It's going to take a very, very long time for Philadelphia Eagles fans to move on from losing to the Dallas Cowboys 24-21 in Week 12, given how it happened.
After a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, the Cowboys stormed back to score the last 24 points of the game, leaving Eagles fans with more questions than answers during their short week. Eagles guard Landon Dickerson provided some clarity, saying they were not ready for the Cowboys' five-man fronts, prompting many to ask how the coaching staff did not prepare them for it.
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane shared Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni's response on this during his day-after-game press conference on the matter. Sirianni basically admitted they didn't have enough time to prepare for it.
"Nick Sirianni didn’t dispute Landon Dickerson’s suggestion that the Eagles didn’t have enough “time on task” in preparing for the Cowboys’ 5-man front.
Said Dallas did it more than expected and in retrospect there are always schemes you wish you practiced more for."
Nick Sirianni didn’t dispute Landon Dickerson’s suggestion that the #Eagles didn’t have enough “time on task” in preparing for the Cowboys’ 5-man front.
Said Dallas did it more than expected and in retrospect there are always schemes you wish you practiced more for. https://t.co/PIeXrl9rHt
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) November 24, 2025
Sirianni and Eagles coaching staff committed the worst coaching malpractice ever
The Eagles had a full week to prepare for the game. How does something like this happen?
Dallas has changed the way it runs its defense since the addition of Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline from the New York Jets. While the stats won't show it, Williams was a disruptive force on the defensive line for the Cowboys, making life miserable for Saquon Barkley and the Eagles' offensive line.
The Eagles rushed for just 63 yards, 22 of them were from Barkley, who averaged just 2.2 yards per carry. Williams finished with one tackle, one tackle for loss, and one quarterback hit for the Cowboys in their stunning win.
Now, this will cast doubt on the Eagles' ability to prepare for a short week, with the 8-3 Chicago Bears as their next opponents on Black Friday. Chicago has defensive end Montez Sweat on the other side, someone Sirianni and the Eagles know well from his days with the Washington Commanders. Sweat has 6.5 sacks in the last five games.
Read more:Ian Rapoport's Andrew Mukuba injury update has Eagles fans bracing for impact
Eagles fans can only hope that Sirianni and company can handle the game-week preparations and be ready to take on a Bears defense that has created an NFL-high 24 turnovers this season.