The return of Micah Parsons brought a spark to Dallas’ defense. Unfortunately, the loss of Dak Prescott behind center has seemingly pulled the plug on the Cowboys offense.

With Cooper Rush in charge at quarterback, the unit was simply anemic after a 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys’ fourth major loss at home this season. Rush completed just 13 passes for 45 yards and a passer rating of 61.7. Trey Lance, now in a backup role, saw his first action with the Cowboys, but he wasn’t much better, throwing for 21 yards on four completions with an interception for a 32.6 rating.

In total, the Cowboys had five turnovers that day, including four lost fumbles, for 146 total yards of offense. They converted just three of their 14 third-down attempts and went 0-for-2 in the red zone, losing time of possession, 34:01 to 25:59.

If there was a bright spot on the offensive end, it might have been Rico Dowdle. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry and rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries. But in the second half he was largely a non-factor and the game was out of hand.

Defensively, Mike Zimmer’s men tried to keep the Cowboys close, posting two takeaways and five sacks of their own. But four times they had to defend a short field as Philadelphia began driving into Dallas territory. Those series ultimately led to a total of 20 points.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for just 202 yards, but he completed 70 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and an interception for a 115 passer rating. Overall, the Eagles finished with a total offensive margin of 348 yards and were successful on 4 of 5 trips to the red zone.

The Cowboys did manage to sack Hurts five times, but they all came in the first half as the defensive unit grew weaker as the game progressed. Parsons had two of those sacks, while linebacker DeMarvion Overshown also recorded two, along with a game-high 11 tackles.

In a game, the Cowboys couldn’t afford to make mistakes, which is exactly what they did on their second possession. Rush mishandled the snap when Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams fell on the fumble to give the visitors the ball at the Dallas 17-yard line.

Four plays later, Philadelphia was in the end zone. Saquon Barkley’s 12-yard run set up a 1-yard “tush push” for a Hurts touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.

However, the Cowboys came right back with a nine-play drive, with Dowdle rushing four times for 21 yards. But the drive stalled at the Eagles’ 28-yard line, so Brandon Aubrey came out to split the uprights on a 46-yard field goal.

Philadelphia was threatening as the next 15 minutes began, the team now on the Dallas 12-yard line thanks in part to a 30-yard completion to AJ Brown on the final play of the first quarter. But on the first play of the second inning, cornerback Trevon Diggs darted in front of tight end Dallas Goedert into the end zone to intercept the pass and give possession back to the home team.

After the two teams traded punts, the Cowboys got the ball back with 9:21 left in the half. From their own 20-yard line, they methodically marched down the field and got help on a pair of Philadelphia penalties that yielded first downs. Rush also converted a fourth-and-1 at the 50-yard line to keep the drive going.

When quarterback later found CeeDee Lamb up the middle for a 5-yard gain, Dallas had first-and-goal at the 6. However, on their next snap, Ezekiel Elliott took the handoff up the middle and was met by a pair of Eagles defenders popping the ball loose. Philadelphia cornerback Cooper DeJean fell on the bouncing prize in the end zone, destroying the Cowboys’ chance.

But thankfully, the Eagles returned the favor. On second-and-9 at his own 26-yard line, Hurts was sacked by Parsons, while rookie linebacker Marist Liufau recovered the fumble at the Philadelphia 6-yard line. But despite great field position, the Cowboys couldn’t cross the goal line. That left it up to Aubrey to come out and get the 23-yard chip shot field goal and pull Dallas within one point.

Of course, there was still 1:43 left in the quarter, which turned out to be plenty of time for the Eagles. Hurts connected with Brown twice for a combined 32 yards with Hurts himself and then scrambled free for a 24-yard pickup to the Dallas 23-yard line. Two snaps later, Hurts rolled to his right to avoid pressure before firing a pass to Goedert, who got into the end zone and gave the Eagles a 14-6 lead at the half.

The Cowboys forced a punt on the Eagles’ first possession of the third frame, but when they had to punt themselves, DeJean returned the offering 31 yards to the Dallas 37-yard line. Given the good field position, Philadelphia quickly found itself in the end zone. On third-and-5 at the Cowboys’ 5-yard line, Hurts had enough time in the pocket, allowing wideout Johnny Wilson to break open for the touchdown.

With the Eagles holding a commanding lead, the Cowboys needed to find some sort of rhythm on offense. Instead, the battle continued, with Rush and company quickly going three-and-out.

When Philadelphia got the ball back, at least this time they had to travel further, covering the necessary 83 yards in seven plays. A 44-yard pass to Brown got things going before Hurts wrapped things up with an 8-yard run up the middle for the touchdown.

The route had officially started.

And it only got worse. On third-and-9 at the Cowboys’ 31-yard line, Rush had the ball stripped away, and although two Dallas players had a chance to fall on the fumble, Terence Steele tried to pick it up instead, but let him then fall Good. Not surprisingly, the Eagles rebounded afterward.

Dallas again tried to defend a short field and at least kept Philadelphia out of the end zone. But the Eagles still added to their point total, this time with a 39-yard field goal to make the score 34-6.

Then, when the Eagles recovered another Cowboys fumble in Dallas territory, Hurts was done for the day. Rush was also for Dallas. And thankfully, so did the scoring, as time expired and the game came to a merciful end as Dallas fell to 3-6 on the season.