ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Philadelphia Eagles' locker room was silent Sunday as the media entered following a 24-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the players still processing how they let a 21-point lead slip through their fingers.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver DeVonta Smith sat side-by-side at their locker stalls, still in their game pants, with Hurts staring straight ahead pensively as Smith looked through his phone.
"We've got to find a way to finish the game, and we've got to find some consistency in what we do," Hurts said once he came to the podium. "Definitely the tale of two halves. In the end, we didn't play a complete game as a team, and today it got us.
"We've got to own this one, let it light a fire in us as a team and stay together and move forward."
Philadelphia scored on its first three possessions. Amid reports about internal frustration directed at how Hurts was operating the offense, the reigning Super Bowl MVP came out red-hot, scoring twice on the ground and once through the air to stake his team to a 21-0 lead.
The defense was doing its part as well, complete with an interception of Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott by safety Reed Blankenship in the end zone with 5:07 left in the second quarter to preserve the shutout.
According to ESPN's Football Power Index, the Eagles had a 96% chance to win the game after that pick.
But their offense went cold. Five possessions ended on punts, one on a 56-yard missed field goal by Jake Elliott and another on a Saquon Barkley fumble midway through the fourth quarter. Xavier Gipson had a giveaway on a punt return moments later.
Penalties were a major factor. The Eagles' 14 infractions tied for their most in a game under coach Nick Sirianni. The last time they had that many penalties was Week 1 in 2021 against the Atlanta Falcons in Sirianni's debut.
"When there's the amount of mistakes that we had, some of the self-inflicted wounds that we had today, I'm always going to put that on me as the head coach because that's something that we talk about an awful lot, and I've got to make sure my message is getting through," Sirianni said.
The offense has struggled to find its footing all season and has relied on the defense at times to do some of the heavy lifting, particularly the previous two weeks in victories against the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers in which the Eagles scored a combined 26 points.
On Sunday, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's unit sustained a number of injuries in the secondary, including to Blankenship (thigh), cornerback Adoree' Jackson (concussion) and safety Andrew Mukuba, who exited the locker room on crutches and with a boot on his right foot. Those injuries affected Philadelphia's ability to keep Dallas' potent passing attack in check.
Barkley ended with 22 rushing yards on 10 carries and had seven catches for 52 yards. The 22 yards rushing were his fewest since joining the Eagles.
"I'm more disappointed with myself, not frustrated with anybody else. I'm a big believer the run game starts with me and ends with me. I'm in a little funk right now, I've had funks like this before, just got to break it," he said.
"I'm not getting the run game going. I'm not getting yards. I'm tired of the excuse of people trying to stop the run game. I don't really subscribe to that. Just got to be better, got to make plays."
Sirianni said he knew the Eagles were in for a "s---ty plane ride home" but they have little time to dwell on what happened in Dallas, as they have a short week before hosting the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears on Friday. The 8-3 Eagles remain in control of the NFC East but need to make sure this meltdown doesn't snowball.
"You just don't want to beat yourself up about it too much. We know what it was. We took the L, they came back to beat us," veteran defensive end Brandon Graham said. "It always hurts when they come back and get you when you had 'em. We had to fight to the end and they fought to the end. I've got much respect for that.
"I feel like we're going to respond well. Sometimes when you ain't lost in a minute, it feels funny. It's not a feeling that you want to have all the time. It's going to be all right. Everybody is going to come in ready to work. If anything, it's going to make us more hungry."