What happened?
In the final game of the regular season, with the two seed on the line, the Eagles came out and played their worst game of the year. They were shut out for the first time since the 2005 season, and now are the number six team in the NFC playoffs.
The Good:
Nothing. Not one damn thing.
The Bad:
It wasn't even bad. Keep reading. You'll get there soon enough.
The Ugly:
The Eagles ran the ball ten times...in the entire game. Ten times!
Donovan McNabb was completely ineffective, fumbling the ball twice and missing receivers all game long.
The defense had no answer for Dallas' running game, allowing both Marion Barber and Felix Jones to rush for 91 yards, and Jones had the backbreaking touchdown in the third quarter.
McNabb was sacked four times, while the Eagles only brought down Tony Romo twice.
Dallas dominated in time of possession, holding the ball for over 40 minutes of the game.
Did I mention the fact that the Eagles went from the number two team in the NFC to the number six team? They did.
The Breakdown:
I really, really don't want to talk about this game, but I will, because I figure that there are a few people about there that want to know what I think about it. Quite simply, this was the worst game that the Eagles played all season. They had everything on the line, and left with nothing. With Minnesota collapsing down the stretch, all the Eagles had to do today was win, and they would get a first round bye and a chance at hosting the NFC Championship Game if the Saints lost in the Divisional Playoffs. Now, they have to play Dallas, in Dallas again next week, and if they win that game, they head to New Orleans, since they're the six seed. Instead of playing at least one game at home, they now have to play three games on the road if they want to make it to the Super Bowl.
I'm going to be honest: I didn't even watch the game. I couldn't, since I was at work. I think that was for the best, as had I not been getting paid to hear about it, I might have broken something. I've seen what I guess you can call highlights, and they were not pretty. There is plenty of blame to go around, but I'm going to start with the fat man running the team.
Andy, I don't know what made you only call ten running plays for the entire game, but that may have been the worst idea that you could have had. Rather than keep the Cowboys guessing in the first half, the Eagles called four running plays, with only two of them going to Brian Westbrook. Leonard Weaver and LeSean McCoy, the two men who had taken Westbrook's place in the lineup, only carried the ball twice in the entire game. That's not twice each, that's twice combined. I don't know what the hell Andy was thinking during this game. Due to the ten runs, the Eagles were killed in time of possession, as the Cowboys were able to get to Donovan McNabb and force bad passes, killing the clock and giving the ball back to Dallas while their defense got even more time to rest. Calling only ten running plays will never work. It didn't work against the Raiders and Chargers this year, and it sure as hell wasn't going to work against a team as good as the Cowboys.
The defense does deserve blame as well. While they did a decent job stopping the Cowboys in the second half, they allowed Dallas to run up and down the field in the first half. The Cowboys rely on their running game to set up their offense, and with Felix Jones and Marion Barber having their way with the Eagles on defense, there was no way that Tony Romo wasn't going to have an easy game today. Romo finished with over 300 yards, and Dallas finished with 179 yards on the ground. Not only that, but the Cowboys only turned the ball over once during the game, and it didn't come back to hurt them at all. Like I said, there is plenty of blame to go around, but before everyone piles it on Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, the defense had a horrible game as well. They couldn't pressure Romo or stop the running game, and both of those things came back to bite them in the ass today. It just wasn't good.
Quite simply, this was the worst game of the year at the worst possible time for the Eagles. Their six game winning streak not only went up in flames, but I'm fairly certain that the Cowboys went and pissed on the ashes. The mantle of hottest team in the NFC? It's certainly not the Eagles now. I'd say it's a fight between the Cowboys and Packers at this point, and I wouldn't be surprised to see either of those teams in the Super Bowl. As for the Eagles, they have a week to get their act together. Thanks to their showing today, they have to play the Cowboys again next week, in the very same stadium. There's no break, and Dallas swept the Eagles this year, giving them all the momentum. While teams are just 11-7 when going for a three game sweep in the NFL, unless the Eagles completely turn things around, there isn't much to make me think the result is going to be any different. The Eagles need to improve a lot within a six or seven day span, while the Cowboys have everything going for them.
Believe me, I don't want to be the first team that loses to Dallas in the playoffs since I was grade school, I really don't. I'm just not sure that I can see the Eagles winning one week after this debacle. Andy Reid usually doesn't lose back to back games, but there are always exceptions. Out of any team in the NFC playoffs, I didn't want to face Dallas, and now the Eagles have to. I'm not trying to sound negative, but I am thinking realistically. In the two games this season, the Cowboys have outscored the Eagles 44-16 and have shutdown the Philadelphia offense, while the defense of the Eagles hasn't been much better. I think that the Eagles have a chance to win next week in the playoffs, I really do. I'm just not that confident about it. After what just happened, I need to see this team prove it again before I think they can make a run. They sleepwalked through their game today, and it came back to bite them in the ass. Now, they have their backs against the wall. Let's see what they can do.
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