NFL
Cowboys’ Win Nearly Gives Dallas Division While Philadelphia is Pushed Further Out of Contension
The ending felt like a classic. The first three quarters felt symbolic of the NFC East’s season thus far. The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in overtime, 29-23. The Cowboys now have their lasso around the division and are one game away from clinching the NFC East.
However, playoff positioning seemed to be the furthest thing from several players’ minds. The officials, in fact, were the focus of much of the conversation. Throughout the game, a series of calls were made that had fans shaking heads and players firing off harsh critiques.
Controversial Calls and Condescending Criticism
The two prominent incidents came in the first and fourth quarters. During the opening kickoff, safety Malcolm Jenkins forced a fumble by the kick returner. That fumbled was then seemingly recovered by the Eagles. The officials, however, called this back citing there was no clear recovery of the football. This, in turn, gave Dallas maintained possession.
Had the call have gone the other way, the Eagles’ offense would have started the game’s opening scrimmage drive in the red zone. At best this could have provided a 7-0 lead. At worst they could have unsuccessfully gone for it on fourth down and left points on the field.
Jenkins after the game did not hold back when asked about the call by the media.
From kickoff to the game-winning touchdown, there was a total of 16 penalties called. At one point in the fourth quarter, five penalties were called throughout nine snaps. One of those calls was an offensive pass interference call that immediately drew criticism from the commentators.
Offensive Pass Interference, 75-Yard Touchdown Called Back
With 2:55 left on the game clock on 2nd and 10 at Philadelphia’s 25-yard line, rookie tight end Dallas Goedert took off on his route. After catching the ball 15 yards past the line of scrimmage, and breaking a tackle, Goedert ran the ball in another 60 yards for a touchdown. Those six points would never hit the scoreboard as a flag was down near the spot of the catch.
Officials determined there was offensive pass interference on Goedert during the contact before the catch. Despite his arms never being extended and no push-off, the Eagles were sent back to their
What seems to be getting lost in the debate over the calls is that the Eagles were actually the beneficiary of most of the calls. Philadelphia ended the night with five penalties while Dallas had 11. Not only that the Eagles only lost 49 yards off penalties, whereas Dallas lost 111.
While one of those five penalties was likely incorrect and the fumble was almost certainly recovered, much more went wrong for the Birds than two calls.
Strong Early Performance from Weakened Defense, Offense Can’t Capitalize
The Eagles’ roster has been riddled with injuries this season. Currently, ten players sit on their injury reserve list while a host of others are either inactive or limited due to injuries. Six of those ten players are defensive players.
Despite the missing players, the Eagles’ defensive unit played some of their best football on Sunday afternoon. Throughout the first three quarters, the Cowboys were held to field goals scoring just nine points. Philadelphia also caused three turnovers in that time, two interceptions and one fumble.
The Cowboys’ offense put up a record number of yards, but the Eagles’ defense forced them to settle for field goals. Dallas’ offense put up 398 yards before finally finding the back of the end zone. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the Eagles’ offense couldn’t capitalize.
A Confused Offense and Frustrated Players
It wasn’t until 6:08 left in the third-quarter that the Eagles put points on the board. After an interception by Corey Graham, the Eagles had the ball on Dallas’ two-
This would be nearly the sole highlight of Jeffery’s game. A.J. was targeted nine times, catching six of those passes for a total of 50 yards. However, he consistently created separation downfield that was never taken advantage of. Twice during the game, Jeffery was seen slapping the ground on his hands and knees. He was, however, the most targeted receiver on the team
The backfield didn’t see much action on Sunday, a season-long trend of Doug Pederson’s. The Eagles ran the ball just ten times against the Cowboys. Rookie Josh Adams had seven carries, while Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles all had just one.
While Wentz’ passer rating was a strong 120.3, his performance was one of the poorest in his career. Wentz completed 22 of 32 passes, several of the ten misses were overthrows to wide open receivers. Wentz threw for a total of 228 yards, scoring three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Players’ Reactions, “It’s Sickening”
Wentz commented after the game on the performance saying, “It’s frustrating. It’s absolutely frustrating. Especially with the
Wentz was not the only one to express his frustration after the overtime loss. Defensive end Fletcher Cox bluntly called the situation, “sickening.” He went on to say, “We didn’t finish the game… We had them a couple times, and we didn’t finish. I think that’s the biggest thing. They made the play at the end to win the game.”
The team will have to grapple with the fact that they were swept in a heated division rivalry by Dallas. Their chance at postseason play is less than 10%.
Dallas Takes Care of Business
While the Cowboys had a rough start from an offensive efficiency point of view, they did exactly what they needed to do to win. After winning the coin toss, Dak Prescott and the offense put together a near perfect overtime drive. Eighty-five yards and eight minutes later, Dallas scored their third touchdown of the night.
The recent acquisition, wide receiver Amari Cooper, caught a tipped pass off of defensive back Rasul Douglas. After securing possession, Cooper ran the ball seven more yards for the game-winning touchdown. This was the highlight of an incredible game by Cooper. The WR had ten receptions off 13 targets for 217 yards. All three of Dallas’ touchdowns came from Cooper.
He was not the only Cowboy to have a good night, however. Prescott completed 42 passes for 455 yards, resulting in three touchdowns and two interceptions. RB Ezekiel Elliott ran for 133 yards off 28 touches, averaging four yards-per-carry.
The Look Ahead
The Philadelphia Eagles, who are now 6-7 yet only second in the NFC East, have a tough road ahead. They play the Rams in L.A. in Week 15 followed by the Houston Texans at home and then Washington at FedEx Field to finish the season. Their chances at a playoff birth are next to non-existent. The focus of the franchise will likely shift to improving a poached coaching staff and rebuilding the roster.
The Dallas Cowboys are in a much different situation. At 8-5 they are first in the NFC East and have a much more favorable schedule ahead of them. The Cowboys will face the Colts in Indianapolis, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home, and then the Giants in New York. They are currently the fourth seed in the NFC, just one game behind the third-seeded Chicago Bears.
Photo Credit
Featured Image courtesy of James Anderson
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