In their Week 12 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles played 63 snaps on offense and 74 snaps on defense. Let's just get right to the snap counts, some notes, and some special recognition.
Quarterback
• 63 snaps: Jalen Hurts
Notes: Hurts was 27 of 39 for 289 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs. Obviously, he looked good early in the game when the offense was clicking and had some rhythm.
However, after the first three TD drives, ineffective early down runs and an assortment of penalties put the offense behind the sticks, and Hurts wasn't able to pull the Eagles out of those holes and make plays.
Running back
• 52 snaps: Saquon Barkley
• 8 snaps: Will Shipley
• 3 snaps: Tank Bigsby
Notes: Barkley had 10 carries for 22 yards (2.2 YPC), to go along with 7 catches on 8 targets for 52 yards. He also had a key fumble that likely cost the Eagles points.
Barkley hasn't had as much room to run this season as he did last season. But it's also true that he's not making defenders miss like he did in 2024. Barkley was often wide open underneath on short throws, and he had some chances to turn nice gains in open space into explosive plays if he had made a defender or two miss. But that just didn't happen.
Bigsby had 1 carry for 8 yards. He has been a spark plug whenever he has gotten opportunities. He should probably get more opportunities while Barkley is struggling.
MORE:Saquon Barkley, Eagles' run game struggles hit new low in Cowboys loss
Wide receiver
• 60 snaps: DeVonta Smith
• 59 snaps: A.J. Brown
• 34 snaps: Jahan Dotson
• 13 snaps: Darius Cooper
• 3 snaps: Xavier Gipson
Notes: Brown and Smith combined for 14 catches for 199 yards and a TD.
Brown looked closer to his old self in this game than he has in others this season. The Eagles fed him targets early and often and that seemed to energize him. Brown downplayed any notion that getting targeted will spur him to play with better energy than if the ball isn't coming his way. But, that's just kind of the nature of that position, and the Eagles would be wise to target him early in games going forward in efforts to get this version of their star receiver.
Tight end
• 58 snaps: Dallas Goedert
• 15 snaps: Grant Calcaterra
• 5 snaps: Kylen Granson
• 3 snaps: Cameron Latu
Notes: Goedert had 2 catches on 2 targets for 20 yards. He also had a 20-yard catch wiped out by a penalty. We'll get to that in a moment.
A positive development was that the Eagles didn't give many snaps to their blocking-challenged backup tight ends
Offensive line
• 63 snaps each: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Fred Johnson
• 2 snaps: Matt Pryor
Notes: Lane Johnson didn't play. Let's update the Eagles' record since 2016 without him:
• 2016: 2-8
• 2017: 1-0
• 2018: 0-1
• 2019: 3-1 (0-1 in the playoffs)
• 2020: 2-7
• 2021: 1-3
• 2022: 1-1
• 2023: 1-0
• 2024: 1-1
• 2025: 0-1
TOTAL: 12-24
The Eagles had a 20-yard pass play wiped out by an illegal formation penalty that was flagged because Pryor should have been lined up a yard off the ball. That helped a drive stall, and likely cost the Eagles points. Part of the reason the Eagles normally like their offensive sets with six offensive linemen is because they like Fred Johnson as a player. With Fred Johnson filling in for Lane Johnson as the starting RT, the Eagles should burn that section of their playbook for now.
Lane Johnson's absence was more subtle in this game, as Fred Johnson played mostly fine. But if Lane Johnson plays, Fred Johnson is the 6th offensive lineman in jumbo packages, and Pryor never sees the light of day.
Edge defenders
• 59 snaps: Jalean Phillips
• 43 snaps: Jalyx Hunt
• 40 snaps: Nolan Smith
• 8 snaps: Brandon Graham
Notes: The edge rushers were quiet in this game after generating very good pressure against the Packers and Lions Weeks 10 and 11. I thought there were matchups to be won against the Cowboys' offensive tackles.
Vic Fangio said in his most recent presser that Smith had been on a pitch count. This is the most that he has played since returning to the field Week 10 against the Packers.
Interior defensive line
• 70 snaps: Jalen Carter
• 49 snaps: Jordan Davis
• 44 snaps: Moro Ojomo
• 7 snaps: Byron Young
Notes: Carter and Davis combined for 11 tackles. Carter can't buy a holding penalty. Ojomo left with what looked like a hand or wrist injury. We'll see during the week if that's something that will cost him any time.
Linebacker
• 74 snaps: Zack Baun
• 62 snaps: Nakobe Dean
• 11 snaps: Jihaad Campbell
Notes: Baun led the team in tackles, as usual, with 9. However, he also dropped what could have been a game-changing INT.
Dean is a madman as a blitzer. He had the team's only sack, when he ran through RB Javonte Williams.
Campbell's role is shrinking more and more each week, which makes sense with Dean's stellar play.
Cornerback and safety
• 74 snaps each: Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell
• 71 snaps: Andrew Mukuba
• 47 snaps: Reed Blankenship
• 26 snaps each: Adoree' Jackson, Sydney Brown
• 25 snaps: Michael Carter
• 4 snaps: Kelee Ringo
Notes: The Eagles suffered a bunch of injuries in their secondary in this game. Let's start with Adoree' Jackson, who left the game, was evaluated for a concussion, and did not return. With Jackson out, Cooper DeJean moved from his normal spot in the slot in the Eagles' nickel defense to the outside, and Michael Carter came off the bench and played in the slot. The Cowboys then went after DeJean quite a bit with deep throws down the field to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, and were successful. That was interesting.
At safety, the Eagles lost Reed Blankenship and Andrew Mukuba.
Mukuba was on crutches and in a walking boot after the game. He was injured on one of the final plays of the game. Blankenship left early with a thigh injury. Brown filled in for Blankenship, and seemed to be at least partly responsible for some Cowboys completions down the field.
The three plays that Mukuba missed were two Cowboys kneeldowns and a spike to stop the clock before the game-winning field goal. The Eagles were in base defense on those plays, but the defensive backs on those plays were Ringo, Mitchell, DeJean, and Brown. That's an indication that DeJean had moved to safety.
If any combination of Mukuba, Blankenship, and Jackson are unable to play on Friday against the Bears, it will be interesting to see how Vic Fangio juggles the lineup in the secondary.
MORE: Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Cowboys game
Three stars 🤩
⭐⭐⭐: A.J. Brown: Brown had his second-best statistical performance of the season, and looked more engaged than he has all season, in my opinion. If there's a silver lining to take away from this game, it's that.
🌟🌟: Nakobe Dean: Dean is playing like a Pro Bowl player.
✨: DeVonta Smith: Smith has become something of a human highlight reel. The Eagles wasted his and Brown's performances.
Game ball 🏈
Week 1, vs. Cowboys: Jalen Hurts
Week 2, at Chiefs: Andrew Mukuba
Week 3, vs. Rams: Jordan Davis
Week 4, at Buccaneers: Quinyon Mitchell
Week 5, vs. Broncos: DeVonta Smith
Week 6, at Giants: Dallas Goedert
Week 7, at Vikings: Jalen Hurts
Week 8, vs. Giants: Saquon Barkley
Week 10, at Packers: Jaelan Phillips
Week 11, vs. Lions: Vic Fangio
Week 12, at Cowboys: A.J. Brown
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader