Let's give credit to where credit is due. Let's give a hand to the Dallas Cowboys for finally winning a big game. At last, the monkey is off their back. It's off. So take that monkey and throw him off into the wild blue yonder.
No question as to how critical this game was for the Cowboys psyche. The Eagles had come in to Texas Stadium and ripped the wheels off the Cowboys wagon in that 10-6 game last December. Not just ripped them off, but threw them off the cliff as well. A team that could post 24 points in a blink of an eye was held without a touchdown for the first time in over 3 seasons.
And last week the Green Birds dismantled the Rams 38-3 and sounded plenty cocky coming into Monday's game. The usual barbs were traded through the media by best friends Terrell Owens and Donovan Mcnabb. No surprise there. And really, it wasn't any surprise to hear Adam Jones talking again either. For a guy that's been out of the league for a year, it's like he never missed a beat. Oh there was plenty of jabbering going on in the days leading up to the first division game. What else did you expect?
But tell me, if I told you that Dallas would get 37 points hung on them, would you mark that down as a win for America's Team?
If I told you that Terrell Owens wouldn't catch a pass in the second half, would you think that Romo could consistently find anyone else to throw to?
If I told you that the Cowboys would turn the ball over twice in a matter of 20 seconds, what would you think about Dallas' chances then?
The Cowboys overcame themselves after a 20 second display of misplay turned a 14-6 Cowboys lead into a 20-14 lead for the Eagles. Tony Romo threw for his 12th 300 yard game as a Cowboy and Terrell Owens torched the Eagles in the first half for 89 yards on 3 receptions, including a 72 yard touchdown. And the defense that had been getting pushed around all night came up big in the fourth quarter, stopping the Eagles three times.
This wasn't one of those games like last year against Green Bay when the Cowboys roared out to a big lead then had to hang on for a win. This time the Cowboys kept the pedal to the metal the entire way. Of course, they really had to, but it still shows you what this offense is capable of doing. Beating up on the Eagles defense hasn't come easy this century.
Rookie running back Felix Jones set a club record for most kickoff return yards in a single game, with 247 yards on six returns. Jones returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Let me say what all of America has been saying, only they didn't have any facts to back it up. The Cowboys look good.
While that statement isn't turning any heads for originality, the fact that Dallas just beat the second best team in the NFC might.
This is a good Eagles team right now. Mcnabb is playing his best football since the days when he was throwing to a certain No. 81 while leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl. The offensive line is playing well and Westbrook is a threat out of the backfield (as if that wasn't already known). But the key is Desean Jackson. Jackson brings what the Eagles' offense badly needed: speed. Westbrook was the team's only major threat, so defenses would key on him and try to bottle the 5 year veteran up. It didn't always work out, Westbrook still broke some big gainers, but the Eagles offense was still too inconsistent to keep up with the big boys.
Notice that Dallas rarely came with more than four pass rushers last night. Wade Phillips and Brian Stewart felt like the secondary needed all the help it could get to slow down the speedster from California.
And with a big, talented offensive line, that's what the Eagles want to see. Against Dallas, four rushers is an equal playing field. We saw in last year's Sunday night game Dallas simply come after Mcnabb, and the result was a Philly offense that looked absolutely horrid. The return of Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown shortly will elevate this offense to even greater heights. Don't be fooled by last night. Jim Johnson's defense is very good. Johnson's unit might still be suffering from the whiplash effect of having had to play the worst offense in Week 1 (Rams) and then turn around and play the most prolific offense in the league only eight days later. So don't read into the defensive stats too much.
Sure, Philadelphia lost last night, but they shouldn't be hanging their heads over it. Some mistakes were made in the fourth quarter, that's for sure, but they are very easily corrected. Donovan Mcnabb should know better than to double pump a handoff. If the ball is going to BrianWestbrook, then give it to him. Apparently, all that happened there was that Mcnabb forgot the play call. Yeah, I'd say that's fixable.
Tell me of another team that can hang with the Cowboys.
Green Bay? The Pack have looked impressive so far. We'll see just how far Aaron Rodgers has progressed when he faces the Cowboys on Sunday Night. Through two games he still hasn't faced a pass defense that ranks midpack.
New York? We know Phillips likes to come after Eli Manning, and do you really think that Manning can keep his head screwed on tight the whole game again? Oh yeah, he beat them last season in that playoff game, but only had to put up 21 points to do it. Washington? You know, I find the Redskins a really entertaining team. It's early, but so far the team looks too mistake prone. But you never know. As many magic potions as Daniel Snyder has cooked up, it's possible that Jim Zorn is the perfect one. Arizona? Please, let's not even consider them unless they actually get into the postseason. Carolina? Before I say yes it would be nice to see them win a game by more than 4 points, but before I say no I'd like to see them get beat once. Playing close games historically comes back to haunt you in the end.
Notice I only listed five teams. The NFC is sporting little that's impressive right now, which leads me to conclude that the two best teams in the conference were on display last night.
And they did not disappoint.
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