The Philadelphia Eagles picked up their ninth win of the 2014 NFL season on Sunday with a victory over the Dallas Cowboys. (Recap)
The Eagles moved to 9-3 on the season and first in the NFC East.
Now that the game is over, let's assign a letter grade.
Overall grade: A
I'm sure that most Eagles fans would argue any win over the Cowboys is at least an "A".
Offense: A-
Philadelphia's offense was largely great. The team gained 464 yards on 75 plays for an average of 6.2 yards per play. 256 of those yards were from rushing. Star running back LeSean McCoy rushed 25 times for a total of 159 yards and one touchdown (plus a great celebration). Mark Sanchez was strong moving the ball through the air. The veteran quarterback finished 20/29 for 217 yards, two combined touchdowns (one passing, one rushing), and a 102.2 rating.
So why only an A-? Well, the Eagles did turn the ball over yet again. It was kind of a fluky fumble in that the Dallas defense didn't force it as much as McCoy just landed awkwardly on Lane Johnson. Still, it's been a big issue with this team. But the bigger issue for the offense on Thursday was their red zone efficiency. Philly was only 1-5 in prime scoring position.
Defense: A+
Philadelphia's front seven dominated the Cowboys offensive line. DeMarco Murray was held to a paltry 3.7 average. The Eagles racked up four sacks on 33 plays where Tony Romo tried to attempt a pass. Bradley Fletcher was burnt by Dez Bryant early on, but that play involved a really good throw by Romo. Not to mention that Bryant is very talented. Three of the 10 points that the Eagles allowed came when the McCoy fumbled deep in Eagles territory. Holding Dallas to only seven points outside of that turnover is very impressive. The Cowboys were averaging 26.5 points per game heading into this match-up.
Special teams: A
The Eagles special teams unit didn't have a big role in this game. They did allow a 42-yard kick return to Dwayne Harris, which wasn't good. Outside of that, however, they were pretty solid. Cody Parkey nailed his short field goal attempts. He did have some oddly short kickoffs, which was weird. Leg fatigue, perhaps? Darren Sproles' 10.7 punt return average on three attempts was solid. Two of Donnie Jones' three punts were downed inside the 20. Speaking of Jones, I knew the Eagles weren't going to lose once I heard this:
Donnie Jones is the man. Says, "Happy Thanksgiving, America," before calling tails in the coin toss. #Eagles win and will receive
— Eagles Insider (@EaglesInsider) November 27, 2014
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What's your grade?