Gallup’s drop, missing Ferguson on 4th among Cowboys loss-defining plays

When picking the plays that defined the Cowboys’ 28-23 loss to Philadelphia in Week 9, there are the obvious choices. Luke Schoonmaker not getting into the end zone on his 1-yard catch. Dak Prescott stepping out of bounds on his 2-point conversion. The final play in which no one was following CeeDee Lamb toward the end zone to receive a last-gasp lateral.

But a final score in the NFL almost always comes down to more than just a handful of larger-than-life plays. It’s all the countless little things, tiny details, seemingly inconsequential moments along the way that lead up to those gotta-have-it highlights.

For this edition of 4 Downs, we’ll bypass the no-brainers on which the game very visibly shifted and instead dive into four lesser plays that just as importantly swung the momentum in what ended up being a rollercoaster clash of NFC East rivals.

An offer for Cowboys fans

For the best local Austin news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to the Austin American-Statesman.

1st Down: Q1, 2:28 - Prescott hits Lamb for 29 yards to convert 4th-and-short

The Cowboys offense went nowhere on their first possession. Prescott took it upon himself to make sure their second drive- set up near midfield by an excellent KaVontae Turpin kick return- didn’t end in similarly futile fashion. After using his legs on the first three plays of the series, Prescott and the Cowboys faced a fourth-and-1 decision at the Philly 33.

No tush push here; Prescott took the shotgun snap and found CeeDee Lamb slicing toward the sideline well past the line to make. Put just another step in front of Lamb, the ball might have been carried all the way to the end zone. As it was, though, the 29-yard completion emphatically moved the chains and put the Cowboys offense on the 4-yard-line, where they would punch it in on the next snap.

This play showed a willingness by the Cowboys to get aggressive, something they would do repeatedly on the day, eventually going for it five times on fourth down (and converting three of them). Several Dallas players said afterward that the game proved they can hang with Philadelphia’s high-octane offense; this is the play that helped the Cowboys find that gear and stay in it.

2nd Down: Q2, 1:25 - Michael Gallup drops easy catch, fails to move chains

With the score tied at 14, the Cowboys looked to hang one last touchdown on the board before halftime and take a lead into the intermission. Prescott had once again converted on a fourth down to extend the drive, and the offense found itself in third-and-short on the 33.

Wideout Michael Gallup’s crossing route had taken him past the sticks, and he was all by himself from hash to hash as he flashed in front of Prescott. The easy pass was on target, right between the top of his jersey numbers… and Gallup let it bounce right off him.

Maybe Gallup took his eyes off the ball for a fraction of a second as he pre-planned his move against closing linebacker Nakobe Dean. But it was an easy catch that should have given Dallas a fresh set of downs. Instead of continuing on toward a possible touchdown, the Cowboys had to settle for a long Brandon Aubrey field goal. Those four squandered points would have changed how the Cowboys operated later in the fourth quarter as they played catch-up… and the drop dropped Gallup’s stock even further in the eyes of a lot of Cowboys fans.

3rd Down: Q4, 11:55 - Prescott's sneak frustrates Eagles, extends drive

The Cowboys found themselves in the red zone and down by 11 just a few minutes into the final frame. Facing another fourth-and-1, the Cowboys attempted their own short-yardage scrum. Prescott powered his way into the pile and then kept his legs churning, eventually pushing past the line on a second effort.

That’s when things got nasty, with players from both teams throwing shoves that were anything but brotherly. Kevin Byard was flagged for unnecessary roughness, and Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni challenged the spot of the ball. The ruling on the field was upheld, the 15 yards were tacked on, the Cowboys had life, and the Eagles were suddenly playing on their heels.

The drive ended unfortunately, with Schoonmaker failing to get himself or the ball into the end zone on the next fourth-down, just a few snaps later. But it was the Prescott Push that let the Eagles know that the Cowboys’ physical and aggressive game plan was going to take this game right down to the wire.

4th Down: Q4, 1:22 - Prescott goes to Tolbert instead of Ferguson on 4th

With under two minutes to play, the Cowboys trailed by five and were marching. The 10-play drive was the team’s second-longest of the day and had the offense inside the 30.

But Prescott now faced fourth-and-8. His outside pass to Jalen Tolbert was high but not uncatchable. Working against corner James Bradberry, Tolbert went up but was unable to lock his grip around the ball. Philadelphia took over on downs.

What made the play especially maddening for Cowboys fans, though, was that tight end Jake Ferguson looked to be wide open in the middle of the field, with the nearest Eagles defender five yards away at the moment of the throw. Ferguson would have had the first down easily and might have gotten the ball inside the 10… if not into the end zone.

The Cowboys did eventually get the ball back, but with one extra look from Prescott here, that frantic, penalty-filled final drive and the ill-fated last play wouldn’t have been necessary at all.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire