updated 7:53 p.m. ET Oct. 31, 2011
IRVING, Texas - There was plenty of blame to go around after the Cowboys' 34-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas' first blowout loss of the season, but coach Jason Garrett refused to point fingers at anyone on his team Monday.
"We need to do our jobs better to not have games like that," Garrett said.
The screening of the Eagles game tape merely underscored to players and coaches that the Cowboys were simply overwhelmed by a division rival coming off a bye week that badly needed a victory to climb back into the NFC East race.
"I don't think they did anything on offense or defense that surprised us," Garrett said. "We've seen a lot of the stuff they've done and were prepared for it. Unfortunately, we didn't execute as well as we needed to."
The Cowboys are also dealing with injuries to linebacker Sean Lee (left wrist), punter Mat McBriar (left foot) and cornerback Mike Jenkins (right hamstring).
Garrett said all three were being evaluated and their conditions would be updated later this week based on test results.
Lee, the team's leading tackler, and Jenkins, a starting cornerback, were injured in Sunday's game. McBriar has been hampered by a foot problem for over a week, and rookie placekicker Dan Bailey had to handle the Cowboys' final two punts on Sunday.
The good news for the Cowboys: a favorable upcoming schedule, starting with Sunday's home game against Seattle.
Four of the next five opponents ? Seattle, Washington, Miami and Arizona ? have a combined record of 6-22.
The exception during that five-week span: the 5-2 Buffalo Bills, who visit Cowboys Stadium on Nov. 13.
No matter the opponent, there are no guaranteed wins for the Cowboys, not if they turn in another performance like Sunday's.
The Eagles ran at will against a defense that had been giving up about 70 yards rushing per game, best in the league entering last weekend. Overall, Philly rolled up 495 total yards and held the ball for over 42 minutes.
LeSean McCoy rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns while Michael Vick passed for 279 yards and a pair of TDs.
"We didn't do the job in all three phases of the game," Cowboys safety Abram Elam said on Monday. "We didn't want to lose that game, a divisional game we had to win. To lose the way we did was painful."
Dallas' offense wasn't much better, managing only 267 net yards and 12 first downs. The offensive line was unable to protect quarterback Tony Romo, who was sacked four times and hit often by an Eagles defense that didn't blitz much.
The Cowboys averaged 8.5 yards per play on the ground, but they were only able to get off 10 running plays because they were trailing 24-0 by halftime and were forced to throw as they tried to catch up.
"The Eagles just scored a bunch of points early and we just did not move the ball well in the first half," Cowboys receiver Miles Austin said on Sunday after catching only three passes for 27 yards.
Elam said he expects future opponents to take note of the game plan employed by the Eagles.
"This is a copycat league," Elam said. "They'll see things that work against you and try to attack you the same way. That's why we try to make corrections, try to improve on things."
One bright spot for the Cowboys on Sunday night: linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who had four sacks and 11 tackles.
"It was an awesome performance," Garrett said. "We were behind, but everybody on our team continued to play, and there was no better example of that than DeMarcus Ware. It's almost what you expect from the guy, week in and week out. What makes him great is the approach that he takes. Even in defeat, where we didn't play very well, he showed up again."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45110495/ns/sports-nfl/
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