The Eagles lost to their rivals under the bright lights of Monday Night Football.
Was the loss the beginning of the end of the 2026 season?
Philly's 38-21 loss to the Cowboys might not be the final nail in the coffin, but with injuries, a shocking retirement, shocking blood clot issue to their Super Bowl MVP and all sorts of bad luck and bad execution on both sides of the ball — the season is on life support.
The NFL trade deadline is in just over two weeks, and the 2-5 Eagles have division games against the Commanders and Giants to play before it arrives. That's essentially the season. In a winnable NFC East, one more loss before deadline day could make this a long winter for Eagles fans.
As we do each and every week, we'll stoke some optimism, and throw cold water on it too, with a look at a stock up and stock down after a predictably unsuccessful Dallas week:
### Stock up: Makai Lemon 📈
The stage was set for the Eagles' rookie.
DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks were sidelined. First round pick Makai Lemon showed flashes — with 127 receiving yards on 18 catches to start his NFL career. He had some drops, some failed screen passes and a career long of just 19 yards.
Philly needed a weapon, and on Monday night the prayers of so many savvy fantasy football owners were answered as Lemon burst onto the scene (well, relatively... it was an ugly game) as the most popular target in an otherwise forgettable Week 7 loss.
On the Birds' opening touchdown drive, Lemon caught the only pass of the four-play march with a new career high 21-yard snag (setting up Saquon Barkley for a scoring scamper). Later, with the Eagles trailing to start the second half, Lemon caught four passes for 28 yards on a lengthy 18-play, 9-plus minute drive including his first career touchdown.
Lemon wasn't drafted because he had the best hands in the 2026 draft, nor was he anywhere near the fastest WR in his class. But he's a smart football player and quicker with the ball in his hands than many might expect. He flashed in Week 7 catching a team-high seven passes, and the Eagles are hoping it's just the start. With a depleted offense on the brink of irrelevancy, he might have a long audition to show what he's got the rest of the way.
### Stock down: There's no defense 📉
One of the things Eagles fans, the optimistic ones at least, hung their hats on was the defense.
A top 5 unit from 2025 was returning, almost entirely intact. Two of the best corners in the game line up next to a defensive player of the year finalist linebacker and two of the better defensive tackles in the game. Sure, the offense struggles every week, and is beaten up a bit, but the defense will surely keep the team afloat.
That's what was expected to happen.
Throughout the season the Eagles have had a below average defense — and it reached a new low Monday night against Dallas.
The pass rush was literally not there. Dak Prescott, who threw for 212 yards on what was clearly not his best day, had all day to throw the ball on every single play. Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell where shredded by CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Prescott's three touchdown passes torched the Eagles for a season-high 38 points allowed. The worst offender was Riq Woolen, who through bad pass coverage and a costly penalty was responsible for 48 of Dallas' 61 yards on a third quarter go-ahead touchdown drive.
There were zero recorded QB hits, or tackles for loss for the Eagles defense. Tanner McKee isn't good enough to lead a short-handed offense to 30-plus points. He tried.
The run defense wasn't any better. Entering Monday the Cowboys were 31st in the NFL in rushing yards, with 76 of them per game. They ran for 204 yards, more than doubling their average and setting a new season high.
If the Eagles defense can't pressure the quarterback, create turnovers (they had none Monday), stop the pass or stop the run, well... you know the rest. It could be a lost season for one of the most talented units in the sport.