The bottom has fallen out of this [Eagles](https://allphly.com/eagles/) season.
Any residual hope that this year’s team could rebound from the relentless turbulence of the past month was dashed under the bright lights of Lincoln Financial Field midway through the fourth quarter of a 38-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
It’s their fifth straight loss and as clear a signal as one could require to know that major change awaits in the coming months.
Here are some instant takeaways for the pivotal night:
After spending most of the first third of the season discussing how uncharacteristically bad the Eagles offensive line had been, Monday night put the opposite side of the team’s trenches firmly under the microscope in a negative way.
The Cowboys ran against the Eagles at will for most of this game. Javonte Williams had 155 rushing yards on 25 carries, the most a running back has managed against the Eagles defense since Vic Fangio took over as defensive coordinator. The last back to rush for more against the Eagles was Doug Martin in 2015(!)
To combat the shaky play up front, Fangio elected to deploy his base defense much more often even against Dallas’ three-receiver sets, mostly to no avail.
The defensive front was just as bad against the pass, with virtually no rush to affect Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott as he went 15-for-27 for 212 yards and three perfectly placed touchdowns from clean pockets. The group had zero sacks and, even more staggering, zero quarterback hits on Prescott’s dropbacks.
It’s fair to acknowledge the Eagles came into this game with Jalyx Hunt and Jonathan Greenard playing through apparent injuries and Nolan Smith sidelined with a concussion. Still, the high-priced trio of Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Moro Ojomo was invisible on Monday night to a concerning degree.
In tandem with the absent pass rush was a nightmare showing from Riq Woolen and the Eagles’ secondary.
The Cowboys picked on Woolen in particular, peppering him with targets on the perimeter throughout the game even during a brief stretch when Quinyon Mitchell was sidelined.
Woolen got caught cheating on a double move from CeeDee Lamb for one of the handful of big gains conceded from him on the evening. He was in better coverage against Lamb on a 16-yard touchdown, but a perfectly placed ball from Prescott exploited the space Woolen did allow the All-Pro receiver.
Although Woolen had the ugliest evening, Cooper DeJean wasn’t much better, giving up a handful of catches downfield to Dallas’ receiving duo of Lamb and George Pickens. He was in coverage for Lamb’s first touchdown catch of the evening, failing to locate the ball as Lamb gained late separation.
It took exactly one carry from Saquon Barkley — a 29-yard scamper on the Eagles’ second play from scrimmage — to reveal two undeniable truths all at once:
* Barkley was clearly not 100% after returning from a hamstring injury that cost him two games
* The Eagles offense needed him badly enough for it not to matter
A healthy Barkley may have scored on that opening run, but an obvious hitch in his gait resulted in him slowing up in open space and sitting out a few plays before returning to close out the drive. Even with some extended spells with Barkley trying to loosen up the hamstring on the sideline, he _was_ the Eagles offense on the opening two series.
He contributed 49 yards on two carries and a catch on an opening drive that featured four plays, the final of which featured the 29-year-old cutting back and dashing to the end zone from eight yards out. On the second drive, him and Dameon Pierce sustained the offense on a 13-play, 76-yard drive that once again featured Barkley spending a handful of snaps working out the hammy on the sideline.
But as the game wore on and Barkley’s usage waned as his injury seemingly worsened, the Eagles offense ran out of gas in the shootout. He finished with 62 rushing yards and a back injury that shut him down early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were outscored, 14-0, during that stretch, solidifying the blowout.
A small consolation: The Eagles scored a touchdown in the third quarter.
After six weeks of confounding, brutal offensive showings coming out of halftime, the Eagles strung together their first third-quarter scoring drive of the season to open up the second half on Monday. The 84-yard series on its own surpassed the total yardage the offense has managed in each of the third quarters that preceded Monday night as well.
The drive featured arguably the best showing we’ve seen from Makai Lemon, who finished the drive with a gritty touchdown catch over the middle of the field from four yards out. The first-round rookie had two catches earlier in the series as well, converting a fourth down for the Eagles after shaking free on a shallow crossing route and then pulling off another tough catch over the middle.
Considering Lemon missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury, it was reasonable to expect some growing pains early in the year. He finished with seven catches for 67 yards and perhaps a glimpse of what he will eventually become as a tough slot receiver capable of making tough catches in traffic.