Wildcard Weekend
Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys (-4) Current Over/Under 45
Cowboys Stadium, 8:00 p.m. ET, NBC
The second game on Saturday of Wildcard Weekend pits two teams that are extremely familiar with one another as this will be the third time they meet this season. In the 8:30 P.M. start in Dallas, the 11-5 Eagles will try to avoid being swept by the 11-5 Cowboys after dropping the second game of the season series 24-0 last week. This lost was devastating to Philadelphia as it dropped them from the #2 seed and a week off to the #6 seed and another trip to Cowboy’s Stadium to face one of the hottest teams heading into the post season.
In last week’s game Dallas relied on RB Marion Barber and a punishing rushing attack along with a stifling defense to completely shut the Eagles down. This game was never close as the Cowboys took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. The seven points were all they really needed as Philadelphia’s big play offense was totally negated by a persistent pass rush that hounded Eagles QB Donovan McNabb all day long and a secondary that held All Pro WR DeSean Jackson to just three receptions for just 47 yards. When they did move the ball deep into Dallas territory; turnovers, penalties and missed field goal never allowed them to put any points on the board. Dallas on the other hand could basically do no wrong. QB Tony Romo hit his receivers in stride and Barber and Felix Jones were able to break tackles turning short yardage plays into big gains. WR Miles Austin had a big day, catching seven balls for 90 yards and TE Jason Witten added six receptions for 76 yards and a TD as the Eagles were unable to put any real pressure on Romo, allowing him to pick their secondary apart.
Coming into last week’s game Philadelphia had won six straight and appeared ready to make another serious Super Bowl run. For the most part they have remained healthy, but did lose their starting C Jamaal Jackson in the game against Denver which has already shown to be a huge hole to fill. If they are to have any chance to win this week his replacement, Nick Cole is going to have to play much better than did in last week’s game. The strength of this team relies on the offense’s ability to make big plays and the defense’s ability to be a disruptive force through an elaborate series of blitz schemes. Neither one of these elements were present last week.
Dallas has been dogged all year long as underachievers. When December rolled around and they lost the first two games of the month, most if not all the critics wrote them off for the year. Behind a solid defense and running game they have built momentum from a three game winning streak that is going to be hard for any team to stop. Now that they have exercised the demons of past late season swoons, they still have one more to go; winning a playoff game. Tony Romo and the ‘Boys appear ready to move past this obstacle as well.
For Philadelphia, they need to quickly put last week behind them and get back to doing all the things that got them into the playoffs in the first place. On offense they have to run the ball better, protect McNabb better, and put the fear of the deep ball back into the hearts of the Dallas defenders. On defense they have to stop the run and get after Tony Romo.
For Dallas, all they simply need to do is execute last week’s game plan one more time. If Marion Barber and Felix Jones can chew up yards on the ground it will open up the short passing lanes for Romo to find his receivers just like before. Defensively they have to keep McNabb in the pocket so he cannot extend plays long enough to find someone open downfield.
In the NFL it is extremely hard for any team to beat another three times in one season, especially when they know each other so well. This game will be much closer this time around as Philadelphia’s playoff experience will work to negate Dallas’s momentum. I’ll take the EAGLES and the four points in a game that goes OVER the total.
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- Philadelphia is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
- Philadelphia is 17-8 ATS in its last 25 games on the road
- Philadelphia is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
- Philadelphia is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
- Dallas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
- Dallas is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Dallas’s last 9 games
- Dallas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Well, we got it done against Philly!
Sadly we didn’t get it done against Minnesota! =(