For the Dallas Cowboys, Head Coach Jason Garrett and Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan, it was a humbling, even humiliating experience. Michael Vick’s passing and LeSean McCoy’s running picked their team apart, with Andy Reid orchestrating the whole show. The Philadelphia Eagles DESTROYED the Dallas Cowboys 34-7, and it wasn’t even that close.
The game looked over in the first half, maybe even the first quarter. The Eagles oozed smoothness, the secondary was all it was hyped up to be as the team was built as some ‘Dream Team’ during the off-season. The Cowboys struggled with every play. Tony Romo couldn’t find anyone open, anyone. The defense was outgunned, outmatched and worst of all, couldn’t get a minute to rest as their offense kept getting thrown off the field.
Michael Vick was the personification of efficiency, of cool passing, of decision making. He reminded us of his Monday Night display a year ago. He wasn’t AS spectacular, but didn’t make a single mistake. He threw for 279 yards (21-27), two touchdown passes, finishing with a QB rating of 129.9. In comparison, Tony Romo, with that questionable offensive line and high snaps, with a coach that made him play the most conservative game-plan ever, finishing with 203 yards (18-35), one TD, one interception and a 66.7 QB rating.
The Pre-Game headlines talked about the best rushing attack against the best run defense in the league. Not even a contest. The Eagles ran for 239 yards in 38 carries. LeSean McCoy simply couldn’t be stopped, running for 185 yards and two touchdowns, the sixth highest total for an Eagles running back ever.
Vick kept picking the middle apart. One pass inside, mostly to Jason Avant (5 receptions, 74 yards) and Tight End Brent Celek (7 receptions, 94 yards, one touchdown). And then McCoy ran up the middle. And then another pass, and again, and again. DeMarcus Ware got four sacks, but as the TV crew put it, those were the quietest four sacks ever made. The Eagles and Vick could live with those four sacks.
Rob Ryan, especially mouthy and especially proud, got an A** Kickin’. He admitted it. I got outcoached by Reid and their staff. It’s ridiculous. I never gave our guys a chance. The whole thing was on me. He wasn’t alone in coaching, and performance failure. The Cowboys just looked unprepared in every aspect of the game. Whoever came up with the horrible offensive plan…
You got DeMarco Murray, who managed to run for 74 yards in 8 carries, coming off his monster week. Why not try him a little more? Because the playbook says you pass when you’re behind? Romo couldn’t find Dez Bryant or Mario Austin until garbage time. The Eagles allowed him to get it on with Witten and Laurent Robinson, who just don’t do the same damage.The Eagles secondary, playing man to man but also looking much more comfortable with the new schemes, finally, lived up to the expectations.
With the Giants looking the way they do, and winning the way they are, It’s hard to tell if the Eagles can catch up in the NFC East. What is certain, without a doubt, that they are a much better team right now than the Dallas Cowboys and the falling apart Washington Redskins. All the potential is coming together, and it’s impressive to watch. Winter is coming, and Andy Reid and the Eagles love winter.