Eagles vaunted defensive line gets bullied in loss to Cowboys 

The Eagles' defensive line came up small in the 38-21 loss to the Cowboys on Monday night.

By Dave Zangaro • Published October 27, 2026

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the Eagles’ team-building philosophy over the last few decades, it’s this: They build through the trenches.

That’s why what happened in the 38-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night at the Linc is just so inexcusable.

That vaunted defensive line got bullied.

"It starts up front,” Jordan Davis said. "It starts from up front and then it bleeds into all three levels. We didn’t play good enough against the run and it kind of opened up their whole playbook. Obviously, we see the result of that. Right now, it’s just re-focus. I know it seems redundant but right now it’s just re-focus.”

The Eagles on Monday night gave up 416 total yards of offense, including 204 on the ground. That’s the second-most rushing yards given up three years under DC Vic Fangio. Of those 204 yards, Javonte Williams had 155. That’s the most rushing yards against the Eagles since Rashad Jennings had 170 back in 2016.

And because the Eagles couldn’t stop the run, they couldn’t get anywhere near Dak Prescott, who looked downright cozy in the pocket on dropback passes and in play action.

The Eagles on Monday night finished a full game with no sacks, no QB hits and no TFLs.

They had a season-low 6 pressures, per NextGen Stats. One apiece for Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, Moro Ojomo, Arnold Ebiketie, A.J. Epenesa and Jihaad Campbell.

"It starts with me, it starts with everybody in the room,” Davis said. "That’s about it.”

At least Davis was accountable. Several other highly paid defensive players, including Jalen Carter and Jonathan Greenard, declined to speak to reporters after the Eagles’ fifth straight loss.

"Y’all have a good night and get home safe,” Carter said before exiting the locker room.

The resource allocation to the defensive line is what makes this production — or lack of production — so frustrating. Think about all the money that went to that line this offseason and how much more could be coming for guys like Moro Ojomo, Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith.

Here’s a reminder of the contracts the Eagles handed out to defensive linemen just this past offseason:

Jalen Carter: 4 years, $152 million
Jordan Davis: 3 years, $78 million
Jonathan Greenard: 4 years, $98 million

It’s fair to note that Greenard (ankle) and Hunt (ankle/knee) came into this game banged up and the Eagles were also without Smith (concussion). 

Because of that, guys like Arnold Ebiketie, A.J. Epenesa and Keyshawn James-Newby are playing way more this season than the Eagles probably anticipated. But this line, as a whole, has been disappointing all season.

And it was definitely disappointing again on Monday night.

.@dallascowboys @Eagles can we at least get into our stance? please. Try to be ready at the snap...The fans were so sick of this effort that it wasn't worth it to BOOOO. They just left. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/eKM4ss0iB3

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 27, 2026

"We knew we had to stop the run,” Ebiketie said, "and we wasn’t able to do that tonight so it kind of impacted the way we could go out there and rush. The main focus was to stop the run and unfortunately we weren’t able to get the job done.”

After the Eagles failed to record a sack on Monday night, they have just 8 sacks through seven games this season, which is the lowest total in the NFL among teams who have played seven games. The only team with fewer sacks this season is the Dolphins, who have 6 in six games.

And this is the first time the Eagles have had this few sacks through seven games since 1993.

Here’s a breakdown of those eight sacks in 2026:

Nolan Smith: 3
Jalen Carter: 3
Jihaad Campbell: 1
Jordan Davis: 0.5
Jeremiah Trotter Jr: 0.5

When asked about the lack of pressure all season, head coach Nick Sirianni said it’s never just one thing.

"When you're not getting pressures, you've got to try to simulate them in some way,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. "So again, it's always a version of, how are we executing? How are we putting them in positions to succeed? Because all that matters is that it goes out onto the field and we try to give ourselves the best chance to win.

"In this game of football, just like anything, I think we always want to pin it on something, but there's multiple things that contribute to it. We'll look at that, look at some of the common themes and see what we need to do to get better.”

What really stung for the Eagles on Monday night was that the offense finally found some momentum. They still scored just 21 points against the Cowboys but really improved. And this time, the defense let the team down.

Ebiketie after the game talked about the need for complementary football. The defense had to be better on Monday night and it wasn’t.

As always, that starts up front.

"Whatever it is, we need to identify it,” Davis said. "We have to do better at it. We have to go out there and we have to make sure that we are affecting the pass and the run. We have to play stout in all three phases.”

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-vaunted-defensive-line-bullied-loss-cowboys-jordan-davis-jalen-carter-jonathan-greenard/761976/