Miles Sanders helped the Eagles for the first time in years in Cowboys debut

Many Philadelphia Eagles fans were upset when they let homegrown running back Miles Sanders leave town, but the recent success of Saquon Barkley showed that Sanders' high-end production was the result of the Eagles' friendly offensive scheme and dominant offensive line.

After an ill-fated stint with the Carolina Panthers, the Dallas Cowboys brought Sanders in with the goal of building a deeper backfield that can punch back against teams like Philadelphia. The early returns on the Sanders signing have been subpar, as he may have helped the Eagles turn the tide of their season-opening duel.

Sanders broke off a 49-yard run that brought Dallas down to the Philadelphia 11-yard line. Rather than going back to Javonte Williams, who has run for two touchdowns and seemingly established himself as the leading man in the backfield, Dallas stuck with Sanders and got burned because of it.

Sanders fumbled in the red zone, as Quinyon Mitchell would soon recover and help the Eagles get the ball back right before a lengthy lightning delay. Sanders has hit the skids in his pro career, and moments like this show why.

Cowboys RB Miles Sanders helps Eagles with brutal red zone fumble

Sanders is in career rehabilitation mode, as his time with the Carolina Panthers was so wretched (637 yards, three touchdowns in two seasons) that no one was willing to give him any longer than a one-year contract. Dallas' commitment to running the ball made this seem like the ideal landing spot for a player like him.

Sanders is firmly behind Williams in the pecking order. Despite his explosive run earlier (which was blocked so well that you or I could have run through that hole and reeled off a big gain) and the fact that rookie Jaydon Blue was named as one of the inactives, Sanders' spot in the offense is far from safe.

The Eagles, meanwhile, are using their ground game to beat up on a Dallas defense that was so concerned about stopping the run that they traded Micah Parsons to further that end. Saquon Barkley plunged into the end zone for his first score, and Jalen Hurts had his first two scramble touchdown runs in years.

Sanders is looking more like a one-year wonder than a player who can be the focal point of a ground game, and Dallas learned that the hard way. It took a few years, but at least Sanders finally managed to help the Eagles out.