Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Do or Die in Big D


This year, Santa has a special gift for the city of Philadelphia: an Eagles versus Cowboys Sunday night showdown with playoff implications on the line. Yea, don't think it can get much better than that!

Coming off a dominating 54-11 mauling of the Bears last Sunday night, the Eagles were flawless in all three phases of the game. 

On offense, quarterback Nick Foles continued looking sharp in the pocket and even on the run, as he rolled out a few times, completing big passes to his receivers. One of those receivers was Riley Cooper, who has had a monster season and seems like he catches everything in his path. Running back LeSean "Shady" McCoy does everything--literally--from catching the ball out of the backfield, making his defenders look like cones and having a motor that never stops running. And, oh by the way,
Shady is the NFL's leading rusher with 1,476 yards and is just 37 yards away from breaking Wilbert Montgomery's single-season rushing mark of 1,512 in 1979.

Defensively, the Eagles bounced back after allowing an inexcusable 48 points against the Adrian Peterson-less Vikings. The defensive line manhandled the Bears' offensive line and was able to get after quarterback Jay Cutler. Linebackers Mychal Kendricks and Trent Cole led the way -- Cole with three sacks and Kendricks with two. A lot of credit has to go to the Eagles cornerbacks as well, as Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher bottled up and kept stud wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery in check. Cornerback Brandon Boykin even had a pick six of his own in the fourth quarter.

Never attempting to kick to kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson two weeks ago against the Vikings --instead kicking a short floater, giving Minnesota better field possession throughout the game--Chip Kelly and his staff decided to change things up against the Bears. They showed confidence in their special teams by kicking to Chicago's dangerous return man Devin Hester. The special teams forced a key fumble, which allowed the offense to score the second touchdown of the game and go up 14-0.    

Now, it's time for the Eagles to look ahead to week 16 against their hated rivals, the Cowboys. There have been reports that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will be out for the remainder of the season with a back injury, but the Eagles cannot overlook a team without its franchise player. You know what happened the last time they did that (cough, cough...Adrian Peterson). Dallas' anchor on defense, Sean Lee, is also expected to miss Sunday's game.

The Eagles have been lucky this year, with not having to play against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Lions running back Reggie Bush, Peterson and now, Tony Romo, who will most likely be watching from his hotel room:

However, a great team always has a combination of luck and skill on their side, and that's exactly what Philadelphia has going for them right now.