Eagles embarrass Cowboys on Sunday Night

There is nothing like the Eagles crushing the Cowboys, especially when it is on national television for all the country to see.  The Eagles basically played a perfect game in downing Dallas, 34-7, and are now 3-4 and find themselves right back in the thick of the division.  Here are my thoughts on the game:

-LeSean McCoy was clearly the best player on the field.  McCoy juked, jived and motored all over the Dallas defense, rushing for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.  McCoy seems to be getting better an better every week and is turning the Eagles into a run-first team, quite an accomplishment with Andy Reid at the helm.  I'm not sure there is a better running back in the NFL.  To think, this is just his third year in the league and he could get even better.

-Michael Vick played a nearly flawless game, completing 21 of 28 passes for two touchdowns while rushing for 50 yards.  While he nearly had a fumble in the third quarter, Vick didn't turn the ball over and didn't make a bad pass all game long.  When Vick has plenty of time and makes quick decisions to either throw the ball or tuck it and run, he is at his most dangerous.  This was probably his best game since the Monday Night massacre against the Redskins.

-The Eagles first 6 possessions all ended with a score touchdown or a field goal.  Zero punts until the 4th quarter.  Remarkable.

-Take out the long touchdown by the Cowboys in the 4th quarter and the Eagles defense also played a nearly flawless game.  A lot was made of how the Wide 9 wasn't working but the adjustments Juan Castillo and the defense made all seemed to work perfectly.  While DeMarco Murray did have success on the ground, any time Tony Romo dropped back to pass, Trent Cole and Jason Babin were both bearing down on him.  Combine a potent pass-rush with great coverage and you have an unbeatable combination.

-Dez Bryant and Miles Austin combined for just six catches, with most of them coming in garbage time.  Much of the credit goes to the Eagles pass rush not giving Romo enough time but the All-Star secondary certainly played up to expectations.

-Andy Reid had TWO correct challenges in the game.  Has that ever happened before?

-Speaking of Reid, his perfect record after a bye continues.  With all the negatives against the Reid, give this man time to prepare and he makes the necessary adjustments to get his troops ready.

Your Eagles are now tied for second place in the NFC East with a 3-4 record.  With the Giants facing a brutal November schedule, the division race is far from over.  Bring on the Bears!
(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Eagles vs. Cowboys Week 8 inactives: all hands on deck

The Eagles and Cowboys announced their inactive players for their Week 8 Sunday Night showdown:

Eagles: LB Keenan Clayton, DE Philip Hunt, T Winston Justice, RB Dion Lewis, CB Curtis Marsh, S Jarrad Page, OL Julian Vandervelde

Cowboys: G David Arkin, NT Josh Brent, DE Clifton Geathers, RB Felix Jones, G Kevin Kowalski, G Daniel Loper, QB Stephen McGee

The bye week healed the Eagles, who have every starter healthy and ready to go.  It will be especially nice to see Trent Cole out there creating havoc for Tony Romo.  Dion Lewis is the one surprise inactive, apparently due to a car accident, and that should mean that Ronnie Brown, who will return kicks tonight, will get more touches.  Lewis has looked good any time he has had the ball in his hands this season.

Every Eagles/Cowboys game is big but this one is huge for the Eagles.  If they want to make a run for a playoff spot, this is a must-win game.  Go BIRDS!

Backup Eagles barely lose to Cowboys

Even though they won, this has still got to be pretty embarrassing for the Cowboys. The Eagles, playing the entire game with backups at every position, barely lost to the Cowboys, 14-13, in an incredibly boring and meaningless game.

Since the Eagles didn't bother to play the game, as they rightfully shouldn't have, I'm not going to bother to do a recap. Kevin Kolb looked below average in the game, completing just 18 of 36 passes for 162 yards, a touchdown and 3 interceptions, and didn't do much to give Eagles fans confidence if Michael Vick were to get hurt next week. The only Eagle that got significant playing time this week that I want to see more of is Jerome Harrison, who picked 105 total yards in the game. Harrison is a tremendous change of pace back and I would love to see him get a few extra touches in the playoffs.

The Eagles finish the season with a 10-6 record, a pretty solid record considering many thought this was a rebuilding year for the Birds. Now let's see if the Michael Vick magic can carry them to that elusive Super Bowl title.
(AP PHOTO)

Eagles vs. Cowboys Week 17 Inactives: Stars sit

The Eagles and Cowboys have announced their inactive players for their meaningless Week 17 game:

Eagles: LB Shawn Bradley, DE Trent Cole, WR DeSean Jackson, T Winston Justice, DT Trevor Laws, RB LeSean McCoy, CB Asante Samuel, QB Michael Vick

Cowboys: OT Alex Barron, K Kris Brown, G Phil Costa, DE Clifton Geathers, QB Chris Greisen, OT Jermey Parnell, S Andrew Sendejo, WR Teddy Williams

The Eagles are clearly treating this week like a bye as all of their offensive and defensive stars are taking the week off. Expect to see plenty of Jerome Harrison and maybe even some Mike Kafka as the Eagles treat this game like a preseason contest.

It's hard to care too much about a game the Eagles don't even care about but it's always fun to watch the Eagles beat the Cowboys. Look for Kevin Kolb to have a big game as he angles for a starting job for another team next year. GO BIRDS!

DeSean's huge night leads Eagles over Cowboys

The Eagles will put up with DeSean Jackson's post-touchdown celebrations as long as he keeps making big plays. Behind a career night from Jackson, the Eagles edged the Cowboys, 30-27, to remain atop the NFC East.

It was all about the big play for the Eagles, as DeSean Jackson needed just 4 catches to amass 210 yards, the third most in one game in Eagles history. His two biggest plays were the first and the last time Jackson touched the ball, as he caught a 60 yard pass on the first play of the game and had a dynamic 91 yard catch and run touchdown in the 4th quarter that proved to be the game winning score. Sure, Jackson drew a stupid penalty for falling into the end zone backwards on his 91 yard score, but it's something we have all grown to live with (and love) from number 10. Remember when Jackson had trouble doing anything against the Cowboys last year? Yeah, neither do I.

The rest of the Eagles offense did work in this one, too. Despite throwing a pair of interceptions that weren't his fault, Michael Vick put together another solid performance, throwing for 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushing for 16 yards and another touchdown. He didn't always make the perfect play and he took a ton of hits but Vick continues to evolve into one of the most reliable QB's in the game. Also having a great game was LeSean McCoy, who ran roughshod over the Cowboys in the 4th quarter to rack up a career high 149 yards on just 16 carries for a ridiculous 9.3 yards per carry average. With the way the Eagles continue to set up the run with their tremendous passing game, expect McCoy to have a lot more games like this in the coming weeks and years.

Without Asante Samuel, the Eagles defense continues to look weak. While the Cowboys do have a respectable offense, there is no excuse for the defense to get shredded by a mediocre quarterback like Jon Kitna. Samuel can't return to the Birds fast enough but I'm not sure his presence will eliminate all of the blown assignments and missed tackles that plagued the Eagles defense.

In other injury news, it sounds like Stewart Bradley will be out for at least a few weeks after a nasty injury caused him to dislocate his elbow. While Bradley hasn't had a stellar season, the Eagles need all the help they can get on that side of the ball and will miss their defensive leader.

The win over the Cowboys keeps the Eagles in the drivers seat in the NFC East with a showdown against the Giants looming next week. While the Eagles are fortunate enough to catch a break with the Giants getting a shorter week because of their game being moved to Monday, the Birds will need to be at the top of their game with the division on the line. While we can be sure the offense will produce their fair share of big plays, let's hope Asante Samuel finds his way back to the field and gives the defense the boost it sorely needs. With another game against a Manning on the schedule, I'm sure Asante has a few more interceptions in him.

Eagles vs. Cowboys: Week 14 Inactives

The Eagles and Cowboys have announced their inactive players for their Sunday Night Game:

Eagles: LB Omar Gaither, T Austin Howard, CB Brandon Hughes, OT Winston Justice, QB Mike Kafka, TE Garrett Mills, CB Asante Samuel, DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim

Cowboys: RB Marion Barber, LB Victor Butler, OL Phil Costa, LB Kenwin Cummings, DE Clifton Geathers, T Jermy Parnell, QB Tony Romo, T Sam Young

As we knew, the Eagles will be without Samuel and Justice for the game. Joselio Hanson will once against start in Samuel's place and King Dunlap will get the start at right tackle for Justice. The only surprise inactive is Gaither, who hasn't exactly seen the field much this year, anyway.

With the Cowboys suddenly playing better football under Jason Garrett, we should be in for a good game tonight. GO BIRDS!

Cowboys and Redskins losses, McNabb benching highlight Eagles bye week

The Eagles didn't play in Week 8 but they have to be pretty happy with everything that happened to their divisional rivals in the week. Not only did the Cowboys and Redskins lose, they both lost in embarrassing fashion, with the Cowboys getting worked by a very average Jaguars team and the Redskins collapsing in the 4th quarter against the Lions. Oh, and of course, there is the little matter of the Redskins benching Donovan McNabb.

With the Redskins still within a touchdown late in the game, head coach Mike Shanahan chose to bench McNabb, turning the offense over to Rex Grossman. Yep, Shanahan thought the team had a better chance of winning with Rex Freakin' Grossman than they did with McNabb. While Shanahan said after the game that McNabb was still the starting quarterback, you can bet the sensitive McNabb will sulk in practice and won't soon forget getting benched. The Redskins can probably forget about signing McNabb to a long term deal.

As for the Cowboys, while their season was pronounced over once Tony Romo went down, starting the season 1-6 is still a nightmare scenario for "America's Team". The disappointment on the face of Jerry Jones is enough to bring a smile to any Eagles fan.

Of course, with a game against the Colts looming in Week 9, the Eagles don't have much time to enjoy the suffering of their biggest rivals. With the way the rest of the NFC is playing, the door is still wide open for a darkhorse contender like the Eagles to get hot and make a Super Bowl run.