Jackson Leads Eagles To Top of NFC East
The NFC East was on showcase in the NFL yesterday with marquee matchups that would set the tone for remaining games on the schedule. The Dallas Cowboys played host the streaking San Diego Chargers while the Philadelphia Eagles battled it out with the New York Giants in the Meadowlands. After all was said and done, the NFC East showed themselves to be also-rans in the playoff conversation.
In Dallas, the Cowboys continued their annual December swoon with a 20-17 loss at home to San Diego. While Dallas has compiled a 3-8 record in December over the last three seasons under Wade Phillips, San Diego has compiled a perfect 11-0 record in the same time span under Norv Turner. The trends didn’t change yesterday.
While the game was decided late, the tone was set early as San Diego took a 7-3 lead after a 7 play, 84 yard drive capped by a LaDainian Tomllison 1-yard plunge. The game was defined by the inability to execute when it counted. That difference showed up on third down, where Dallas was an underwhelming 1 for 8. While Dallas played turnover-free football, they just couldn’t make plays when it counted. And for the second game in a row, the Dallas defense was unable to place pressure on the QB, leaving their questionable secondary open for attack.
To add further misery to the Cowboys locker room, defensive star DeMarcus Ware was taken off the field in a stretcher in the fourth quarter. Ware was hospitalized, as early reports suggest a severe neck sprain that may keep him off the field for awhile. This is unfortunate news for a team already reeling with a tough schedule ahead.
The Eagles and Giants duked it out in a 45-38 offensive war that saw the Eagles come out on top. A matchup of teams where a defensive struggle is the norm, the teams combined for 83 points, the most ever between these teams with a storied history of games played against one another. The Eagles eked out the victory thanks to four lost fumbles and some favorable calls from officials.
Despite the victory on the scoreboard, the Eagles performance on the field was less than stellar. The Giant offense racked up 512 yards of offense as they rumbled up and down the field without the Eagles putting up much of a fight. Once again, the Eagles interior defense was exposed, as the Giants attacked over and over again across the middle, piling up yards in chunks. The Eagles once again had no answer to the middle defense attacks and showed they can be exploited with relative ease.
On the otherside of the ball, the Giants just did themselves in by giving up big plays. DeSean Jackson had a career game with 6 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown as well as 72 yard punt return score. The plays by Jackson were less about his terrific skills and more about a Giant team that can’t get it done. On the two long passes caught by Jackson, Donovan McNabb had underthrown Jackson. The Giant defenders were so far behind, they still couldn’t make up the difference. Then Domenik Hixon total blew the punt return coverage that opened up the run lane for Jackson to break free. The big plays were about blown coverage and non-execution, coupled with poor defensive schemes by the coaches.
When you remove the big plays from the box score, it displayed significant weaknesses in the Eagles offense as well. They didn’t move the ball very effectively despite the Giants placing limited pressure on McNabb. The running game was a disaster again, as the Eagles turned to fullback Leonard Weaver over the struggling rookie LeSean McCoy. More than half of their total offense came on Giants lapses rather than their own solid execution.
The saddest part of the story in the NFC East right now is that the hottest team in the division is the Washington Redskins. With their 34-13 spanking of the Oakland Raiders and their quandered victories against Dallas and Philadelphia, it appears the Skins are the most feared team in the division.
Tags: Dallas Cowboys, demarcus ware, desean jackson, donovan mcnabb, New York Giants, nfc east, philadelphia eagles, Washington Redskins
Did you really say that the Eagles benefited from the officials in that game? Are you an idiot or did you just not watch the game? I am thinking probably a combination of both. The Eagles were fleeced out of at least 10 points in the first half by the officials. This is a terrible web site.
Wow sorry. I had not read the whole article when I made that post. Little did I know there was more terrible analysis below. How are the Skins the hottest team in the division? The eagles have won 4 straight and are playing the best football in the NFC right now. Significant weakness in the Eagles offense? Are you that dumb? Lesean Mccoy is not struggling at all, he is getting limited carries because that is how the offense works. Our offense is amazing. This is the worst sports web site I have ever seen.
Zach, you must have been watching a different game than I was. The officiating was truly atrocious and in favor of the Eagles. The fumble by Eli Manning with the NY Giants was perhaps the worst call in the NFL since the phantom Vinny Testaverde touchdown run. Manning was clearly tripped up by the defender and the ground caused the fumble. This was a textbook call.
The other major blown call was when the officials ruled the McNabb pass dropped Michael Boley a fumble, blowing the ball dead without anyone taking possessions. Multiple Giants were surrounding the ball and no official alerted that the ball was live.
Those two call were critical and were nowhere near counterbalanced on the other side.
And in response to your comments about the Skins, again you must be watching different games. The Skins have outplayed Dallas, Philly and New Orleans on the field, they just blew it on the scoreboard. I will assure you one thing, the Giants won’t light up the Washington defense for 512 yards on Monday night.
Superb post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Appreciate it!