Handing out grades following the Eagles’ 23-9 win over the Cowboys

The Eagles should be pleased to see the bye after this week’s marks in Sunday’s 23-9 win over the Cowboys.

For the second game in a row, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham forced a big turnover, this one from Cowboys quarterback Ben DiNucci (7).Read moreTIM TAI/ Staff Photographer

Published Nov. 2, 2020, 1:38 a.m. ET

Grading the Eagles following Sunday night’s ugly 23-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys:

Rushing offense

The Eagles ran the ball much more effectively in the first half than in the second. Boston Scott rushed for 45 yards on his first three runs of the game, and the Eagles averaged 5.6 yards per carry in the first half. Harder sledding in the second half, as the Cowboys held them to 30 yards on 10 carries.

Grade: B

Passing offense

A very rocky night for Carson Wentz, who turned the ball over four times. He made a handful of nice throws, including his two-yard touchdown throw to Jalen Reagor and a 32-yarder to Travis Fulgham on a second-and-long that set up his TD toss to Reagor. But his decision-making was too often poor.

Grade: D

Rushing defense

With the exception of a couple of second-half drives, the defense did a pretty good job of shutting down Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys' ground game. Elliott finished with just 63 yards on 19 carries. They got burned by yet another misdirection play, giving up 19 yards to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on a reverse.

Grade: B

Passing defense

Jim Schwartz blitzed more than usual, and the Eagles sacked rookie Ben DiNucci four times and forced two fumbles, both of which nipped potential scoring drives in the bud. DiNucci didn’t have a completion longer than 15 yards. The Eagles held Amari Cooper to one catch for five yards and CeeDee Lamb to just 27 receiving yards.

Grade: A-minus

Special teams

Quiet night for the special teams. No FG attempts for Jake Elliott. Greg Ward had a 22-yard punt return in the second quarter that the offense ended up squandering. The Eagles' coverage units had a good game. Cam Johnston only had two punt attempts, including one that went for a touchback.

Grade: B

Overall

A season-high four turnovers. A season-low 222 net yards and 18 first downs against the NFL’s worst-ranked defense. And this was with Reagor, Dallas Goedert and Jason Peters back. Wentz, who had been showing improvement, regressed in a big way Sunday night. Fortunately for him and the offense, the defense bailed them out with a pair of big drive-stopping turnovers. A loss would’ve been catastrophic. The bye couldn’t be coming at a better time.

Grade: C