Cowboys-Eagles Gameday Running Blog

Welcome to the Cowboys-Eagles Gametime Running Blog!  I came up with a new, better format last week, and I’m sticking with it this week.  I will be posting at regular intervals.  There’ll be a pregame post with my thoughts running up to the game, followed by updates after each quarter.  I’ll tally up some stats and post them along with my thoughts.  Let’s get started after the jump!

Pregame Wrap-up

Well, the scenario that seemed so unlikely earlier today has come to pass.  With losses by both Tampa Bay and Chicago, this becomes a Win-and-In situation for both the Cowboys and Eagles.  Check out my earlier post for my thoughts on this game.  Kickoff is in a few.

First Quarter Wrap-up

Well, the game started off on the wrong foot with an awful kickoff by K Nick Folk that bounced out of bounds, starting the Eagles on their own 40 yard line.  The Eagles started out well, completing a pass to the tight-end Brent Celek for 20 yards.  After that, though, Brian Westbrook caught the ball and fumbled, with Terence Newman recovering the ball for Dallas.  Dallas couldn’t do anything with it, though and punted after 3 plays.  Phillie got the ball back and WR Correll Buckhalter ran over SS Kieth Davis on a 9 yard gain.  Davis injured his knee on the play and had to leave the game.  His return is questionable.  Philadelphia continued the drive and made it to the Cowboys 22 before kicking a field goal for the first score of the game.  3 – 0 Eagles.

The next drive by the Cowboys was more successful than the first, with RB Tashard Choice running 4 times, including twice for a first down, and early receptions by WR Terrell Owens and TE Martellus Bennet.  Owens also had a 7 yard run on a reverse.  Barber entered the game and ran for 6 yards and a first down.  He looked a whole heckuva lot better than he has the last two weeks.  He had a couple more short runs on the drive.  Patrick Crayton dropped a pass from Romo, and Jason Witten caught another ball for a nice 17 yard gain on the next play.  Ultimately, Roy Williams dropped a pass and then caught a screen, but couldn’t make the first down on 3rd and 1.  Dallas make a 37 yard field goal and the Cowboys pulled even with the Eagles, 3 – 3.

First Half Wrap-up

On the second play of the second quarter, Buckhalter broke loose after a short pass from McNabb and ran all the way to the Cowboys’ 6 yard line for a career-long 59 yards.  Ken Hamlin finally brought him down.  After a 5 yard run by Westbrook, McNabb kept it on a QB sneak for a Phillie touchdown.  10 – 3 Eagles.

When the Cowboys got it back, Austin had a good kick return to the Dallas 38 for 36 yards.  On 3rd and 11, Romo threw to Owens and was nearly intercepted.  Owens wrestled the ball away but couldn’t hold on to it and the play was ruled an incompletion, forcing Dallas to punt.

The Cowboys defense did a good job on stopping the Eagles on their next drive.  Bradie James got the first Cowboys sack of the game and forcedthe Phillie to punt after 3 downs.  Unfortunately, the Cowboys weren’t able to move the ball and had to give it right back.  The Eagles made the most of it with a 20 yard reception by Celek and a 34 yarder to DeShaun Jackson.  Finally, Buckhalter caught a short screen and ran it in for another Eagles touchdown.  It’s looking grim for the ‘Boys at this point.  17 – 3 Eagles.

Pacman Jones finally had a good kick return for the Cowboys, catching the ball a yard deep in the end zone and returning it to the Dallas 36.  Jason Witten caught a short pass and fought for a first down even with a bad ankle.  Fox reported that he even has a slight ligament tear in the ankle, but you wouldn’t know it the way he was churning for yardage.  Soon after, though, Sheldon Brown intercepted a pass that Roy Williams didn’t even look for.  This gave the Eagles the opportunity to kick another field goal before the half.  However, they were able to take advantage of a couple of stupid penalties by Pacman Jones (personal foul) and Terence Newman (pass interference in the end zone), and convert that field goal opportunity into a Brent Celek touchdown.  24 – 3 Eagles.

But wait, there’s more.  On the kickoff, Pacman Jones had the ball stripped and the Eagles recovered with 5 seconds left.  They were then able to kick a 50 yard field goal, going up 27 – 3 before the half.

Halftime Stats:

Romo: 9 of 17 for 51 yards and 1 picks
Choice: 7 carries for 13 yards and a TD, no catches
Owens has 2 catch for 10 yards, Witten has 4 catches for 30.
Cowboys defense has only1 sack and 1 forced fumble.

McNabb: 11 of 18 for 166 yards and 2 TD’s
McNabb has hit 6 different receivers.
Eagles Defense has no sacks and 1 interception.

The Cowboys have 80 total yards, the Eagles have 215.

Here’s what I don’t like:  after the interception, Tony Romo was sitting on the bench by himself and seemed to be sulking rather than studying the Eagles formations like most quarterbacks would do.  Also, Roy Williams has cost the Cowboys a couple of big plays and Pacman Jones needs to keep his temper in check and hold onto the ball.  The ‘Boys can still win this thing if they can correct their mistakes, but the stats above are eerily similar to last week’s stats against the Ravens.

Third Quarter Wrap-up

On the first drive of the second half, Pat McQuistan replaced Cory Proctor at left guard.  Proctor had been filling in for the injured Montrae Holland.  Proctor did not seem to be injured, just ineffective.  Romo underthrew Owens setting up 3rd and inches and then a couple of amazing things happened.  Wade Phillips sent the punt team onto the field, but Romo himself sent them back off.  He then quickly called for the snap and kept the ball for a QB sneak, picking up the first down.  Then, on the next play, he broke a couple of tackles avoiding a sack and scrambled out as he does so well.  He scrambled to the left side of the field and threw a backwards pass all the way to the right of the field to Witten, who immediately threw a long pass to Owens.  Owens caught it in the flat and pushed farther for a 42 yard pass.

Naturally, with the momentum in the Cowboys’ favor, False Start Flozell had to rear his twitchy head on the next play.  After that, the Eagles got to Romo and stripped the ball.  Chris Clemons recovered for the Eagles and was able to run it all the way back for yet another Phillie touchdown.  34 – 3 Eagles, and the Cowboys’ playoff hopes are fading fast.

They didn’t give up, though, and they made several good plays on the next drive, making it all the way to the Philadelphia 12, before Dawkins knocked the ball out of Barber’s hands at the 4 and Hanson picked it up and ran it all the way back 96 yards for ANOTHER Eagles touchdown.  41 – 3 Eagles!

Philadelphia has some serious karma working for them at this point.  This is the Keystone Kops play that I was hoping the Cowboys could avoid today, but no such luck.  Witness:  next drive, 2 plays, Romo loses the ball again and the Eagles recover yet again and get a field goal.  I hate to say it as an unabashed fanboy of the Cowboys, but there is something broken with the Dallas Cowboys offense. 44 – 3 Eagles.

What a third quarter, and there were still over 6 minutes left!  They were outscored 41 – 0 in 21 minutes.  Luckily for the Cowboys, the pace slowed down after that.  While the Cowboys still couldn’t do anything with the ball, at least they kept the Eagles from scoring quickly.  Philadelphia was driving and had made it to the Cowboys 22 at the end of the third quarter.

Post Game Wrap-up

The Cowboys caught a small break at the beginning of the last quarter, with the Eagles missing their 40 yard field goal attempt wide right.  The Cowboys’ play, however, did not immediately improve and they were still unable to move the ball effectively.  At least the defense was able to keep the Eagles from scoring, though.  The entire fourth quarter was basically garbage time, pointless play.  There were a couple of 3-and-outs by both the Cowboys and Eagles, and a debatable intentional grounding call against Romo.  The Cowboys were eventually able to get in field goal range with a drive that might have been exciting if the scoreboard said something different, and Nick Folk made it 44 – 6.

The Eagles were so far ahead that they sent in their scrubs (read: Kevin Kolb) for the rest of the game, but they didn’t do anything spectacular.  The Cowboys responded by taking Romo out of the game.  There wasn’t any reason to risk his health in the last few minutes of this game, since it couldn’t be won.  Naturally, the Cowboys couldn’t score with Brooks Bollinger in the game, and with that, the Cowboys got off to an early start on the offseason.

And I got off to an early start on a bottle of rum.

Tags: Brian Westbrook, Dallas Cowboys, Donovan McNabb, Gameday, Gameday Running Blog, Jason Witten, Marion Barber, Martellus Bennet, NFC East, Philadelphia Eagles, Roy E. Williams, stats, Tashard Choice, Terence Newman, Terrell Owens, Tony Romo

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