PHILADELPHIA -- Adoree' Jackson gave his performance a "C."
Letter grades fail to capture a full game's nuances. Still, a reporter asked Jackson at the Philadelphia Eagles cornerback's locker to grade his debut in Thursday night's 24-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Jackson, who won the CB2 battle as much by default as by merit, was targeted a team-high seven times. Pro Football Focus saddled Jackson with 103 of Dak Prescott's 188 passing yards.
"Room for improvement, things that I did well, things that I can correct and get better at for the next week," Jackson said. "I'm not gonna hang my head or hang it too high or too low at the end of the day, regardless if I played good or I didn't. It's always things that I can find to get better at and do better at."
The Eagles entered the 2025 season knowing they had to mask the talent drop at outside cornerback they experienced after turning to affordable options over Darius Slay in the offseason. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's summer search for a solution was well-documented. He tapped Jackson as his Week 1 starter and began building a game plan for a talent-laden Cowboys receiving corps, knowing that he'd give Jackson a long leash.
"I mean, no corner's going to pitch a shutout every game or during the whole run of the season," Fangio said Monday.
Tempering expectations by evoking the difficulties of a shutout was a gracious move by Fangio. In solidarity with canceling out hyperbole, it's fair to avoid the opposite end after Jackson's debut. The tape doesn't warrant it, anyway.
That's not to say Jackson didn't struggle. Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb recorded 110 yards on seven catches, in part by exploiting mismatches with Jackson. It's also fair to suggest Fangio's initial game plan against the Cowboys wasn't his defense's best choice -- especially given that he amended it at halftime. The seven-time defensive coordinator has built a reputation for his ability to solve schematic puzzles, and, after one game, it's evident that he'll be required to continue tweaking the structure of his secondary.
Fangio debuted two strategies he unveiled in training camp. Quinyon Mitchell traveled with receivers and Cooper DeJean played outside cornerback in base packages. Mitchell began the game traveling with George Pickens, a 2022 second-round pick the Cowboys acquired in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys established an early advantage against the Eagles by using a high rate of motion. According to TruMedia, Prescott completed 16-of-22 passes for 141 yards (6.4 yards per attempt) on plays using motion. On plays that didn't, Prescott completed 5-of-12 passes for 47 yards (3.9 ypa).
The Eagles have long known traveling Mitchell would not be a cure-all. Defensive passing game coordinator Christian Parker said in an Aug. 5 interview that traveling cornerbacks is a strategy better suited for more stagnant pre-snap approaches. Motion changes the strength of the offense, and if a cornerback were to follow the motion receiver, "you get all discombobulated." This is likely why the Eagles chose not to initially assign Mitchell to Lamb, who motions frequently and plays in multiple alignments, including in the slot.
In a base look, on the third play of the game, Mitchell was initially positioned to press Pickens on the left before backing off when Turpin deked a motion in his direction. Pickens took advantage of the separation by quickly stopping for a 6-yard hitch.
The Cowboys manufactured a single-high look to challenge Jackson during their opening drive. On third-and-1 at the Eagles' 33, a double tight end alignment drew both linebacker Jihaad Campbell and safety Reed Blankenship near the line of scrimmage. Lamb, covered by Jackson, motioned inward, committed Jackson to the inside by running up the seam, then cut to the sideline for a 32-yard catch.
Jackson was flagged for pass interference while defending Lamb on the next play -- a nominal penalty that once again placed the football at the Eagles' 1. But by surrendering the first of five passes of 15-plus yards, the Eagles dug themselves an early 7-0 hole and signaled how the secondary could be repeatedly exploited by motion.
On the second play of the Cowboys' second drive, they opened up the mid-range along the left sideline by motioning Turpin to the left side and running him in tandem clear-out routes with Pickens that pulled Mitchell and Blankenship deep downfield. Lamb, who began in the right slot, crossed the field into the vacancy. Jackson appeared to be playing zone coverage, and, hesitant to abandon his zone, immediately pointed and hollered a warning at linebacker Zack Baun that Lamb was on his way. Baun nearly made a play on the ball along the sideline, but Lamb snagged Prescott's pass for an 18-yard gain.
On a subsequent third-and-2, the Eagles were positioned favorably within a fair play call to get a stop.
Once again, Lamb, from the right slot, ran a mid-range crosser to the left side of the field. Jackson, once again, tracked Lamb in an apparent zone assignment in which he was positioned up top to prevent a deep pass. Baun dropped back with his eyes on Prescott to apparently defend the mid-range zone. But Prescott got Baun to overcommit inside by faking a look in that direction, then flipped his feet and fired a 26-yard completion to Lamb in the opening that his fake created.
Jackson absorbed immediate public derision for Lamb's third explosive reception, but upon review, it's arguable there's little else he could've done.
Jackson rebounded after surrendering a 16-yard reception to Turpin during Philadelphia's third defensive series by surging to deflect a short hitch to Lamb that was nearly intercepted by defensive tackle Byron Young. Mitchell fended off a corner fade against Pickens on the next play, and the Cowboys settled for a 41-yard goal to take a 17-14 lead.
In between series, the Eagles' training staff evaluated Jackson for a concussion. Although he was cleared to play, backup Jakorian Bennett subbed in for the final series before halftime. Bennett was immediately flagged for pass interference in a physical deflection of an intended pass to Lamb. Prescott targeted Bennett three more times within a two-minute offense. Bennett made two swift tackles on Ferguson, but surrendered a 10-yard slant to Lamb with 15 seconds left in the half that enabled the Cowboys to secure a 53-yard field goal to pull within 21-20.
The Cowboys did not score again. Fangio appeared to alter the defensive game plan at halftime, and the Eagles held Prescott to 9-of-17 passing for 61 yards for the remainder of the game. Mitchell no longer traveled with Pickens. The second-year cornerback instead opened the second half by sticking to the same side as Lamb. The Cowboys subsequently altered their approach, but failed to capitalize on a 49-yard run by Miles Sanders.
On first-and-22 at the Eagles' 23, the Cowboys deployed an empty set in an attempt to open up the middle of the field. The Eagles seemed bent on not letting Lamb beat them. Nickel safety Cooper DeJean checked Lamb immediately in the slot, and rookie Drew Mukuba was positioned above to cover the deeper zone. Even Mitchell, who initially covered Jalen Tolbert along the outside, pivoted to cover Lamb's curl route when Prescott wound up to pass.
The Cowboys seemed to leverage Lamb's new attention. With DeJean, Mukuba and Mitchell dedicated to the right side, Dallas further opened up the middle by sending Pickens toward the left pylon, which attracted Blankenship. There, alone in the middle, was Baun. Ferguson tried to separate himself with a double move to the goal post, but Baun stayed with the tight end and felt the football carom incomplete off the back of his helmet.
The Eagles blanketed the Cowboys with a similar zone structure, and, after Blankenship drew an unnecessary roughness penalty while dislodging a pass in the end zone, Campbell and Young tore a fumble loose from Sanders that Mitchell recovered. The Cowboys failed to cross midfield on their final three drives.
Fangio now has the benefit of a long weekend to review the film and prepare a game plan for Philadelphia's Super Bowl LIX rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 14.
"I don't think they did anything unordinary or different -- just stuck to their script and just motioned around a lot," Jackson said. "(They) just get your eyes moving, get you looking here and get you looking there. And then when that happens, you're all over the place at times. So, once you settle down and get used to it and really, 'All right, I'm looking at everything,' it was okay."