Donovan McNabb informed the world that the road to the NFC East championship goes through Philadelphia. The Dallas Cowboys didn’t need a map. They took the expressway straight through Philadelphia, stopping just long enough to punch the Eagles right in the mouth. Then they hopped on a jet bound for the new destination of the mythical road to the NFC East, Dallas. The Cowboys found little resistance on the road to a 38-17 humiliation of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Linc was so quiet I thought they were holding church services in there, that was until they bothered to boo their own team.
Terrell Owens finally got the homecoming he wanted, albeit a year late. But isn’t it true that revenge is a dish best served cold? T.O. caught 10 passes for 174 yards and a TD. From the start of the game he was Tony Romo’s go-to guy on the night and was clearly enjoying himself a little more than usual on this evening. Tony Romo shredded the Eagles defense and didn’t seem to be bothered in the least by the Eagles’ pass rush. He made only one mistake, an INT, which Ken Hamlin quickly rectified by picking the ball off in return. Across the board, the Cowboys players were outstanding. On defense, Bradie James was a beast and recovered a fumble, DeMarcus Ware started creating havoc, Chris Canty was a disruptive force and the secondary shut down the Eagles passing attack. On offense, both Marion Barber and Julius Jones were running hard, Jason Witten added a highlight play by losing his helmet and still running for another 20 yards or so. And as for Tony Romo, perhaps he sold himself short for $67.5 million, the kid can play.
Let’s reserve some special love for the offensive line. They simply owned the Eagles front seven.
This was as satisfying a win as they come. From the start of the game the Cowboys jumped on Philly, forcing McNabb into a fumble that was quickly converted into a TD. After that, the Eagles made one weak attempt at holding the line, but the Cowboys were not to be denied. They came into this game with bad intentions and smacked around the former NFC East bully on their own turf.
If you’ve got a map and are driving towards the NFC East championship, please note the detour. Philly is no longer the place, your looking for a little place called Valley Ranch.