Every week, we'll grade the Cowboys on the three phases of the weekend's game.
Offense: C
The Cowboys came up with some big plays when they needed, and also had some catastrophic meltdowns along the way behind backup quarterback Kyle Orton's 358 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, including the crucial one in the final minutes to open a potential game-winning drive. There was once again some questionable play-calling like on that fourth-and-1 and a play-action pass when the Cowboys were running the ball pretty well. The grade is knocked down dramatically because of the three turnovers, and especially Orton's on the Cowboys' final offensive drive of the season.
Defense: B-
Considering the personnel the Cowboys' defense has been rolling out there, this grade should probably be a bit higher. The Cowboys held the Eagles to 24 points, which isn't great, but it's not quite what we expected to see from Nick Foles, Shady McCoy & Co. They did get one turnover on a sack of Foles and had a big goal-line stand that swung the momentum of the game, at least temporarily. Holloman and Hatcher each had two sacks and the defensive line had a solid game in the pass rush, an area they'd struggled with recently. Of course, the Eagles rushed for 137 yards and controlled the clock and tempo for much of the game.
Special teams: B
Dan Bailey was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and the Cowboys didn't have any big busts in their coverage game. It would've been a lot nicer had Bailey had one more field goal opportunity, but that didn't work out so well.
