The Dallas Cowboys came through big time on the road and further extended their undefeated road record by defeating the Eagles 38-27. The game itself had all the drama any fan could handle. There were points in the game where we dominated the Eagles and looked like we were going to crush them. Then we had a moment where the momentum shifted with 24 unanswered points and it looked like Cowboys from the last few seasons – implosion city.
In the end, these 2014 Cowboys did what they have done most of the year – persevered .
We needed big plays from the big play guys and they all came through.
The Cowboys suffered a few key injuries that could effect next week’s game against the Colts. DeMarco Murray broke his 4th metacarpel in his left hand and is having surgery today. It’s not clear whether Murray will be able to play with a padded hand / club or whether he’ll miss games.
Zack Martin and Doug Free both tweaked their ankles. Free was held out from the 3rd quarter, and Martin played through his injury. I’m sure Garrett will list them as day-to-day the rest of the week, but we’ll get more info on their injuries during Garrett’s press conference today.
Here are my thoughts on the game:
— Dez Bryant is a monster receiver in this league. He ate up the single coverage from the Eagles. 3 TDs for a career game in a single game. Very nice. We’ll need more of the same from Dez in coming games. It’ll be interesting to see if any other defenses play Dez in that same way? I doubt it.
— The offensive line continues to put on a clinic with sound protection and run blocking for Murray. They are a young group and they will only continue to get better. Nice game by the big guys, we needed that. They gave Romo just enough time to pick apart the Eagles secondary.
— Cole Beasley has turned up his game and Romo is getting the ball to him for some critical 3rd down conversions. Another nice game from Beasley.
— Brandon Carr is still atrocious and needs help to cover his guy. We’ll probably be moving on from him in 2015.
— The linebackers were a physical group. We saw McClain hit guys and drive them into the ground, but Anthony Hitchens probably had one of his most physical games as well. He looked focused and made some nice tackles.
— Tyrone Crawford is probably your starting 3-tech in 2015. He’s been playing solid ball and racked up 2 sacks in key moments of the game.
— Henry Melton will not be a Cowboys in 2015. Nothing on the stat sheet, another goose egg, he’s not showing up.
— DeMarcus Lawrence has not shown up in the pass rush yet. Is anyone else concerned about this? Where was he last night?
— The defense created pressure and forced Sanchez to make mistakes. We also forced fumbles. The takeaways helped the Cowboys finish off the Eagles. We need more defensive performances like that.
— Jeremy Mincey was our most consistent pass rusher, right there with Crawford.
— We had a nice game from Jason Witten. He needed to play a key role against the Eagles and his contribution bailed us out on a few drives.
— J.J. Wilcox had one of his better games in a roller coaster filled season. He needs to play more like last night instead of the more than a few shaky games he’s put in this year.
— The coaching staff corrected a lot of the mistakes from our first meeting with the Eagles and that was a good sign. Let’s keep preparing on that same level and we’ll be fine.
— Player execution was elevated and it was the deciding factor in this game. The players came out focused and made the big plays and made the plays that were needed at the right time. Good job by the team as a whole.
==
The Cowboys have two games left: Colts; @Redskins
The Cowboys may need to use Randle against the Colts if Murray is unavailable and Dunbar as well. I’m hoping to see more Randle than Dunbar, because Dunbar is just not good between the tackles. The Cowboys definitely put themselves in the driver’s seat for a shot at the playoffs, but they need to finish strong. Any slips ups and we could land out of the playoffs.
Take care of the Colts and Redskins and we are in the tournament! Let’s go Dallas! #FinishTheFight
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
