NFC East: For Eagles, a feat to be tied
Sports Network | November 18, 2008
(Sports Network) - What probably is considered the lowest point of what's becoming a season of failed expectations for the Philadelphia Eagles came this past Sunday in a game the puzzling team actually didn't lose.
Then again, the Eagles didn't win this past Sunday's matchup with the perennial pushover Cincinnati Bengals, either. The two clubs instead battled to the NFL's first tied contest in six years, a 13-13 deadlock that was highlighted by mistakes and missed opportunities for the visiting Birds.
Philadelphia outgained the Bengals by a 391-282 advantage in total yards, yet were a Shayne Graham missed field goal on the game's penultimate play from enduring a most ignominious defeat to a wayward Cincinnati squad that had won just once in its first nine tries of 2008.
The most obvious culprit for Sunday's disappointing result is quarterback Donovan McNabb, who committed four costly turnovers (3 interceptions, 1 fumble) and was off target for a great deal of the afternoon. The five-time Pro Bowl honoree completed just 28 of a career-high 58 pass attempts, his second straight game of under 50 percent marksmanship.
All three of McNabb's picks came with his team inside Cincinnati territory, while his first-quarter fumble after being sacked was recovered by the Bengals at the Philly one-yard line, although a superlative effort by an inspired Eagles defense held the opposition to only a field goal following the possession change.
"When you go through the course of a game, it's important on our side of the ball to be consistent and eliminate turnovers and put ourselves in position to score," said McNabb afterward. "Today I just didn't do it. I was being careless with the ball and trying to be aggressive and it led to turnovers."
With McNabb, who has thrown five of his eight interceptions for the season over the last three games, putting forth a head-scratcher of a performance, it's curious as to why the Eagles were so determined to put their fate squarely in the hands of the struggling quarterback. Despite owning one of the league's premier running backs in Brian Westbrook and facing a Cincinnati defense that came in having allowed a subpar 138.1 rushing yards per week, Philadelphia only called 16 runs out of 76 plays run by the offense.
The tie was the first in a game involving the Eagles since a 10-10 stalemate at Baltimore on November 16, 1997. Only two tilts in league play have ended in a tie since then, the most recent being a 34-34 deadlock between Pittsburgh and Atlanta on November 10, 2002.
QUICK HITS: Westbrook finished with 60 rushing yards on 14 carries...The Philadelphia defense racked up eight sacks against the Bengals, with Cincinnati-area native Trent Cole and Darren Howard each registering two. Howard now has 5 1/2 sacks over his last five games and leads the Eagles with eight this season...Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley topped the team with 12 tackles (10 solo) on Sunday, with Cole being credited for a season-best 10 stops...Philadelphia went just 3-for-18 on third-down conversions for the game.
NEXT UP: Ironically, the Eagles will return to Baltimore this coming Sunday for the first time in the regular season since that infamous tie 11 years ago. The playoff-hopeful Ravens will be facing an NFC East foe for the second consecutive week, having dropped a 30-10 decision on the road to the Giants over the weekend to fall to 6-4 on the season. These teams have played one another in the preseason in 10 of the past 13 years, but haven't met when it counts since a 15-10 Eagles win in Philadelphia in 2004.
DALLAS: Rumors of the Cowboys' impending demise appear to be somewhat exaggerated, as the consensus preseason NFC favorites vaulted themselves right back into the conference playoff picture with Sunday's much-needed 14-10 victory over the rival Washington Redskins at FedEx Field.
The triumph did more than allow Dallas to avenge a frustrating two-point home loss to fellow NFC East member Washington back in Week 5. The 6-4 Cowboys pulled even with the Redskins and Atlanta in the race for one of the conference's two Wild Card berths, a battle that also includes 7-3 Tampa Bay.
What may be even more important for the previously-reeling Cowboys, however, was how Sunday's hard-fought win restored whatever confidence may have been lost after a spell of three defeats in a four-game stretch heading into the showdown.
"We had to have this one," said quarterback Tony Romo. "I told the guys the time is now. It (was) a show-me game, we had to go out there and show ourselves and show each other that we can play good football."
The contest marked the return of Romo to the Cowboys' huddle following a three-game absence due to a fractured pinkie finger on his throwing hand. The athletic triggerman had an uneven showing in his comeback -- he was intercepted twice in Washington territory during the first half and finished with a rather ordinary total of 198 passing yards. However, he also delivered a perfectly-thrown 25-yard touchdown strike to rookie tight end Martellus Bennett early in the fourth quarter that gave Dallas a four-point lead.
The Cowboys' real difference-maker on offense turned out to be Marion Barber, with the punishing running back rolling up 111 yards on 23 carries against a formidable Washington defense and leading the team with 39 receiving yards on six grabs as well.
Barber was also at his best during the game's critical late stages. The fourth-year pro accounted for every inch of a 13-play, 46-yard drive that consumed the final six minutes and 40 seconds and sealed the win by plowing ahead for three yards on a 4th-and-1 situation with just over a minute left.
Dallas seems to now have a golden opportunity to strengthen its case for a playoff spot prior to a challenging four-game stretch in December. The Cowboys' next two opponents are NFC West doormats San Francisco and Seattle, both of whom will be visiting Texas Stadium.
QUICK HITS: Cornerback Terence Newman, who had missed Dallas' last five games after undergoing groin surgery in October, also returned to action on Sunday and made a significant impact. The 2007 Pro Bowler compiled seven tackles and intercepted the Redskins' Jason Campbell to thwart a potential scoring drive early in the second half...Left guard Kyle Kosier, limited to just one previous game this season with a foot sprain, was also in the starting lineup...The Cowboys held the football for 10 minutes and 52 seconds during the fourth quarter and ran 21 plays (16 rushes, 5 passes) over the final 15 minutes...Rookie running back Felix Jones sat out a fourth straight contest because of a torn hamstring.
NEXT UP: The Cowboys host a San Francisco club that gave interim head coach Mike Singletary his first career win as a head coach with this past Sunday's 35-16 decision over St. Louis. These two storied franchises played a number of memorable playoff games against one another during the mid 1990's, but they haven't met since Dallas posted a 34-31 win over the Niners at Candlestick Park in 2005.
N.Y. GIANTS: The Giants' machine steamrolled its way to yet another impressive victory this past week, with the reigning world champions extending their NFC- best record to 9-1 with a 30-10 ousting of Baltimore in an interconference clash at the Meadowlands.
New York used a familiar formula to notch its fifth straight win. The Giants ran the ball with surprising authority on the Ravens' top-notch defense, while Big Blue's own ferocious stop unit successfully shut down Baltimore's ground game and got rookie quarterback Joe Flacco to make a couple of pivotal mistakes.
The Giants' three-pronged rushing attack amassed an eye-popping 207 yards against a Baltimore defense that had been yielding a miniscule 65.4 yards per game on the ground and had not allowed more than 76 in a single contest prior to Sunday's tilt. Top running back Brandon Jacobs grinded out 77 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries before being giving way to backfield mates Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw in the second half. Bradshaw had 96 yards on just nine totes in the win, with nearly all of that yardage coming via a 77-yard burst early in the fourth quarter.
Jacobs, Bradshaw and Ward all had a run of 22 yards or longer during the course of the game.
"I think we have the best offensive line in the NFL," remarked defensive end Justin Tuck after the game. "They showed that today by the way they protected (quarterback) Eli (Manning) and the way we ran the football."
Fueled by the offense's ability to pound away on the ground, New York scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions to build a commanding 20-0 lead, which forced the ball-control Ravens to quickly deviate from their game plan.
"Our offensive first drive was a statement drive," continued Tuck. "It was a good job of setting the tone in the football game and coming out and really establishing and pinning their wheels against a very good defense."
Forced to play catch up, Baltimore running backs mustered only 47 yards on 19 attempts on the afternoon. The agile Flacco topped his team with 57 yards on six scrambles, but the first-round pick was intercepted twice by Giants corner Aaron Ross, the second of which was taken 50 yards for a back-breaking touchdown in the third quarter.
QUICK HITS: New York improved to 6-0 at Giants Stadium for the season and is in the midst of its longest home win streak since a seven-game surge in 1990...Jacobs now has 11 touchdowns on the year and became the first Giants back to run for double-digit scores since Tiki Barber had 13 in 2004. He had just two carries in the second half after experiencing swelling in one of his knees, however, and will undergo an MRI on Monday...Reserve tight end Darcy Johnson made his first career catch when he hauled in a one-yard touchdown toss from Manning in the second quarter...Defensive tackle Fred Robbins blocked a Ravens' field-goal attempt in the first quarter...Regular strong safety James Butler returned after missing the previous week's game with a sprained knee but did not start, with rookie Kenny Phillips instead getting the nod.
NEXT UP: The Giants head across the country to take on the surging Arizona Cardinals this Sunday in an intriguing battle of division leaders. The Cards have won three in a row following a 26-20 triumph at Seattle in Week 11 and own a commanding four-game advantage atop the soft NFC West. New York has won 13 of its last 14 road tests dating back to last season, but Arizona is unbeaten in its seven most recent games at University of Phoenix Stadium, the site of the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory this past February.
WASHINGTON: The Redskins are now at the first crossroads of the Jim Zorn era following Sunday's setback to the hated Cowboys.
The rookie head coach is not only experiencing the first losing streak of his brief tenure as a sideline boss, but Zorn is faced with the additional challenge of reviving a Washington offense that has been in a month-long slumber. After scoring at least 23 points each time during a stretch of four straight wins from September 14-October 5, the Redskins have reached that mark only once in five games following that surge. That came in a 25-17 triumph over still-winless Detroit in Week 8, although it took an 80-yard punt return touchdown from sparkplug wide receiver Santana Moss to get to that number.
Washington has averaged a meager 14.4 points over its five most recent outings and gone a mediocre 2-3 over that span. After managing just two field goals and 221 total yards in a discouraging 23-6 home loss to Pittsburgh in their previous game, the Redskins were only marginally better against the Cowboys.
The offense appeared to have broken out of its funk with a 10-play, 49-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession, but failed to sustain that level of efficiency over the remainder of the night. Washington's only other scoring series, which ended with a Shaun Suisham field goal in the waning seconds of the first half, was set up by a 58-yard kick return from special-teams stalwart Rock Cartwright to the Cowboys' 37-yard line.
The Redskins finished with only 228 total yards for the game as well as an anemic 136 net passing yards, with quarterback Jason Campbell averaging a mere 4.8 yards per pass attempt while being repeatedly flustered by a steady Dallas pass rush.
"We were moving the ball well during the beginning of the game," Campbell said. "I felt like we were in a rhythm and then we got out of rhythm. It is tough to be back (in the pocket), and we are not doing what we need to be doing."
It hasn't helped matters that the Redskins' offensive centerpiece, running back Clinton Portis, has been hobbling in recent weeks. The MVP candidate did suit up for the Dallas game despite a painful knee sprain and performed well in a reduced role, gaining 68 yards on 15 rushing attempts.
QUICK HITS: Portis surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the sixth time in his seven-year career during Sunday's loss. He currently ranks second in the NFL with 1,063 yards through the first 10 games...Backup running back Ladell Betts returned to action after missing three straight games with a knee sprain, but only had one carry for one yard before aggravating the injury in the second half...Linebacker Marcus Washington and wide receiver Antwaan Randle El also left the contest with ankle sprains, with Washington expected to sit out at least the next two weeks with his ailment...Cornerback Shawn Springs, who has been out since Week 6 with a calf strain, is targeting this Sunday's matchup at Seattle for his return.
NEXT UP: The Redskins head to Seattle's Qwest Field this weekend for their first encounter with the Seahawks since Seattle ended the Burgundy and Gold's 2007 season with a 35-14 victory in last January's NFC Wild Card Playoffs. The game also marks a homecoming for Zorn, who had served the previous seven seasons as the Seahawks' quarterbacks coach before taking his present position with the Redskins. Zorn also played for Seattle from 1976-1984 and is a member of the franchise's prestigious Ring of Honor.
