12/3/12
The Eagles season is all but over; however the Cowboys still
have something to play for. Going into last night’s game, the Cowboys were 5-6
in the standings, but still have playoff implications. The Eagles were 3-8 and
are one of the worst teams in the NFL. Jason Garrett, the Cowboys head coach,
is under scrutiny this season the same way Andy Reid is for the Eagles. Also,
the quarterback position for both teams is under scrutiny too. Tony Romo for
the Cowboys and Michael Vick for the Eagles are in pivotal years because one of
them is playing for a new contract (Romo) and the other will be cut after this
season (Vick). Coming into this game, Vick, LeSean McCoy, and DeSean Jackson
are all out for this game. Vick and McCoy both have concussions while Jackson has fractured ribs
that will sideline him for the entire season. The Cowboys got their starting
running back back from injury in DeMarco Murray, but their star defensive
tackle in Jay Ratliff was sidelined with a groin injury. Sean Lee has a toe
injury and has been out for most of the season.
The first quarter started off slow until the Eagles got a
touchdown late in the quarter. Bryce Brown, coming off a spectacular game
against the Carolina Panthers, has continued to impress as he started the
scoring for the Eagles on a 10 yard touchdown run to make it 7-0. Brown had a
big 24 yard run that started off the drive and Nick Foles, starting for Vick,
continued to march down the field completing passes to Brent Celek and Damaris
Johnson for big gains in Dallas’
territory.
The second quarter started off with a methodical drive by
the Cowboys that only had them settle for a Dan Bailey 39 yard field goal to
make it 7-3. The Eagles responded with another touchdown by Brown. This
touchdown was from five yards out to make it a 14-3 game. Brown had another
giant run, but this time it was a 39 yard run. Also, Jeremy Maclin had a big 21
yard reception in the drive. The Cowboys answered back with another long drive
that resulted in a one yard touchdown run by Murray to make it a 14-10 game. Romo made
some nice throws to Miles Austin and Jason Witten as big plays in that drive.
The Eagles settled with a 43 yard field goal by Alex Henery to end the first
half up 17-10. The big plays in this drive were Brown’s 20 yard run to start
the drive and Jason Avant had a big 29 yard reception to put the Eagles into Dallas territory.
The Cowboys started off the third quarter with a 23 yard
touchdown pass from Romo to Dez Bryant to make it all tied up at 17. Murray had a big 27 yard
run to put the Cowboys into Eagles territory. The Eagles answered back with a
methodical drive of their own. Foles threw a 15 yard pass to Riley Cooper for a
touchdown to make it a 24-17; Eagles lead.
The fourth quarter was all Dallas in this one. The Eagles once again
fell flat when it mattered most. The Cowboys started off with a 27 yard
touchdown pass from Romo to Austin
to tie the game at 24. The Eagles had to settle with another 43 yard field goal
by Henery to make it a 27-24; Eagles lead. Avant yet again has
come up with the criticial catches tonight. He had a big 23 yard catch in this
drive to put the Eagles into Cowboys territory. The Cowboys then answered with
a six yard touchdown pass by Romo to Bryant to make it a 31-27 game. Bryant
also had a big 35 yard catch to put the Cowboys into Eagles territory. Witten
had another important catch that had the Cowboys close to the end zone. After
that successful drive by the Cowboys, the Eagles fumbled the ball at midfield
and Morris Claiborne recovered the fumble for the Cowboys and went into the end
zone for a 50 yard touchdown to put this game out of reach at 38-27…or so we
think. At the end of the game, the Eagles ran a 98 yard punt by Johnson for a
touchdown to make it a 38-33 game. The Eagles tried the two point conversion,
but failed because Foles overthrew the ball to Cooper when he had Brown wide
open literally in front of his face. The Eagles tried to get the ball one more
time on an onsides kick, but failed to recover the ball. In the end, the
Cowboys won the game 38-33.
Overall, the Eagles played a better game on the offensive
side of the ball. They scored a season high in points with 33. The defense
continues to allow over 30 points a game since Juan Castillo was fired as
defensive coordinator. Bryce Brown again had a stellar game, but like the
typical rookie he is, he fumbled the football at a critical point in the game.
Foles put in what I thought was his best game of the season. Also, they were a
disciplined football game. In the end, the Cowboys made more plays than the
Eagles did to win the game. The Eagles fell to 3-9 while the Cowboys still have
hopes for the playoffs and have a 6-6 record.
Who should replace
Andy Reid as head coach? Sound off and stay tuned to my next entry next week
when the Eagles travel to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers.
No comments:
Post a Comment