Philly Sports Jabronis
ARLINGTON, Tx. — We’ve waited for the Eagles to play a complete game in this 2014 season and they came within a few red-zone bobbles of doing just that in Thursday’s 33-10 wire-to-wire win over Dallas.
If there was a statement to be made in the first of two rounds against Dallas (the second comes at Lincoln Financial Field on December 14, it was made emphatically by an Eagles team that ran its offense at breakneck speed and clamped down on anything and everything the Cowboys tried to do offensively.
It was, in fact, artistry. The Eagles dominated, even with a one-of-five performance in the red zone.
“I think we had a chance to get out on them with some tempo early, two touchdown drives, and then the defense just took over,” guard Evan Mathis
said. “That’s good team over there. We just had some success early and then every unit played well together and get after it.
“It was a good win, no doubt,” linebacker Brandon Graham said. “But we also know that it’s just one win and we have them in two weeks. It’s going to be a nice weekend, though. This was the right way to get out on the road and win a game in the division.”
Most impressive was the way the Eagles took it to the Cowboys in every phase. Quarterback Mark Sanchezand the offense had touchdown drives on successive drives to open the game, moving 80 yards on 9 plays to go up 7-0 and then using only 7 passes to cover 88 yards for another touchdown. At 14-0, it felt kind of all over. The Eagles were that good.
The short week. The travel. The home field at AT&T Stadium (although the Eagles fans were loud, proud and effective). It all meant nothing. The Eagles put on their hard hats and were more physical, faster and better equipped to take a one-game lead (and two games in the in-division record) in the NFC East.
“That’s the thing,” wide receiver Jordan Matthews (4 catches, 51 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown catch and run) said. “It was a big game in the division. It was so much fun out there. We started fast, which is what we wanted to do. Tempo is important to us. We executed and took off from there. You get a lead and you just try to increase it and sustain it. What sticks with me is that we only scored one touchdown in the red zone. We had a lot of chances for more.”
Sanchez was efficient all game, throwing the football into open spaces in the defense, taking what Dallas gave, and even providing some yardage — including a 2-yard touchdown — as he kept on some read-options to keep Dallas’ defense guessing.
The offensive line pushed Dallas out of the way and gave running back LeSean McCoy a chance to get to the second level in the open field and make defenders miss, and McCoy did just that with a season-best 159 rushing yards to push past the 1,000-yard mark for the season. The Eagles ran for a 2014-high 256 yards on 45 carries, averaging 5.7 yards per attempt.
Masterful.
And while the offense moved the football up and down the field — once this team solves its inconsistency in the red zone, the Eagles are going to be so, so, so tough to beat — the defense had its finest outing of the season against a quality offense that ranked sixth in the NFL in yards gained and second in rushing yards. Running back DeMarco Murray, of course, led the league in rushing yards.
The Eagles shut it all down. All of it. Murray was limited to 73 yards on 20 carries, with a long of 9 yards. The explosive Dallas passing game was limited to almost nothing by a vigorous pass rush and great, great, great coverage on the back end. Cornerbacks Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher and Brandon Boykin shut down wide receiver Dez Bryant (4 catches, 73 yards) and tight end Jason Witten (1 catch, 8 yards and sacked quarterback Tony Romo four times and limited him to 18 completions on 29 attempts for a paltry 199 yards. For the first time after 38 straight games, Romo did not have a touchdown pass.
“It was everything,” linebacker Connor Barwin said. “We got the lead, which was huge. We stopped the run, which was our first priority. We had great coverage on the back end and had some pressure up front. It was one of those games.”
Said linebacker Mychal Kendricks: “We continue to grow together and become a better defense. Maybe it didn’t seem that way in Green Bay a couple of games ago. That game was just one of those days when everything went wrong. We don’t want that kind of game again. Today we had so much emotion and we were physical and played our game. But we know it’s just one game. We know we have them again and before that, we play the defending Super Bowl champions (Seattle, December 7). We have a long way to go. But we accomplished what we set out to do today.”
And now they can rest with this mini-bye weekend. The Eagles (9-3) deserve the rest. They will cherish the days off (the players don’t report back to the NovaCare Complex until Tuesday). Bodies and minds will become refreshed as the team turns and heads for the final quarter of the regular season.
Is there anything better than beating up on Dallas on Thanksgiving Day in front of a national television audience? Maybe, but that’s for a later time. What the Eagles did on Thursday was an impressive show of force in every way as they take firm control of the NFC East.
