This is probably the most intriguing of this week's Wild Card games simply because the Cowboys have beaten the Eagles twice this season. The most notable of those victories came last weekend when the Cowboys romped the Eagles 24-0 to clinch the NFC East division. One can understand why the Eagles aren't favored in this game. They supposedly gave their best effort last week in an effort to clinch the NFC East and a first-round bye in the playoffs. What did they produce? Absolutely nothing. Instead, it was the Cowboys who came up big thanks in large part to another stellar defensive performance. Ever since their upset victory over the Saints, the Cowboys have been playing with passion and intensity the likes of which we have never seen from them in the month of December. They closed out their season with three convincing wins over two playoff teams and the lackluster Washington Redskins. The defense has produced back-to-back shutouts for the first time in team history, which is an excellent sign heading into the postseason. Tony Romo is playing the best football of his career, emerging as the perennial leader of America's Team during the month of December. Romo is making good decisions with the football and has established a consistency with his receivers that allows Dallas to open the running game whenever it wants to. The Cowboys are a team with an unlimited amount of talent and depth, which also means they are a team with a significant amount of potential.
What makes this game really interesting though is that the Cowboys haven't lived up to the billing of America's Team for the last 13 years. Translation: they haven't won a playoff game since 1996. That is a gorilla twice the size of King Kong and nearly equal to the pressure of winning a Super Bowl in Big D. And it is a factor that must be taken into consideration when evaluating this game. There is no doubt in my mind that the Cowboys are playing the best football in the NFC right now. They finished the regular season riding a boatload of momentum and are in prime position to make a statement this weekend and well into February. But all that momentum means nothing if they don't win Saturday night. The facts are still the facts. Wade Phillips is 0-4 as a head coach in the playoffs. Tony Romo has never won a playoff game. None of the players on the Cowboys roster have tasted the glory of playoff victory. And...they are playing the Philadelphia Eagles, a division rival that is stark raving mad over how they played last weekend. The Eagles are a team that can easily bounce back from a loss, especially the kind they suffered last weekend. They have just as much talent as the Cowboys and have won 6 of the last 7 games. So the Cowboys cannot take this Eagle team for granted. If they do, then they will be in big trouble all night long.
The Cowboys will be on pins and needles, feeling the pressure and desperately craving a victory so they can let loose. How will they go about accomplishing this? By sticking to the game plan that worked so well last weekend. They will feed the ball to Marion Barber and hope to get the same level of production they got from him last week. They will expect Felix Jones to break free for long runs, which will allow for the Cowboys to win the battle of field position. And they will look to give a few carries to Tashard Choice so as to make the Eagles prepare for all their weapons in the backfield. The three-headed monster will come out roaring tonight. We shall see if the Eagles can claw their way to success. The Eagles defense was very lackluster last weekend simply because they abandoned their defensive philosophy. The Eagles are all about blitzing the quarterback, hoping that they get enough pressure to throw off his rhythm. If they don't blitz the quarterback, then they leave their secondary exposed over the middle, which often leads to big plays and scoring drives. The Eagles did not blitz Tony Romo at all last week, which resulted in big games from Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, and Jason Witten. They cannot allow Romo to develop a rhythm this week because he will kill them every time. Romo is playing too well right now to let the game slip away. He will not make mistakes if there is no pressure on him in the pocket because the Cowboys have enough talent to butcher the Eagles' secondary. Expect the Eagles to throw everything at Romo this week, forcing him to be quicker than usual in an effort to get him confused and irritated in the pocket. The key will be if the Eagles can get there in time to force enough sacks and errant throws from Romo. If they do, then expect a lot of turnovers from Big D's star quarterback. If not, expect a heavy dose of what we saw last week.
And what do the Eagles have to do offensively against this vaunting Cowboys defense? For one thing, they need to put points on the scoreboard. How do they go about doing that? Donovan McNabb needs to find his receivers down the field early and often. The Cowboys have done a spectacular job of neutralizing DeSean Jackson in their two games with Philadelphia this season. In last week's game, Jackson caught 3 balls for 47 yards. In the first game against Dallas, he was held to 2 catches for 29 yards. Prognosis: not so good the third time around. McNabb has tried to establish the deep threat with Jackson numerous times against the Cowboys with very little success. In fact, the only Philly receiver to have success against the Cowboys this season was TE Brent Celek, who had 7 receptions for 96 yards last weekend. Expect McNabb to find Celek over the middle consistently in this football game. However, they will need star efforts from Jackson and Jeremy Maclin if they are going to win this game. The Eagles also have to develop their running game as much as possible. I know that Andy Reid has always been a pass-happy coach and that Brian Westbrook is still coming back from his concussion. But the Eagles need to establish an offensive balance that will throw the Cowboys off in this game and leave them all kinds of confused. How do they go about doing this? By mixing and matching with Westbrook and LeSean McCoy. McCoy had a terrific season filling in for Westbrook and has established himself as a potent weapon on this Eagles offense. He can be very effective at the line of scrimmage and can hammer the ball up the middle to gain the tough yards after contact. Westbrook is dangerous running sweeps to the outside, which leaves the Eagles with many different offensive choices. But the Eagles cannot rely solely on McNabb and their passing attack to win this game. There needs to be balance in order to produce results. Last week, the running game was held to just 37 yards on the ground. This forced McNabb to throw the ball significantly to receivers who couldn't break off their defenders in time. The Cowboys got enough pressure on McNabb to make him scramble out of the pocket many times. They also took advantage of the loss of C Jamaal Jackson, which left the Eagles confused and disgruntled at the line of scrimmage throughout the course of the game. What do I expect from the Eagles in this game? I expect them to obviously make adjustments to their game plan. They will try their best to accommodate the loss of Jackson on the offensive line, which means they will establish their passing game early and incorporate the run late. They will need to control the tempo at the line of scrimmage by limiting the Cowboys' pursuit of the ball and the pressure they can get on McNabb. McNabb will need time to manage the game and to throw accurately to his receivers. And his receivers need to get open, making plays down the field and getting the Eagles in prime position to make something happen. It will be a very tough task against a Cowboys defense that is playing lights out right now. But the Eagles have enough talent to make it happen, especially with all the pressure riding on this game for the Cowboys.
As to how this game will unfold...I think it's going to be very challenging for the Eagles to win this game. Unlike the Bengals, the Eagles tried very hard to win last week in Dallas because they had the NFC East and a first-round bye at stake in the game. The Cowboys know they can beat the Eagles because they have already done so twice this year. And it is very hard to fathom how the Eagles are going to replace Jamaal Jackson at the center position. Still, the Eagles have enough fire power to match the Cowboys offensively. And lord knows the Cowboys will not shut out the Eagles again. Back-to-back shutouts are rare. Back-to-back-to-back shutouts are unheard of. This is going to be a very competitive game, one that may go down to the very end. Who wants it more? I think the Cowboys want it more. The Cowboys are looking into the magic mirror. They know how well they've played over the last three weeks. And they know that this may be their best opportunity to make a run at the Vince Lombardi trophy. I know that it is very hard to beat a division rival three times in a row over the course of a season. But I think the Cowboys have a mental edge over the Eagles right now. They are playing well-balanced football and believe that the only thing that can stop them is themselves. If they don't turn the football over or shoot themselves in the foot with penalties, then they will win this game and cruise into Minnesota next weekend. I think Romo has a great game. I think the defense plays inspired football once again. And I think Jerry Jones will sleep well tonight.
FINAL SCORE: COWBOYS 27, EAGLES 17
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