Eagles - Cowboys Takeaways
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| Killshot Shady |
> QB Mark Sanchez trolled McCoy's fantasy owners by keeping the ball on a carry when either could have scored
> It was nice of Dallas Fan to be nice and quiet during that first drive, when Red Zone Fail might have been a problem
> RB DeMarco Murray is, in fact, as good as advertised, in that he's got a knack for always falling forward
> Seeing CB Cary Williams make a great play on an out to WR Dez Bryant, then watching CB Bradley Fletcher get away with DPI on him a few plays later, was also all kinds of telling
> A better game than most for WR Riley Cooper, but I still would much rather see what WR Josh Huff can do with the snaps
> Even on a critical 3rd and 3 that could stop a drive cold, Eagles HC Chip Kelly believes in speed tempo, even when it results in having to rely on Cooper
> Sanchez to WR Jordan Matthews on the roll out, perfectly in stride, for the 27-yard TD and weekly mirage that the Sanchize is better than he is
> That capped a 7-play, 88-yard drive in two freaking minutes that honestly, no other team in the NFL makes
> This game was 14-0 in a real big hurry, and made playing defense for Green a lot easier than expected
> Either K Cody Parkey had a poor day on kickoffs, or Dallas STs were just too desperate to take touchbacks
> MLB Mychal Kendricks chased down WR Cole Beasley from behind in an impressive display of athleticism, even though it resulted in a 16-yard catch and run
> Dallas QB Tony Romo only really made one play of consequence to WR Dez Bryant today, a 38-yard sideline fly that set up a score over Fletcher
> When you watch the Eagles every week, it's kind of startling to see the other team struggle to get plays called before the play clock hits zero
> When Murray scored to make it Eagles 14, Cowboys 7, Joe Buck could not have sounded more overjoyed, though it's also true that every announcing team roots like hell for close games
> The difference today for McCoy running the ball today, versus much of the year, was that patient running was rewarded by a significant amount of pancaking from the offensive line
> When Sanchez is not decisive in getting rid of the ball, it's a sack and strip and disaster just waiting to happen
> It's so nice to root for a team where a sack and loss of 10 doesn't automatically mean two handoffs and a punt, especially when the next play after a sack is WR Jeremy Maclin for 59 cross-cutting yards
> Sanchez missed a crazy open WR Brad Smith as the Dallas defense either became very tired or their true selves
> On third and 3 from the Silver 13, Sanchez got greedy and went for TE Zach Ertz in the end zone, rather than McCoy for in the flat for the likely first down
> Between missing Smith and the McCoy/Ertz move, that's four points that a better QB doesn't leave on the field
> There are few things on this earth that are more porny to me than Bryant screaming at his teammates
> 3rd and 3 down 10 saw Romo miss TE Jason Witten to more than a few cheers from the crowd, and it became pretty apparent that the QB wasn't going to save his team tonight
> You have to love how annoyed Sproles looks when he doesn't score a punt return for touchdown on a play where he had a little room
> Dallas STs with the Stooge Moment of hitting each other to create a better punt, and were very lucky to avoid a muff
> After a healthy dose of Murray Is Good, it was nice for Silver to derp it up on third and three for early snap fail and gift sack for DE Vinny Curry
> The most important down of every Green drive is the first third down, because if they convert, the rest of the field goes like popcorn until the Red Zone
> By the end of the first half, Silver was left to frequent holds due to fatigue
> Sanchez set a career high for yards in a first half, and as it was just 200, that was a little sad
> McCoy with a convoy gets 9, and it's got to be fun to be a Green RB on plays like that
> The Eagles' idea of milking the clock is running plays where the opponent calls timeouts afterward
> I'd like to rename the Fade Pattern into the Hurl Pattern, since I usually want to do it when it's called
> Down 20-7 with a 2-minute drill and possession after the half, Silver had a chance to get back into it... but Beasley's fumble after a strip by CB Brandon Boykin killed that idea
> Not gonna lie: watching the irritating '80s rocker Beasley lip sync curse on national TV was a highlight
> S Nate Allen had a bunch of takeaways today, which might make him the defensive player of the week, despite being, well, Nate Allen
> When Sanchez didn't turn it over on second or third and goal on improv-ish looking passing plays, That Was Progress
> Third and 7 is an anxiety causing scramble and throwaway, and the third straight red zone fail
> Green had 292 yards of offense in the first half, but didn't win time of possession, and for God's sake, stop wasting the audience's time by pretending that matters
> Pitbull on for halftime Up With Everything performance that teaches America that Paul Shaffer can have a second life as a dance pop mediocrity
> On second and 1 after a Murray run, Romo looked deep for a long time with protection, then settled for Witten and small beer conversion, making me wonder if he was getting gun-shy
> DT Fletcher Cox with one of his best games in Green, and yeah, he's going to the Pro Bowl after doing that in front of a stand alone national audience
> McCoy's fumble was really untimely, and as much as I'd like to chastise the RB for it, the way RT Lane Johnson scraped him was pretty fluky
> Cox and DL Bennie Logan with the huge stop on Murray on second and 1 from the four; pretty much a four-point play
> On third and 3 from the 6, MLB Casey Matthews got to Romo for a sack, and the way this coaching staff has rehabilitated a previously useless player is huge
> Sanchez used his above average wheels to get 8 on a scramble, and did not fumble, so yay
> The QB then survived a scary shot to the head that made me wonder if we were going to have to see QB Matt Barkley (dear God, no)
> McCoy's killshot 38-yard touchdown run was one of the few times this year that the RB got to the second level and finished, and all kinds of great to see
> Fox's camera gets slammed in the post-TD celebration for Added Fun
> Being up 20 with 22 minutes left probably meant that most of America went back to awkward conversations with relatives
> Fox brought in Jimmy Johnson to talk about a 25-year-old beatdown, because this game is just getting to that stage
> Romo sacked by OLB Brandon Graham, then Bryant stopped for a yard by CB Nolan Carroll, as the back-up defenders made their bid to have highlights, too
> Allen lost an arm punt pick on 3rd and 14 on a hold by Williams that wasn't getting called the rest of the day
> When the refs let the secondaries be physical, Green wins; the sad part is that doesn't really happen in the NFL very much any more
> It's striking just how little Romo is interested in using his legs now, making me wonder if the back issue is worse than Silver is letting on
> Silver wasn't winning this game even if Romo played well, but Romo really didn't play well; when your QB throws into an area with multiple WRs running the same route, then arm punts a deep ball, that's bad no matter what the scoreboard says
> RB Chris Polk is Kelly's personal victory cigar, and going to fresh young legs deep in a game seems downright unfair
> In fourth quarter garbage time, Sanchez pump fakes on a scramble, 8 yards past the line of scrimmage, just for funsies
> McCoy's could have easily been his second fumble of the day on third and 2 in the red zone was all his fault, and needs to be cleaned up
> File under Hmm... Sanchez and Cooper getting into an argument, leading to a timeout, then Sanchez hitting an oblivious Cooper on a crossing route to fail on third and 4 in the red zone
> The Shorter Version of That; More Josh Huff Please
> Dallas KR Dwayne Harris had a lot of attitude all night, even before his ridiculous cheap shot late
> Romo had a "drive" with a 20-yard underthrow duck, a dump-off to Murray for 15, an underthrow to Bryant that allowed Fletcher to recover, missing Beasley by a country mile, and honestly, it was like Jet Sanchez was in his jersey
> Kendricks got on the highlight reel with his crush job on Murray on fourth and 1 for a six yard loss
> It's somehow even more insulting to the opponent when Green goes into Detention Mode with Actual Huddling
> Romo was hating on his coach when they punted with 6:32 left and down three scores
> No one's going to remember Polk's run on third for a near first down, but the man's got a little Marshawn Lynch in him
> The Harris cheap shot / obvious trolling fight bait would have led every highlight package if it happened against a star player
> The asshat move was penalized, but it still worked out for Silver, as the ball is at the 10, rather than as deep as if Carroll had downed it; the competition committee really needs to tweak on that
> Romo's umpteenth dying quail underthrow was another arm punt for Allen, and yeah, he's not right or not caring or not good
> Polk'a garbage time numbers got Team Rushing over 250, and that's also porny
> Huff lined up at RB and got six yards out of it, which was a little intriguing
> When Sanchez was in the victory formation, you could clearly hear E-A-G-L-E-S chants, which was fun
> Second-worst Silver loss on Thanksgiving ever... with the first also coming to my laundry in 1989, when Buddy Ryan tried to end Troy Aikmann before he even began with a still-satisfying avalanche of sackery
> Green is now 9-3, 3-0 in the NFC East, and back to dreaming about a first-round bye again
> Silver apologists in my Twitter feed want to talk about lack of rest for their team, as if (a) Green wasn't similarly stressed with a much earlier bye, and (b) the schedule just cropped up and took their coaching staff unaware
> There's still time for the Cowboys to lose out and go 8-8
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