Tony Romo
The Dallas Cowboys whipped the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-14, for their first NFL playoff win since 1996 and cemented the Eagles’ rep as the most underachieving team of the past decade.
The Cowboys dominated the wild card game and beat the Eagles for the second time in six days. It was a stunning turnaround; a week ago, many were labeling Philly the best team in the NFC after they had won six games while averaging 31 points a game. In the two losses to Dallas, the Eagles were outscored, 58-14.
After being December/January dogs the past few seasons, the Cowboys have won four in a row and look like a legitimate Super Bowl contender. They play at Minnesota next Sunday in what should be a terrific matchup. With Brett Favre now wearing purple, I’ll be a big Cowboys fan for a few hours.
The Eagles end the NFL decade having won 102 regular season games under Andy Reid, third most. However, the top two winning coaches (Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy) have Super Bowl rings, while Reid made the big game only once and lost. The biggest stat for the 2000s Eagles is four NFC title game losses, two at home. They Eagles play in the weaker conference and only one time (2002 to Tampa) did they lose in the NFC playoffs to a team that went on to win the Super Bowl. That’s the mark of an underacheiver.
I am not sure what lies next for Philly. They have a lot of offensive talent, but need to realize that it is legal to run the ball in the NFL. They had zero first downs rushing against Dallas, while at the same time QB Donovan McNabb was dreadful. It will be an interesting offseason, but for Philly fans take heart — pitchers and catchers report in a few weeks.
on Jan 10th, 2010 at 1:59 AM
I’m not sure you can still say the NFC is the weaker conference when it was the AFC that had teams that were 7-8 but still alive for the playoffs going into the final weekend.
on Jan 10th, 2010 at 3:13 AM
Hi there to all you Cowboys fanatics out there!
Just wanted to share my experience of watching my first Dallas Cowboys and what can I say? It was a fantastic win being an equal by a fantastic experience. I really like what I say from Tony ROMO and the rest of the gangs. It feels like that I have become a newly converted Cowboys fan.
You see, I am from Malaysia and it is not everyday that we get a good live coverage of NFL matches. But I remember someone telling me if you want to start loving American football, you have start with the Cowboys first. I guess my buddy was right on.
However I remember following about the Cowboys from the Internet a few years back when Martin GRAMATICA was vying for the place kicking job. As a fan of Argentina, I would have extremely happy is that really happened. Nevertheless, I’m still very impress.
Another reason that I’m happy for this win is because of Aussie connection. Yes, we are happy for Matt McBRIAR winning the punting duel with fellow countrymen Sav ROCCA.
Hopefully the Cowboys will make it to another Super Bowl now that have broke their long jinx. I’m pretty sure if they keep this up, there is every reason to believe that they will make it.
VAMOS COWBOYS!!!
on Jan 10th, 2010 at 10:01 AM
I call your attention to Big Daddy Andy Reid whose management style makes Bricks of all his boys.
on Jan 10th, 2010 at 11:07 AM
I had no horse in the race with those two teams, so it was mostly boring when it turned into a blow out. I would have been fine either team winning, not that I am a particular fan of either one. I just like TE’s Brent Celek and Jason Whitten, so who ever was successful I would be happy for. Though Celek is from my area of Ohio, Cincinnati, so it be nice if some one from our area was winning…since its not the Bearcats or the Bengals.
on Jan 10th, 2010 at 4:53 PM
“I’m not sure you can still say the NFC is the weaker conference when it was the AFC that had teams that were 7-8 but still alive for the playoffs going into the final weekend.”
But the best record was AFC Indy and AFC SD was 13-3. And my statement holds true for the decade, which is what I was referring to.
on Jan 10th, 2010 at 8:27 PM
COWBOYS!!!
on Jan 11th, 2010 at 11:14 PM
Does Andy Reid have blackmail material against the Eagles owner because that’s the only reason I can figure that he’s still employed in Philly. Maybe I’m filtering this through my frustration with Mike Scioscia and the way he manages the Angels, but at what point do you say “Well, time to go in another direction” and get rid of Reid/Scioscia?
See above re: McNabb too.
on Jan 12th, 2010 at 6:34 PM
The Eagles’ philosophy is to be competitive enough to keep the money flowing in (tickets, merchandise, etc.). As much as they say otherwise, they don’t really care as much as the rest of us about winning the Super Bowl. If they do win, it’ll just be icing on their cake. So Reid is perfect for them.