Cowboys at Eagles: The good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 9

Despite the 28-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, it's difficult not to be somewhat proud with the way the Dallas Cowboys played in this Week 9 matchup with their division rival. The Cowboys no doubt played well enough to win this game, but unfortunately it just happen to be one of those matchups in which things just didn't quite go their way this time around.

Overall, the Cowboys did a a lot of good things this week, enough to actually walk away with a "W". Unfortunately though, it was the bad and ugly aspects of this matchup that ended up dooming them in the end. We are going to take a look at some of those good, bad, and ugly aspects before we shift our focus to next week's opponent, the New York Giants.

THE GOOD - Passing game continues to improve

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The Cowboys passing game is what kept them in this Week 9 matchup with the Eagles, and is what nearly won them the game. Not only was Dak Prescott mistake free on the night, but the way he was able to spread the ball around and connect with his weapons is starting to make them look like one of the more dangerous offensive units in the league. There is still plenty of work to do, especially in the running game, but it was really good to see Prescott and Company air it out with success against the Eagles Sunday afternoon.

THE BAD - All the near misses

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Luke Schoonmaker coming up just inches short on a touchdown, Dak Prescott stepping out of bounds on the two-point conversion, and failing to recover any of the three fumbles committed by the Eagles were all game-altering near-misses that ended up keeping the Cowboys from walking away with the victory in Week 9. This is a game they no doubt could have won, and probably should have. Letting this game slip through their grasp is a tough pill to swallow, especially considering what it could mean down the road as far as winning the the division and playoff seeding is concerned.

THE UGLY - Terence Steele

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This is a game Terence Steele would probably like to forget, and quickly. He unfortunately wasn't at his best against the Eagles in this Week 9 matchup and was probably one of the contributing factors as to why the Cowboys ended up losing. When full healthy, he's one of the more consistent offensive lineman in both the running and passing game for the Cowboys, but this year his recovery from the ACL injury doesn’t seem to be complete, much like Michael Gallup last year. On Sunday afternoon the Eagles edge rushers were giving him fits. The sacks in the game really hurt the Cowboys offense at crucial times, and Steele was a big part of that.