THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Each week, Daily News football writer Paul Domowitch will tell you the things he will be keeping his eyes on during that week’s game:
1. Make Romo Be Romo: Tony Romo hasn’t thrown an interception in the last three games and has been sacked just five times in those games. But those games were against three defenses — Seattle, Atlanta and Kansas City — with a combined opponent passer rating of 92.8. When Romo is pressured, when Romo gets knocked around, he makes mistakes. His record as a starter when he’s been sacked no more than once — 21-3. His record when he’s been sacked more than once — 11-11.
2. The tight end dilemma: Cowboys TE Jason Witten is a difficult matchup for opposing defenses. His 37 receptions ties him with the Eagles’ Brent Celek for most by an NFC tight end. The Eagles have had their problems this season vs. opposing TEs. They’ve given up just six TD catches in the last four games, but five have been to TEs. Opponents clearly are attacking them there. Of the 970 passing yards against the Eagles in the last four games, 411 (42.4 percent) have come on passes to tight ends.
3. More takeaways: The Eagles are first in the NFL in takeaways with 21. They’ve won four of their last six meetings against the Cowboys and turnovers have been a key in all four. They forced 16 turnovers in those four wins, and just three in their two losses. The Cowboys are 29-8 when Tony Romo has thrown no more than one interception, but 3-6 when he’s had multiple picks.
4. Protecting Donnie Mac: The Cowboys have 11 sacks in the last three games and have notched at least three in each of their their last five. Linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who had an NFL-best 20 sacks last season, is the man the Eagles have to contain. Much of that responsibility will fall on left tackle Jason Peters. Ware has five of the Cowboys’ 11 sacks the last 3 weeks. He’s had at least one sack in five of his last six games against the Eagles.
5. The big-play Birds: The Eagles haven’t been much for methodical scoring marches this season. Just three of their 20 touchdown drives have been longer than six plays. They have a league-high 12 offensive plays of 40-plus yards (nine passing, three rushing), including six by wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
DOMO'S TOP 10
1. Colts, 7-0
2. Saints, 7-0
3. Vikings, 7-1
4. Broncos, 6-1
5. Patriots, 5-2
6. Steelers, 5-2
7. Ravens, 4-3
8. Eagles, 5-2
9. Packers, 4-3
10. Bengals, 5-2
To read the latest from Roy Williams, click here
To read our report from today's practice, click here
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
