Monday Night Football Recap: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys
In a highly entertaining contest which saw both teams combine for 54 points at the intermission, the Dallas Cowboys capitalized on a fumbled handoff late in the game to outlast the Philadelphia Eagles 41-37.
WERE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!!!
Add another chapter to the epic saga that has become the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles.
This matchup was something out of the Arena Football League for three plus quarters, when a seemingly tired Cowboys defense regrouped to recover a misread handoff as the Eagles were looking to add on to a 37-34 lead late in the 4th quarter.
Tony Romo connected with tight end Jason Witten on a 32 yard pass play on a drive that ended with Marion Barber scoring from one yard out, putting Dallas ahead for good.
The night would end with Donovan McNabb being chased out of the pocket and sacked twice on the Eagles final drive. The Eagles would have the ball twice in the last 4:35 of the game but were unable to mount a serious threat to score. Incomplete passes, sacks and an illegal blocking penalty doomed any last minute heroics.
It wasn’t all downhill for the Eagles, who led by as many as nine points in the game. Andy Reid’s bunch was able to move the ball downfield despite an effective Dallas pass rush. McNabb connected with nine different receivers finishing 25/37 for 281 yards and a touchdown. McNabb played a decent game up until the botched handoff to Brian Westbrook at the Dallas 33, for the next two series he struggled with his reads and inability to get rid of the ball. Up to that point the Cowboys defense seemed to be reeling but were let off the hook by the improbable turnover. Brian Westbrook finished with 18 carries for 56 yards and 2 scores to go along with 6 receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown.
Rookie standout receiver Desean Jackson become the second rookie in 68 years to begin his career with back to back 100 yard games, he would finish with 6 catches for 110 yards. But on this night Jackson will forever be associated with ex-Cowboy Leon Lett. Jackson caught a 60 yard pass from McNabb in the 2nd quarter and raced in to the end zone for what was to be his first NFL touchdown, instant replay shows Jackson dropping the ball short of the end zone, luckily the play was blown dead and the Eagles had the ball at the Dallas 1, Westbrook would later score.
Defensively, the Birds did not blitz anywhere near enough to disrupt the Dallas offense, when they did it resulted in an interception by Asante Samuel early in the game, a fumble in the end zone that resulted in a touchdown and a three and out that got them the ball back with three minutes to go in the game. The linemen seemed to be a step late and the secondary was burned by Owens and Witten fo huge gains. The linebackers were able to corral the running game but were hurt in short yardage situations. The secondary was not physical enough with the Cowboys receivers and it proved costly.
Rookie running back Felix Jones is paying instant dividends for the Cowboys, he returned a kickoff 98 yards for a sore in the first quarter to give the Cowboys a 14 - 6 lead. Jones also scored last week against the Browns.
Terrell Owens surpassed Cris Carter to become the second leading touchwdown receiver in NFL history second only to Jerry Rice (197) Owens currently stands at 133 touchdown receptions. He finished the night with three catches for 89 yards and two scores. Ironically, Owens caught his last pass with 10:50 left in the first half.
Quarterback Tony Romo got the most from his weapons on this night, Jason Witten and Terrell Owens mixed in with Marion Barber kept Jim Johnson’s defense guessing for most of the game. Romo seemed to be able to pick his spots when given the opportunity. The offensive line kept him upright which is always encouraging, his lone flaw was a first half interception. Romo finished with 21/30 for 312 and 3 touchdowns for his first win against the Birds in Texas.
I came away from this game bothered that the Birds lost the game late behind mental errors, relieved that it’s only the second game of the season, encouraged by the overall play of the receivers, and concerned about the pass rush and the secondary play.
If there was a play that I would like to have back, it would be the ball that Desean Jackson fumbled into the end zone that was recovered by Hank Baskett. Reid never challenged the play, it would’ve resulted in a touchdown instead of the three points that they ended up settling for.
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September 16th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I
September 16th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
TBR,
It was a really ggod game. McNabb looked great. I think these are the teams to beat in the NFC. I know Diallo is happy. LOL!
September 16th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Good game.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Michelle - Did U just wake up?
September 16th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
@Mizzo
My condolances to your team, they played a great game, but McNabb cost them the game with that crazy handoff to Westbrook.
September 16th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I still cannot believe Donovan took those two sacks at the end! I thought my head might explode!
September 16th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
These two teams have GOT to meet in the playoffs, if only to listen to T.O. tweak Donovan McNabb some more. I just wanna see how long McNabb can keep taking the high road before he goes medieval.
September 16th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
This was a great game and I have to say that the NFC East will have three playoff with 10-12 wins so the other divisions in the NFC will have to win their divisions outright or go home for the holidays. I think it take 11 wins to secure a wild card in the NFC so teams on the bubble better win the division.
September 16th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I think the Giants and Panthers and Packers will have a great deal to say about “The Team to Beat in the NFC.” I think Donovan was absolutely amazing for most of the game last night. I can’t imagine what would have happened if he had real receivers running routes last night.
I don’t really like either team (Go Pittsburgh!!), but I think the Eagles are probably going to be stronger as the season progresses. They seem to have more upside than the Cowboys since so many pieces were missing.
Great game.
September 16th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Eric:
I really think Washington is going to throw a big old monkey wrench into someone’s plans in the conference. They’re not a patsy. If the Eagles and Cowboys don’t figure out how to play better pass defense, Moss, Cooley and Portis are going to go berserk.
I know the ‘Skins have a lot of growing up to do, but they know everyone in the conference intimately and they’re going to beat at least two of those teams once.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Temple you may be right about the Skin’s but unless Jim Zorn can get control of that team I think they will be up and down. Jason Campbell’s game is the long ball and I think Zorn would rather dink and dunk down the field and that will be a fight of which Campbell we will see from week to week. And for the Eagles Cowboys defensive woes, remember they are division foes and see each other twice a year and they always score points off each other, let’s see how the Eagles will play against the Steelers who I think is the best team in the league.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
How soon they forget. Just last season, those two were locked in a sleeper death game. Final score? 10-6, Philly. Division rivals sometimes have shootouts, sometimes have low-scoring defensive games, sometimes have blowouts and sometimes have uneventful games. They’re damn near impossible to call and it’s hard to extrapolate from a division game anything of league-wide value.
Take the case of the Cleveland Browns. Dallas smoked them. Pittsburgh did not. Does that Dallas will beat Pittsburgh on Dec. 7th? Not at all. It really doesn’t mean anything except that Cleveland is 0-2.
I think Dallas and Philly will be fine, but I can’t say I really know how good they are. I’m going to take a page out of your book and wait until next week. I usually reserve opinions about team strength until Week 4. I like the Steelers, though. Brett Keisel is injured. I’m not sure who will take his place on the d-line. Aaron Smith had 2 sacks and Casey is Casey. Polamalu’s back. It’s all good.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Yes DMac McNabb had his moments, but they wouldn’t have been in the game without him.
Another thing to check out as the season goes is if Donovan’s targets can break free, make big catches and move the chains in money time.
The Eagles have glaring weaknesses that most likely will cause them Super Bowl shine…Big play (veteran) wide receiver and a big physical defensive back to deal with Jacobs, Terrell Owens and Plaxico Burress.
September 17th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Miz
You’re selling the home team short because while they may not have a veteran big-play receiver they do have a rookie with some sizzle. Desean Jackson has much to learn and he’s still too light in the dumper IMO but the kid’s a game changer with much upside. Reggie Brown better come back balling after the hammy heals because Jackson is going to push everyone in the WR corps for playing time as the year goes on.
The second thing is that the D is fine as constituted. Jim Johnson eased off the peddle last night by not beating the hell out of Romo with the blitz every time he dropped back to pass. When the Eagles did blitz Romo threw an INT, fumbled in the end zone, and missed a wide open Barber on a crucial third down. Johnson needs to let his front seven do the dirty work because because a secondary that has three Pro-Bowlers and one should be all-pro can play the game.
I’m much more excited about this team after this game because us Eagle fans know this team usually wins early season matchups like this then tank in the end of the season. This is a loss that will remind this team they’re not as good as they think they are but they can be as good as they want to be.
@David Mac and anyone else who says McNabb choked the game last night.
You win as a team, you lose as a team. That fumbled hand off no more lost the game than Considine not covering over the top on TO’s first touchdown or the special teams letting Felix Jones run back that kickoff. No one plays a perfect game but I’ll tell you this right now, I’d still take McNabb over any other player if I had to start a team in the NFL because the man has made chicken salad out of chicken crap his whole career and last night showed he can still do it.
In case ya’ll don’t know or forgot:
FLY EAGLES FLY!!!
September 17th, 2008 at 12:51 am
Say, what did you guys think of DeSean Jackson’s “black mustard” last night? Remember Mizzo’s laughable justification of showboating a couple weeks ago? Well, it’s defective retards like DeSean Jackson who are living testimony as to why this kind of jive bullshit should be chided and ridiculed. Yeah, that ancient idea of “sportsmanship” can actually make a positive difference between winning and losing (not like the game’s outcome is Jackson’s priority or anything, but I’m sure many Eagle fans wouldn’t share that sentiment).
September 17th, 2008 at 1:00 am
In the end, the best team wins. The Cowboys had alot of penalties and screwed up crucial plays but still won. The Eagles have a great offense, make no mistake. In the end, the Cowboy D held up. Where were they the rest of the game though?
September 17th, 2008 at 1:09 am
It’s not the point, but that piece was well read around the internet with few comments like yours…
HD I hear you. I gotta go a different route this year and not get excited until the playoffs begin.
Hank Baskett stood there as Ware sacked McNabb even after Donovan motioned him to break pattern and get open somehow.
I hear you about DeSean Jackson. Remember I picked him for ROY of the year before the season, but the Eagles STILL need that guy who will move the chains in money time.
No team is gonna shut out Terrell Owens or Randy Moss obviously, but the Eagles over the top help was not up to par last night. Charles Woodson or Steve Atwater aren’t coming through the door anytime soon, but if the Eagles are going to be successful in this division for the next five years, they have to find someone who can at least be physical with Owens and Burress. I would love Cromartie here.
3 catches, 89 yards, 2 tds is unacceptable for any receiver going up against a Jimmy Johnson offense.
I hear you about Mouse O. I hear you bruh.
September 17th, 2008 at 1:32 am
2 things MIzzo.
1. Constindine (sp?) needs to be cut. I am tired of seeing that dude get burned and get ran over year after year. Cut that dude.
2. I am done refering to to Andy Reid as Andy Reid. I shall now refer him to Mouse Davis JR. (Mouse Davis invented the run and shoot). The Eagles passed the ball 70% of the time last night. When they ran they ran off tackle and draws. This offense is nothing more then the 2008 version of the run and shoot. Except they have a tight end. Same crappy run and shoot plays. Mcnabb is now moon in Houston without the houston WRs.
Its sad……….the eagles still can’t control the clock by running the ball. No power running game. And they still don’t have size in the middle to stop the run. Its the same story year after year with Reid excuse me mouse davis jr. Its just sad Mizzo………..just sad. He needs to be fired as a GM.
September 17th, 2008 at 6:36 am
The Eagles *might* be able to control the clock with their running game if McNabb could master the intricate task of handing the ball to his running back…
September 18th, 2008 at 11:06 am
“Romo seemed to be able to pick his spots when given the opportunity. The offensive line kept him upright which is always encouraging, his lone flaw was a first half interception. ”
Don’t forget about the fumble by Romo in the endzone which resulted in a defensive TD for the Eagles.
McNabb looked very good for the most part but I think the problem was that the Eagles couldn’t run the ball effectively enough to take some of the pressure off of McNabb. I think the Eagles need a big 250-260lb “Brandon Jacobs-type” running back who can pound the ball late in the game to wear the defense down. They were wearing the ‘Boys down on ‘D’ until that turnover, which seem to give them new life.
The game could’ve went either way but hey, it’s early in the season. Both teams are trying to get a “feel” for what they want to do for the entire year. But these two teams will hook-up again for the season finale and it could be even better, especially if both teams are jockeying for playoff positions.
I’ve been down w/ the Steelers since the mid-late 70s, so you know who I root for. But this was a very entertaining game and I can’t wait to watch it again on NFL Network.