Philadelphia Eagles fans might still be trying to process what happened in Week 12 after the team blew a 21-point lead to lose to the Dallas Cowboys 24-21.
It was a comedy of errors for the Eagles, having missed a field goal and two fumbles in the fourth quarter alone. The defense for Philly actually made a goal-line stand near the end of the game, but the offense had no momentum from the start and couldn't do anything with it.
A lot of fingers can be pointed at Nick Sirianni for his decision to kick a field goal. Some could point at Saquon Barkley and Xavier Gipson for their costly fumbles.
One thing was for sure, though: the Eagles could not do anything on the ground. A big reason for that? Lane Johnson wasn't there.
Not having Johnson on the field really hurt the Eagles
Johnson missed his first game of the season after hurting his foot in the Eagles' 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 11. His expected timeline was originally four to six weeks, but it could be a return date of December 14 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Eagles fans will hope he can come back sooner, because this offense against the Cowboys couldn't run if their lives depended on it. They struggled with just 18 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Philly averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.
The numbers might be skewed because Jalen Hurts had 4.7 yards per game, and Tank Bigsby had one run for eight yards. Where the struggles really showed was with Barkley.
Philly's top back rushed the ball 10 times for 22 yards. He did have seven receptions for 52 yards, with most of them coming from halfback swing passes, but his fumble in the fourth quarter was the deadly mistake that hurt the Eagles.
Part of the problem is that the Eagles' right side of the offensive line has been exposed. Without Johnson there, Tyler Steen can't be covered up by his poor blocking in the running game. As much as Eagles fans love Fred Johnson, he had two bad penalties in the Cowboys game at right tackle.
Read more:One defining moment created by Nick Sirianni led to Eagles' collapse vs. Cowboys
The Eagles are hurting at right tackle right now and the offensive line struggles continue. If this Philly team can't find any kind of running game, they are going to be in big trouble the rest of the season.