IRVING, Texas — This was the big question following the Dallas Cowboys’ 33-10 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday: Was it just a bad game for the Cowboys, or were they exposed?

The Cowboys are 1-3 against teams with a winning record. It was their third consecutive home loss, while scoring a season-low 10 points. It was supposed to be a showdown for first place in the NFC East, and the Cowboys were overrun from the outset.

Philadelphia moved to 9-3 on the season and took over sole possession of first place in the division. The Cowboys (8-4) are one game back with four games to play, including a matchup on the road against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 4 to complete a stretch of three games in 12 days before a return engagement against the Eagles in Philadelphia on Dec. 14.

Owner Jerry Jones said the only bright side in the loss is that the Cowboys still have time to recover, unlike last year’s season finale when a loss to the Eagles cemented a third consecutive 8-8 campaign and fourth consecutive year out of the postseason.

The Cowboys have little room for error in the division. Jones said the Cowboys must beat Chicago next week and then must win at Philadelphia on Dec. 14.

“Just be thankful, thankful, here on Thanksgiving Day that it wasn’t like it was this time last year when Philadelphia beat us because it was over and we went home,” Jones said. “Now then, we’ve got it still right there for us and we’ve played at a level that will let us get it done and this team has a lot of confidence. It clearly understands what happened to us. The key thing is, when we looked at it early, when teams are moving on us, we’ve got to respond. That’s this team. We’ve got to come back and do it. If we don’t, we’ll take a step back.”

The bottom line is that if the playoffs started today the Cowboys would be the odd team out. The Cowboys need to take care of business and hope for help with things falling their way.

Jones said the poor play of quarterback Tony Romo and the Cowboys offense was the biggest setback on Thursday. NFL-leading rusher DeMarco Murray was held under 100 yards for just the second time this season, finishing with 73 yards on 20 carries.

Romo and the passing game looked out of sync. He completed just 18 of 29 passes for 199 yards and had two interceptions. He was sacked four times. It was Romo’s worst performance since a three-interception meltdown in the season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Jones said the Cowboys were dominated up front on both sides of the ball.

“There is no question about it, Tony didn’t have the kind of game we got to have to beat a team like Philadelphia,” Jones said. “We do know our team has to be able to compensate offensively for what we are trying to do defensively. And we didn’t do that.”

NOTES, QUOTES

–Defensive end Jeremey Mincey said the Cowboys fans need to do more to help the team at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys are 3-4 at home, including three straight losses, the last being Thursday’s 33-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“It’s tough. We need a little bit more support from the fans when the defense is on the field,” Mincey said. “We need them controlling the quarterback. They help the snap count, and they help everything. If our fans could just raise the bar, they want us to raise the bar, they have to raise the bar, too. We’re counting on the fans, just as much as they count on us. We need ya, baby. Come on.”

“I really think the noise could have slowed down that up-tempo offense,” Mincey said. “But we just have to continue to get better and do our part.”

–Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t think his team played with enough passion and fire in the loss to the Eagles.

“We may not have played with the passion you would expect in a game like that,” Jones said Friday. “Don’t ask me why. And I guess if you can’t ask me, who can you ask?”

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was asked the same question and he disagreed.

“I think it was there,” Garrett said. “I think the biggest issue with us was the execution. We didn’t set the edge quite as well (Thursday). Trying to defend the run, it was almost too aggressive. We had a number of missed tackles where guys were flying around and they were a little bit out of control. Too much of that instead of playing with the poise necessary that we’ve played with for a lot of this year.”

–LB Rolando McClain was slowed by a sprained knee against the Eagles. He struggled running and nursed his right knee throughout the 33-10 loss to the Eagles. Added owner Jerry Jones: “He was sensitive with it, but … he was able to finish. And that’s a good thing. But it did look like he was favoring his knee a little bit out there.” McClain hopes to get through next Thursday’s game against the Bears and then have 10 days off before a rematch against the Eagles.

–PR Dwayne Harris was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty after laying a hard block on a punt-return play, trying to keep an Eagles defender from downing the ball before it reached the end zone. It’s a legal play when you don’t call for a fair catch. The Cowboys were perplexed by the flag and the explanation. Said coach Jason Garrett, “They told us that he hit him too hard unnecessarily. But the league does a great job. We’ll send that play in and hopefully learn from it.”

–DE George Selvie suffered a sprained thumb against the Eagles but he should be fine and play against the Bears.

–DT Tyrone Crawford had a good game against the Eagles if his teammates didn’t. He recorded his first sack of the season and had two forced fumbles.

REPORT CARD VS. EAGLES

PASSING OFFENSE: F — Tony Romo completed 18 of 29 passes for 199 yards. He was intercepted twice and had a season-low passer rating of 53.7. Romo saw his streak of 38 games with a touchdown pass come to an end. He was out of sync and off target and was sacked four times.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C — DeMarco Murray rushed for 73 yards on 20 carries. It was the second time this season he was held to fewer than 100 yards. Lance Dunbar had two carries for 15 yards but his poor decision to cut inside rather than stay outside on a third-and-3 run killed a potential scoring drive.

PASS DEFENSE: D — Mark Sanchez completed 20 of 29 passes for 217 yards with a touchdown. He was sacked just once. The Cowboys gave up a 48-yard completion on a second-and-19. The inability to rush the quarterback remains a huge problem for the Cowboys defense.

RUSH DEFENSE: F — The Cowboys gave up a season-high 256 yards on the ground, including 25 carries for 159 yards by LeSean McCoy. But Carlos Polk had 11 carries for 49 yards and quarterback Mark Sanchez had seven scrambles for 28 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C — Dwayne Harris averaged 30.3 yards on four kickoff returns, including a long of 42. Chris Jones netted 39.2 yards on five punts, but the Cowboys gave up 32 yards in returns to Darren Sproles on three punts.

COACHING: F — For the first time this season, the Cowboys didn’t come to play and they didn’t respond when challenged on offense or defense. That’s inexcusable for a game of such importance.