After an uninspired first half by the offense, the Eagles finally started to move the football in the third quarter. They moved it enough to score a touchdown late in the period that tied the score against the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

Going into the fourth quarter they had momentum. But if there is one thing that is different from this season’s team and last seasons Super Bowl champion team, it is they no sooner acquire momentum before they give it back to their opponent.

Losing the momentum resulted in an Eagles loss to those dreaded rival Cowboys, 27-20, before a packed house on Sunday Night Football. Though both teams have 4-5 records, the Cowboys move into second-place in the NFC East and the Eagles are in third because of the tiebreaker.

Maintaining momentum for the Eagles is similar to grabbing a handful of sand on the beach. The tighter you squeeze the quicker the sand sifts through your fingers until its all gone. But they grabbed another handful of sand – specifically, the momentum – later in the final period. Only to lose it again and send the hearts of their fans plummeting downward.

Demoralizing losses are becoming pretty commonplace for this team defending its championship. This was the third time this season they had an opportunity to go above the .500 mark but instead went below it. It was only two games ago they blew a lead to the Carolina Panthers resulting in a gut-wrenching loss. If that was the worst loss in the franchise’s history that anyone can remember, this one isn’t too far behind.

The Eagles started the game as if in a sleep-walk and they didn’t’t come out of it until late in the first half. Jake Elliott converted a 56-yard field goal to cut a Cowboys lead in half, 6-3. But as if on cue, the Cowboys answered with a touchdown drive that culminated in a one-yard  run by quarterback Das Prescott with 19 seconds to go before intermission.

Exasperation was felt throughout the stadium. Exasperation brought on the Eagles inability to keep the visitors from scoring until the half was over. The defense had played so well up to that point it was disappointing  a player couldn’t have made a key play that would keep the Eagles within 3 points when the two teams ran off the field into their lockerrooms.

Once again, a linebacker failed to make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage or force a turnover.The closest a linebacker came to forcing a turnover came in the first quarter when Kamu Grugier-Hill couldn’t hang onto a Prescott pass with only 10 yards between him and a touchdown.

But this is the NFL and anything can happen in the second half. Especially when you have Carson Wentz at quarterback. He finished 32-for-44, for 360 yards and two touchdowns. He brought the Eagles within nine yards of a touchdown on the game’s final play when he completed a pass to tight end Zach Ertz who lateraled to newly-acquired receiver Golden Tate. Tate was swarmed by a host of Cowboys who only cared about keeping Tate out of the end zone as the final seconds ticked off.

The Eagles were coming off a bye after defeating Jacksonville two weeks ago in London. They might have been well-rested but didn’t appear too prepared. The Cowboys were coming off a Monday night loss to Tennessee and, therefore, had less than a week to prepare. Watching the game an observer would’ve thought the Eagles had the short week, instead of the Cowboys. Looks can be deceiving. This was one time when it was certainly true.