One For The Ages

Eagles come close, but can't hold up in the end



The latest Eagles-Cowboys game...err shall I say battle was a slugfest in the mold of a Hagler-Hearns boxing match. From the opening moments, the excitement never wavered.

There were seven lead changes, 78 points, and about as much drama in 60 minutes of football you'll ever see. This might have been the greatest Monday Night game ever, but certainly the greatest Monday Night game in the past several years-since the amazing Rams-Broncos game from 2000.

Ultimately, McNabb will take the fall for this loss and while he should assume much of the blame for the poor hand-off, but he also wasn't getting it done in the fourth quarter, compared to the first half when he was on point like a sniper rifle.

The bottom line is the defense and special teams should never give up 41 points. If you expect to compete in this league against the big boys that's a no-no. And, even with that going against them the offense namely B West and D Jack gave McNabb enough firepower to overcome the consistent onslaught of the Cowboys' juggernaut.

Maybe when these teams face in week 17, things will be much different and the Eagles will come out on top like they did late last year, but there are certainly some shortcomings on defense that need to be addressed. They can't allow Brian Dawkins to be isolated in man coverage or allow their young linebackers like Bradley to get exploited by tight ends. Jason Witten had a field day last night and the offensive line of the Cowboys allowed Marion Barber to attack at will in the second half.

Before this season began I didn't think the Eagles would realistically win this meeting. The fan in me wants them to always win, but I have to be objective for the sake of this blog. But, going into last night I expected a high-scoring match and felt the Eagles would keep it close. It was theirs to win and just as heartbreaking a game as the Patriots game last year.

If we learned anything though it's that they aren't far from the Cowboys and the Eagles are a very good team, perhaps an 11 win team. And, that may nab them the NFC East crown. They have a tough game this week against Pittsburgh and you can bet your bank account that it won't be a high-scoring match and will come down to who controls the line of scrimmage and defensive stops in the clutch.

Already last night this team accomplished what couldn't last year and that's get touchdowns on special teams and defense. There are no moral victories, but those two things right there tell you this is a much better football team a year later.

The Birds will travel to Pittsburgh next week.