Dallas Cowboys kind of won big by losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in embarrassing fashion
The sky is falling for the Dallas Cowboys as they fell to 3-6 on Sunday by losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 34-6. Even though being down Dak Prescott was expected to result in a big hit to the Cowboys, the on-field product was much worse than imagined as Mike McCarthy's offense turned the ball over five […]
The sky is falling for the Dallas Cowboys as they fell to 3-6 on Sunday by losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 34-6.
Even though being down Dak Prescott was expected to result in a big hit to the Cowboys, the on-field product was much worse than imagined as Mike McCarthy's offense turned the ball over five times while not even having 150 yards of total offense to show for it.
Meanwhile, stubbornness once again peeked its head in the front office's decision-making, as Jerry Jones suggested they'd need to tear down AT&T Stadium to use curtains even though the venue has used curtains before for other events such as WWE, NBA games, and concerts.
Overall, it was a pretty rough Sunday for the Cowboys. And even still, the team kind of won big for those with their eyes already set in an imminent 2025 rebuild process that will largely hinge on who the team drafts in April.
You see, according to FTN's DVOA metric, which measures teams' efficiency adjusted for schedule and other factors (i.e. Prescott's injury), the Cowboys went from an 8% chance of landing a Top 5 draft pick last week all the way up to 17.3%. In other words, it more than doubled in a matter of days!
I realize this won't bring consolation to Cowboys fans that were hoping for another winning regular season, but it's the reality Dallas is in right now. The jump is explained by multiple reasons: Evidently, it's becoming increasingly clear the team is worse than many realized. Playing with a backup quarterback is one thing, but whatever the offense was up to on Sunday is underwhelming even taking into consideration the fact that Prescott's out.
With that being said, another reason for the jump is the fact that Dak is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season. While it isn't official as of this writing, Prescott's Monday meeting with a hamstring specialist is likely to confirm other opinions the quarterback has sought. Surgery is the likeliest outcome, per reports. Last week, FTN assumed there was a chance for Prescott to come back.
A top 10 draft pick is almost a guarantee for Dallas but securing a Top 5 selection could be huge even if it means losing many more games. The top of the class in 2025 is expected to heavily feature wide receivers, offensive linemen, and edge rushers, all of which could be categorized as big team needs for the Cowboys.
