on how you look at it, Dallas was just giving that battle to them.

The Cowboys finally managed a touchdown drive right before the half, sparked by a big 48-yard catch and run from Turpin, but they had a mountain to climb going into the break, with the ball going to the Eagles coming back from it, and up against the defense that had otherwise been dominating them.

Mess in the second half

The momentum the Eagles had built up through the first half had dampened down through the second.

Dallas still struggled to get out of their own way. Lamb dropped a 3rd and 9 pass in Eagles territory – again, right on his hands – and Brandon Aubrey missed the ensuing 51-yard field goal try, but the Eagles' offense stopped making the Cowboys pay for those mistakes.

Two of the Eagles' three drives in the third quarter were three-and-outs, the one that wasn't lasted six plays, and each of them ended in a punt.

Then the Eagles' defense started getting banged up and let the flags pile up.

Blankenship clutched at the back of his leg after a tackle and limped off the field, and defensive tackle Moro Ojomo grabbed at his wrist after a play. Both returned, but outside corner Adoree' Jackson didn't after hitting his head and leaving to get evaluated for a concussion. His absence pushed Cooper DeJean out from the slot, and that became a look that Prescott tried to take advantage of.

Prescott launched a 48-yard pass down the right sideline for Lamb with DeJean on him in coverage. DeJean battled with Lamb the whole way down the field and couldn't get his head around to look for the ball as Lamb hauled it in with a defensive pass interference call coming in any way.

Another defensive pass interference call on Kelee Ringo drew the Cowboys closer in, and they used that to punch in a touchdown that cut the Eagles' lead to just seven at 21-14.

The Eagles' offense, which had gotten away from feeding Smith and Brown, and still couldn't get the run going with Saquon Barkley, still wasn't doing much, but got Jake Elliott to a 59-yard field goal try early in the fourth quarter. He missed.

Prescott picked on DeJean, playing away from his usual position, again with a 43-yard bomb to George Pickens, then the Dallas quarterback kept the ball himself from in close and went diving over the goal for the tying touchdown.

Everything the Eagles had built up from that fast start was gone.

Making matters worse, they were collapsing in on themselves.

Self-destruct

Hurts, under pressure, checked the ball to Barkley, who started running forward. But the running back got from behind by Dallas defensive end Sam Williams, who knocked the ball out with his arm swatting down at it.

The Cowboys recovered, but the Eagles' defense course-corrected just enough with the help of an offensive holding penalty to force a punt...

Then Xavier Gipson got rocked on the return to lose the ball again, with Dallas falling on it at the Philadelphia 8-yard line for an excellent chance at the go-ahead score:

The Eagles were imploding.

Dallas chipped down to the 1, but an incompletion to Lamb forced by DeJean on third down and a completion short of the goal line on another fourth down gamble to Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson bailed the Eagles out.

Hurts and the offense were taking back over, but pinned way back, and all they could do was push their way up a bit before having to punt it again following a major third-down sack of Hurts for a loss of 13 yards.

The Eagles' offense, after having built up that fast 21-0 lead, slipped back into all of their notorious habits, and gradually, painfully gave the game back to the Cowboys as a result.

And on that last stall out, they gave the ball to Dallas with the clock ticking and the chance to fully steal the win.

Prescott hit Pickett in stride on a slant, and the receiver took off through the middle for a 24-yard gain and a fresh set of downs at the Philadelphia 22.

There were 35 seconds left.

All the Cowboys had to do was kneel it, spike it, then let Aubrey kick it through.