Jalen Hurts, Eagles seize first place in NFC East as Dak Prescott-less Cowboys endure another home horror show

ARLINGTON, Texas — Halloween has passed and November has arrived. But the stadium best known as JerryWorld continues to be a house of horrors for the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys have entered calendar month eleven since their last home victory.

A team that for three years lost just five games has already surpassed that total.

The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Cowboys, 34-6, in a Sunday afternoon matchup that improved the Eagles to 7-2 as they passed the Washington Commanders in the NFC East. The Cowboys fell to 3-6, their playoff hopes all but lost.

In their first game this season without franchise quarterback Dak Prescott, the Cowboys showed that a long-struggling team could indeed get much worse. Prescott’s torn hamstring, and its likely season-ending implications, may be the Cowboys’ top problem.

But it’s far from their only one.

Dallas’ struggling offense turned the ball over five times and scored no touchdowns, even as the Eagles began resting their starters.

Philadelphia capitalized repeatedly on the Cowboys’ mistakes as they ran up the score on a game the Cowboys surprisingly entered as just 7-point underdogs.

For most of the first two quarters, Cowboys defensive improvement showed a potential route to validating Vegas’ confidence.

Dallas sacked Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts twice in the first series and cornerback Trevon Diggs later jumped a pass intended for tight end Dallas Goedert to snag an interception in the end zone. Micah Parsons would later strip-sack Hurts in Parsons’ first game back from a high ankle sprain, the famous sunlight glare seeming to aid the Cowboys’ defensive efforts as Hurts took three sacks on three straight dropbacks.

But Hurts mostly powered his dual-threat ability to score two more rushing touchdowns in addition to his 14-of-20 passing for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Saquon Barkley gained 21 yards after the catch on third-and-6 to set up Hurts’ initial touchdown, on the Eagles’ trademark “Brotherly Shove” play.

Cowboys quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Trey Lance each contributed to the turnover count, running back Ezekiel Elliott also fumbling at the goal line.

While Dallas set up kicker Brandon Aubrey for 46- and 23-yard field goals early, they were thoroughly ineffective in the second half. An improved Eagles defense held Rush to just 45 yards on 23 pass attempts, Dallas going three-and-out each of its three chances to get the ball in the third quarter.

Trey Lance, active for the first time this season, threw an interception as well as a pass that tight end Jake Ferguson would fumble in consecutive series.

The Eagles did what good teams do against cellar-dwellers: blow out the Cowboys. Wide receiver A.J. Brown caught passes of 30 and 44 yards en route to a 109-yard day, Saquon Barkley rushing for 66 yards on 14 carries.

The Eagles host the Commanders on Thursday night in a game with first place in the division at stake.