(Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Like always, I need a day of reflection to think over the Eagles loss to the Cowboys. In a game of that magnitude, I can’t rush to my keyboard and write stuff based off emotion. Emotions were certainly running high after the Eagles 23-29 overtime loss to the Cowboys. The loss that all but has ended the Eagles season. I say that because the Eagles aren’t going to beat the Rams this Sunday. If the Eagles beat the Rams, I’ll eat a hat.
I have been hearing a lot of Eagles fans say we lost because of the refs. I don’t find that to be the case. The Eagles got a lot of calls as well. The offensive pass interference on Goedart that called back a touchdown was egregious. However, the Eagles later went on to score on that drive anyway. The call on the opening kickoff was also egregious. The Eagles would have gotten the ball in the Dallas red zone and the Cowboys would have started the game playing from behind. A factor that could have completely changed the game. Luckily, the Cowboys went 3 and out after the bad call on the kickoff where they retained possession. The biggest reason the Eagles lost the game is because Jake Elliot missed the extra point. If he would’ve hit the extra point, I’d be writing a different blog today.
The Eagles defense and special teams gave a special kind of effort on Sunday. They kept the Eagles in the game while the offense was sputtering in the first half and most of the third quarter. Eventually, the lack of talent in the secondary could only be covered up for so long. The Cowboys embarrassed the Eagles secondary in the 4th quarter. The effort was there, but the talent was not.
I can’t get on the defense much because they gave everything they had with the limited talent left in their disposal. The offense however, should be ashamed of themselves. When I say offense, I mean the coaches running it. An offense with Alshon Jeffrey, Zach Ertz, Golden Tate, Carson Wentz and Darren Sproles should not look that anemic for three quarters of an NFL football game. Doug Pederson really needs to re-evaluate things in the off-season.
All in all, I can’t tell you the Eagles deserved to win that game. From an unbiased observers ‘viewpoint, I would be forced to say that the Cowboys looked like the better team for the majority of the game. We had our run last year. The Eagles aren’t going to win the Super Bowl every year. This off-season, they will go back to the drawing board and hope to re-create the magic of 2017 in 2019.
