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Cowboys 24, Eagles 0
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Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
The Eagles will stir the ashes of this disaster, this 24-0 debacle, in an attempt to find some hope, seeing as how their playoff chances rest upon finding something in the next few days that will convince them that they can beat the Dallas Cowboys. And, well, good luck with that.
It was every bit as bad as the score indicated. Tempted by a chance at a division championship and a first-round bye in the playoffs, the Eagles got slaughtered instead. They got routed. The Cowboys ran all over them, shredded them through the air, and held their potent offense pointless. It was total domination.
And now the Eagles have to come back to Cowboys Stadium -- population: 100,621 yesterday -- and try to figure out a way to make it all go away.
Nobody covered himself in glory, from the head coach on down. Andy Reid stopped running when the team fell behind. The Eagles called a ridiculous timeout while in punt formation in the first half -- a timeout they really could have used as their drive expired at the end of the half. In the third quarter, down by 17-0, looking at a third-and-2 at the Dallas 35, Reid should have treated it as two downs to get 2 yards. Instead, he called a slant pass over the middle that fell incomplete and then saw David Akers miss a 53-yard field goal.
Even with all of that, though, the problems were much bigger. Defensively, especially, you wonder where the Eagles might find an answer. They have lived on the edge for weeks, and now they have toppled. The defense looked hollow yesterday, empty in the middle. Their post-season hope all along has been for their offense to put up big numbers, and now that imperative seems even greater. But against a very athletic Dallas defense, especially up front, the Eagles couldn’t sustain enough of the underneath stuff and couldn’t hit enough of the long stuff upon which they have lived all season.
If this all sounds grim, that is because it is.
This game made me wonder what happened to the Eagles. Not the same team we have seen. The Evil Force has won out against good. A sad day for the longstanding Eagle fans...a disaster!— envirojoe55- Eagles looked out of synch, once again drops, badly thrown passes, and no pressure on the QB. On TV it looked like D.Jackson pulled a Randy Moss today. However, it's been quite a few years since I can recall the birds playing like this two weeks in a row. Hopefully the real Eagles show up next week.— baranx4
- first (in the nfc east that is)— dallasfan919
- this simply confirms their win streak was a mirage accomplished against lousy opponents and totally dependent on big plays— davi
- Did the team not get the memo they had a game today? the only hope now is the fact the cowgirls will have big heads and it's almost impossible to beat the same team 3 times in a year let alone 2 weeks in a row. Otherwise, this is worse than hell-if there is such a thing.— kappdoe1476
- Where are all you clowns now? "Oh, they'll find a way to get Jackson more catches!" HA! She was held to 2 catches again. And Maclin scared of Hamlin on the final throw by McNabb. PRICELESS! E-A-G-L-E-S-U-C-K !— morvak
- "it's impossible to beat the same team three times!" BWAHAHAHAA you clowns and your hoodoo-voodoo talk. that's all you got left!— morvak
- 5,3,3 0 and now we have to worry about 6 for cowgirls— zonaindie2
- Start Vick next week. Ha— philly200
- I've said it before and I'll say it again: fire the always apologizing-never remembers how to do his job, Andy Reid. He was good before, but no longer. Probably worn out from personal(always public) problems. Oh, well...— Joyful
Comment removed.- Look at this way: If the Eagles beat Dallas next week, this game won't seem so significant. Yeah, that's IF, but I think they can do it.— p-diddy
- Comment removed.
- Please oh please Dear Lord, let next week be the last that McNabb ever plays for the Eagles!!!!— TheFirstStateVinman
- Reid Press Conference. Hit 'play': "I need to do a better job getting the players in the right positions." "I need to do a better job with the plays." "I need to do a better job preparing the team." "This is not on Donovan."— Manor2009
