Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles stock report: Ezekiel Elliott shines, Cooper Rush does not

Our stock report for Sunday night’s Cowboys’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. It sucks. But how upset should Cowboys fans really be? Was this not predictable? Did we not know that the Cowboys were not going to go 16-1, and that more specifically the magic carpet ride we were all on with a backup quarterback was going to end at some point? None of this was shining, shimmering, or splendid. It was great overall team football that had a clear and obvious ceiling.

All logic and reason pointed to the house money getting spent at some point and the bill came due in the City of Brotherly Love. It is particularly annoying that we now have to live with Philadelphia Eagles fans chirping about their “big” win and how they are still the last undefeated team left in the NFL, but this was a battle and not the war.

We discussed everything that happened on Sunday night during the latest episode of The Postgame on the Blogging The Boys podcast network. Remember to subscribe to our network wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss any of our shows! Apple devices can subscribe here and Spotify users can subscribe here.

Nevertheless it was a football game and one that on some level we hoped the Cowboys would win. Those expectations were tempered greatly over a bumpy first half but had life breathed back into them throughout the third quarter. There is never any room for moral victories, but to the main point, it is hard not to feel that the arrow is pointing up on this team overall considering we are barely in mid-October.

Sticking to what happened on Sunday night though, we have assembled our official stock report. There are ups, downs, and no good feelings.

Let us begin.

Stock Up: Dak Prescott

Even without a thorough check of the history books, it’s fairly certain that this is the first time an inactive player has been given a stock up on the Dallas Cowboys.

Any argument that Dak Prescott should not be quarterback of this team left Philadelphia with a softer whimper than the Atlanta Braves did. This offense is at its best when he is under center, and while we have spent the last few weeks saying things like “Dak blows out this team” when the Cowboys have won, it was hard not to wonder just how much better they could have been in the game against the Eagles with him leading the charge.

Hurry back, Dak. Please.

Stock Up: Ezekiel Elliott

There is just something different about watching Ezekiel Elliott thunder through the Eagles defense at Lincoln Financial Field during night games.

Obviously that is oddly specific, but it doesn’t change how truly epic it is. Zeke served as the heartbeat and pulse of the Cowboys offense for most of the night and led the way with a strong statistical performance: 13 carries, 81 yards (6.2 YPC), one touchdown.

The argument has never been that Elliott cannot provide any sort of good to this Cowboys offense because he obviously can. The argument is simply that there are other ways to get into the end zone. Sunday night though, one of the best was behind number 21.

Stock Up: DeMarcus Lawrence

All told the Cowboys were able to sack Jalen Hurts four times and since none of them were recorded by DeMarcus Lawrence the doubters will be out for him once again.

In all seriousness, Tank was a force along the edge all night in Philly. He was arguably their most consistent player on the defensive side of the ball from start to finish, providing his usual stellar run support (the team did not do that as a whole obviously) as well.

Stock Up: Dorance Armstrong

It is getting difficult to continually assign a stock up to Dorance Armstrong because at some point were are going to burst through the ceiling. But goodness, he continues to look great.

Armstrong was one of the Cowboys defenders who got to Hurts and did so early on and ultimately helped force Philadelphia to punt. DA is giving the Cowboys a very consistent edge rusher opposite of Tank Lawrence which is an incredible luxury of a thing to have.

Stock Up: Jake Ferguson

The Cowboys chose not to suit up Dalton Schultz up for this game which left matters to the rookies in Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot once again.

They both played very well, but you can just see a difference in Jake Ferguson. this is the ultra cliché thing to do on a Cowboys site, but he simply reminds you of a young Jason Witten.

Ferguson finished with 4 catches for 40 yards and one incredible touchdown. He is slippery in the most slow-moving way possible, again very similar to Gold Jacket Witt.

Stock Up: Terence Steele

We have all said what we had to about the Cowboys choosing to roll with Terence Steele at right tackle, but this may have been his finest work since the decision was initially made. He was wonderful on Sunday night.

While the quarterback play was questionable (more on that shortly) the Cowboys offensive line as a whole was fairly solid against the Eagles. They did not even allow a single sack. If Steele wants to split his award five ways then that is up to him, but he deserved an extra special shout out.

Stock Down: Cooper Rush

There is not a lot to say, really. Three interceptions is pretty hard to overcome.

Cooper Rush was an incredible bridge for this team from Point A to Point B and helped steer the ship through some incredibly turbulent waters. He deserves all of the credit in the world. Unfortunately his limitations were on full display against the Eagles.

Stock Down: Kelvin Joseph

His name was only called for penalties which is never a good thing. It is a pretty tough look for a second-year second-round pick.

More on penalties in just a bit.

Stock Down: Kellen Moore

It has not been easy to be the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys over the last five weeks and to the team’s overall credit they have dramatically outperformed initial expectations.

But what Dallas did so well offensively early on in this little stretch was not turtle up when the ball was in their hands. We saw them act aggressively against the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals despite a backup quarterback in play, a move uncharacteristic of the previous regime. It feels like they regressed in that sense as time with Rush wore on which may not be entirely the fault of the staff.

To the Cowboys credit, they were somewhat aggressive in Philadelphia, but only in a reckless sense like by rushing up to attempt a fourth-down conversion instead of challenging the spot on CeeDee Lamb’s third-down catch.

Kellen Moore is under some pretty big expectations. It is time to see him deliver on them.

Stock Down: Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs

Look. These are two of the best players on this team. We all know and recognize that.

Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs are usually big reasons why the Cowboys perform well. They have earned their props, respect, and flowers, and there are usually very few things that they do that are even remotely worthy of criticism.

They are both extremely young. In their partial defense Sunday night was their first game in Philadelphia of legitimate significance.

But none of that excuses them each drawing the penalties that they did. They were each called for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, Diggs’ taking place in a moment that allowed the Eagles an advantage on a two-point conversion attempt.

To be clear here Parsons’ penalty did not prevent the Eagles from ultimately punting, and Philly failed on their two-point attempt, but those results do not take away from those glaring mistakes. You cannot put your team in situations like that and as leaders of the group you not only have to know better but you have to be an example.