This outcome could play out all week

PHILADELPHIA – Just a week ago, I used this postgame space to applaud the Cowboys for their performance against the Buccaneers, earning a hard-fought victory despite being eliminated from the playoff race.

The column was titled: “Could you say this team is eliminated?”

Last week the answer was no. This week? Well, there have been too many times that the Cowboys have certainly looked like a team with nothing tangible to play for.

Sure, they said all the right things this week, like they’ve been saying for the past few weeks. Phrases like “play to win” and “in to win” were uttered throughout the week, before the game and so on.

But realistically, this game was marked by disaster from the start, dating back to the start of the week.

And let me preface this statement by also saying that the Cowboys absolutely made the right decision here, but the moment they announced that CeeDee Lamb was out for the season – which includes the use of phrases like “him “Turn off” allowed – this was automatically hit – a steep hill that the Cowboys had to climb.

This week, with a strange schedule due to Christmas, the fact that injuries continued to pile up and prevent key players from practicing, and the fact that there is still nothing really to play for as a team, this game reeked of a 41-7 type of game result.

Now Dallas actually started the game differently, driving the ball down the field only to throw a pick-6 that went straight to the gut. But even then, the Cowboys came right back, marched down the field and tied the game.

And for the first quarter or so, Cooper Rush appeared to be the best quarterback on the field. The offense at least moved the ball and the defense flew around, showing us what we’ve seen the last few games.

But just like their first meeting with the Eagles at AT&T Stadium in November, the bottom team fell just before halftime, turning a competitive game into a one-sided mismatch that only got worse as the game wore on.

And that’s what happens when you’re inferior in the “playmaker” category.

Of course you can call it a battle of backup quarterbacks, but Kenny Pickett still had a much better supporting cast around him and it showed as the game went on.

DaVonta Smith could end up having a Brandin Cook-like career, but right now he’s younger, faster and making more plays.

AJ Brown is in the CeeDee category, but only one of them has played. Brown had some ridiculous catches that didn’t even count.

And then there is the running back. Saquon Barkley has surpassed 2,000 rushing yards and is now setting his sights on breaking the NFL single-season record next week.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys were on a similar push, trying to get Rico Dowdle to the 1,000-yard mark. And he did it, becoming the first undrafted player in team history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season.

That’s a great accomplishment for Dowdle, but it doesn’t hold water when you see Barkley reach 2,000 yards. And considering they were both free agents in the offseason. The Cowboys were never really interested in paying that kind of price for Barkley, instead relying on cheaper running back options like Dowdle.

And Sunday’s game is a perfect example of how this decision can have lasting effects throughout the season. Nothing against Dowdle, but he’s not Barkley. And the Cowboys simply don’t have enough playmakers to compete against the likes of the Eagles, with or without Jalen Hurts at quarterback.

The Cowboys need to start making up the difference in the talent department. The Eagles are swinging toward the fences and hitting home runs by trading for Brown and using Barkley.

The Cowboys are looking to make cheaper trades for guys like Trey Lance, who never really played this year. Or Andrew Booth, who was teased all day by the Eagles.

If the Cowboys don’t want to go down that path, they need to make sure they hit those mid-round picks well. Sure, DaRon Bland, Jake Ferguson and maybe DeMarvion Overshown and Marist Liufau are good picks, but they need more of them.

Obviously, the Cowboys have been hit by the injury bug the worst this year. It’s really hard to truly evaluate this team or the coaching staff because the injuries to the Pro Bowl players are somewhat ridiculous at this point.

Ridiculous until you get into a game like this, where one team is trying to win the NFC East while the other is simply “playing to win.”

And there wasn’t much laughter at that point. At least not on the Cowboys sideline.