Eagles stars say 'we've got to find a way to finish the game' after stunning collapse against Cowboys

After so much chatter this week about the offense's struggles, the Eagles came out on fire in Dallas on Sunday afternoon, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions. 

Jalen Hurts seemed like a man on a mission to alleviate the frustrations that were reportedly bubbling up in the Eagles' locker room about his performance, finding disgruntled wide receiver AJ Brown for the first touchdown of the game. It was a statement performance by Hurts and the Eagles for the first 20 minutes, but the wheels came off after that as the offense completely stalled out and watched the Cowboys slowly reel them in for a shocking 24-21 comeback win. 

The Eagles gained 116 yards and scored zero points on their final seven drives of the game, punting five times, missing a field goal and a losing a possession on a Saquon Barkley fumble. After the game, Hurts spoke about Philly's "tale of two halves" and called for the team to find some consistency, but expressed optimism that the team will figure things out. 

"We've got to find a way to finish the game, and we've got to find some consistency in what we do," Hurts said. "Definitely the tale of two halves. In the end, we didn't play a complete game as a team, and today it got us. Give a lot of respect to Dallas and their team, how they competed. Something you question right now is just how we respond to it, and I have a lot of confidence in how we'll respond. ... It's an opportunity for us to come together, eliminate the things that don't matter and focus on the things that we can control and go out there and play together and build forward." 

One of the biggest issues for the Eagles in finishing games this season has been their struggles running the football. After dominating on the ground a year ago, Philadelphia has become a mediocre rushing attack, which has taken away their superpower of grinding defenses down late in games. Barkley has rushed for over 100 yards in a game just once this season after doing so 11 times in 2024. 

After hitting a new low with 10 carries for 22 yards and a fumble against Dallas, Barkley shouldered the responsibility for the run game's struggles and insisted he would break out of the "funk" he's in right now.

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"I'm more disappointed with myself, not frustrated with anybody else. I'm a big believer the run game starts with me and ends with me," Barkley said, via ESPN. "I'm in a little funk right now, I've had funks like this before, just got to break it. I'm not getting the run game going. I'm not getting yards. I'm tired of the excuse of people trying to stop the run game. I don't really subscribe to that. Just got to be better, got to make plays."

One of the big arguments about the Eagles this season is the chicken vs. egg debate about whether it's the run game's fault the passing game is struggling or if it's the lack of a passing attack that's causing the run game to be ineffective. Barkley, at least publicly, is taking the blame for the Eagles' issues on the ground and isn't interested in other explanations. 

It's hard to imagine worse vibes around an 8-3 team that still controls its destiny in the division and is just one game out of the top seed in the NFC. However, Philly had been playing with fire for weeks with an inept offense leaning on a dominant defense to carry them to wins, and on Sunday we saw how that can go wrong quickly. 

The Eagles' defense picked up a few injuries in the back end and was suddenly susceptible to the dangerous Dallas passing attack, getting carved up by Dak Prescott and George Pickens in the second half. Perhaps Sunday's loss can be a wake up call for Philly after dancing through rain drops in recent weeks. That's at least the hope for Hurts, who called on the team to come together and let the embarrassment of Sunday's loss light a fire for them late in the regular season. 

"We've got to own this one, let it light a fire in us as a team and stay together and move forward," Hurts said.