Carson Wentz has been plagued with slow starts all season. It may have knocked them out of the playoffs after loss to Dallas. Photo by Andy Lewis

ARLINGTON: The way the Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Jerry’s World in overtime is typical of how this entire season has gone.

The Birds did nothing in the first half, then had the game in their hands at the end and let it slip away…again.

The Eagles (6-7) trailed at halftime 6-0. They had just four first downs to the Cowboys 14.
The Birds had 70 net yards of offense compared to the 233 yards put up by Dallas. And they were still in the game

Then, as happened all season, quarterback Carson Wentz and the offense came alive to score 23 points over the final 21 minutes of regulation, sending the game to overtime, only to lose it on a fluke play.

After the Cowboys won the overtime coin toss, they drove 60 yards to the Eagles 15-yard line. That drive included a fourth down conversion. Then on third and seven, Dallas head coach Jason Garrett took another chance.

Instead of running the ball and settling for a field goal with less than two minutes left in overtime, the Cowboys went for it, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to Amari Cooper. It was a fortunate throw and catch that probably should have been picked off.
The ball first hit Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas in the hands only to have the ball pop up and land right in Cooper’s hands.

The veteran wide receiver acquired by the Cowboys on October 22, walked into the end zone to end the game and any realistic chance the Eagles have of making the post season.

Douglas talked about the play. “I played it perfectly,” the second defensive back said. “I got my hand in there. I couldn’t get my other hand in there to get the pick. I tried to bat it down. The ball went in the air and Ameri Cooper made a play…I smacked the ball down as I was going to the ground.”

The Eagles defense played well enough for the Birds win the game. The offense is the worst first quarter scoring unit in the NFL. Wentz was 2 of 4 for 12 yards in the first quarter.

Tackle Lane Johnson talked about the slow starts.

“It’s been our mantra all season,” Johnson said in the subdued Eagles locker room after the game. “We haven’t capitalized on the first half and go down the second half. We just didn’t make it happen today. We fought until the end. But that’s the way it is.”

Carson Wentz finished with a great stat line going 22 of 32 for 228 yards, three touchdown passes, no interceptions and a quarterback rating of 120.3. He was sacked twice.

But stats can be misleading.

One of those touchdown passes came with 6:19 left in the third quarter after Eagles safety Corey Graham who picked off Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott at the Dallas 30 yard line and ran it back to the Dallas two-yard line. Wentz hit Alshon Jeffery on the first play and the score was 9-6. Jake

Elliott missed what ended up crucial extra point.

The Eagles rushing attack never surfaced. The Birds rushed just 14 times for a net 34 yards. Corey Clement suffered what looked like a serious leg injury in the first half.

Wentz talked about the Eagles offense in general over the 11 games he has started.

“We obviously couldn’t get in a rhythm and started slow,” Wentz said. “It seems to be a common theme for us and it’s something we have to look at. It’s tough and there’s a little bit of sense from the team that’s frustrating for sure.”

The Eagles defense was outstanding for the first three quarters, surrendering just nine points. But the one side of ball cannot keep that wall up when the offense is not scoring consistently.

Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox talked at his locker after the game and it was obvious he is frustrated.

“We didn’t get the result that we wanted,” Cox said. “It’s just tough. You’ve got to grind it out and find ways to win games like this.”

The Eagles got three turnovers against Dallas. The Birds only converted one of those turnovers into points.

Prescott was 42 of 54 for 455 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and was sacked three times. Ezekiel Elliott rushed 28 times for 113 yards plus another 79 yards on catches out if the backfield.

Cooper went wild with 10 catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns. All three touchdowns came in the fourth quarter and overtime.

When you offense only holds the ball for eight minutes in the first half, the defense is going to be gassed, especially with this side of the ball missing so many players to injury.

“I thought we did a good job of getting after the quarterback,” Cox said. “We realized it was going to comes to them against us. Rushing him, hitting him, trying to get him off his spot, make him uncomfortable, we did that. But obviously we didn’t do that enough to win the football game. when it comes down to it, no matter what you do, or how hard you do it, unless you get the win, it doesn’t matter.”

Cox was asked how he was feeling after the game,

“Sick, it’s sickening,” Cox said. “You go out there and play for moments like that, you want to capitalize on moments like that, and obviously you want to win the football game. That is the end result that we get paid for, and it sucks to lose a game the way we did tonight.”

With no playoffs in sight, Eagles fans are feeling pretty sick themselves.