Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Game Ball of the Week

Well, that was ugly. To say the least.

After a somewhat decent first half (especially from the defense), the Cowboys were obliterated in the second half of Sunday night’s battle with the Philadelphia Eagles. Dak Prescott played the worst game of his career, the defense fell apart after half time, and the lack of coaching adjustments have been more and more concerning as each game passes. It was just an overall disaster in front of a national audience in a game that could have given the Cowboys new life in the second half of the season.

It’s hard to give out a game ball after a loss. Especially after a defeat like that. It only magnifies when against a divisional opponent. The offense was largely mediocre. Ryan Switzer had an awesome return to kick things off, but he wasn’t much of a factor for the remainder of the game. The defense played great for 30 minutes, but the second half was a disaster.

This week’s game ball goes to running back Alfred Morris. With all of the doom and gloom coming out of last night’s game, it was encouraging to see Morris have an impressive outing in an otherwise forgetful game.

Morris was really the lone bright spot on the offensive side of the football for the Cowboys. He ran hard, found the open hole, and even broke off a pair of big runs for the offense that gave the team a little bit of momentum. With Zeke suspended, many wondered if the Cowboys would look in Darren McFadden or Rod Smith’s direction. DMac was a healthy scratch and Smith was a secondary option on Sunday; Morris, however, showed why the coaching staff trusts him.

He was effective in the first half, as he rushed for 43 yards on 12 attempts during the first 30 minutes of Sunday’s game.

It wasn’t only because of open space, either:

Morris ultimately finished the game with 91 yards on only 17 carries. Alf averaged over five yards per carry against one of the league’s best defenses. Here’s hoping 46 is able to continue this kind of play down the four remaining games of Zeke’s suspension. While Dak played horribly, I fully expect our quarterback to bounce back down the stretch. Morris would help him out a great deal as this team fights for their playoff life.

Alfred Morris gets this week’s game ball.