Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Eagles at Cowboys, an old-fashioned NFC showdown

After all of the talk surrounding the loss of Tom Brady, many overlooked what turned out to be the best game of the week.

The Monday night showdown between Philadelphia and Dallas saw 7 lead changes, with Dallas finally prevailing in the 4th quarter in a 41-37 thriller at Texas Stadium. It would also be the final Monday night game ever played in the place the Cowboys have called home for over 30 years.

The game showcased two high-powered offenses lead by two volatile quarterbacks, Philly's Donovan Mcnabb and Dallas' Tony Romo.

McNabb, who resembled the sly quarterback we once knew, looked healthier and more versatile than ever. McNabb was 25 of 37 for 281 yards and a touchdown. He also had a couple of carries for 20 yards.

“These were two great football teams going at it...and there are a lot of positives we can take from this game." McNabb, always humbling, also added, "What we need to do is focus on working on the negatives."

One of those negatives was the knucklehead play by DeSean Jackson. McNabb connected with Jackson on a long pass and Jackson proceeded to toss the ball backwards in celebration before actually crossing the goal line, losing the touchdown after review. The Eagles did retain possession and would end up scoring a few plays later on a Brian Westbrook touchdown.

Dallas also had their fair share of bad plays.

Early in the game, Romo lost grip of the football on a routine hand-off and fumbled into his own end zone. The Dallas play-caller was able to recover his own fumble, but when he tried to make a play, the ball was knocked loose and recovered by the Eagles for a TD.

Romo finished 21 of 30, with 312 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also threw a costly pick early in the game.

Romo, who earned his fantasy owners a multitudinous amount of points this week (myself included), connected with Terrell Owens for two touchdowns. The combined effort of the two Dallas stars garnered the pair some recognition as the best quarterback/receiver duo the NFL has ever seen. When you are mentioned alongside the famed duos of the NFL, such as Montana/Young and Rice or Manning and Harrison, you are obviously doing something right.

T. O.’s two touchdowns also propelled him past Cris Carter into 2nd on the NFL’s all-time touchdown receptions list. Now, only the great Jerry Rice stands ahead of him. Rice finished his career with an astounding 197 touchdown receptions, a record some believed would never be touched. Owens 132 career touchdown receptions trails Rice by 65. T.O. is certainly on pace to break that record, granted he plays long enough while staying healthy.

Owens, always McNabb's "humble" antagonist, was quoted after the game, "It doesn't matter what [the Eagles or anyone else] say(s) about me now." He also added, "The Lord has obviously blessed me with a lot of talent."

The game really was an old fashioned NFC showdown. It was the 6th highest scoring contest in Monday Night Football history, and the first half point tally was tied for 2nd all-time on a Monday night.

If you missed this one, try to catch some highlights, because it sure was a shootout.

After the game, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said, "We kept believing in each other, and we came out on top."

If Monday night’s action wasn’t enough for you, the two teams will meet again in week 17 for the season finale of this great NFC East rivalry. After the performance each team put up on Monday night, one would tend to believe playoff implications will most certainly be on the line.

-Martin Lewis (with a special thanks going out to The Associated Press)

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