Nov. 9, 2009
By
Mike Freeman
CBSSports.com National Columnist
PHILADELPHIA -- Someone had to win this monstrosity, so it might as well have been the Dallas Cowboys.
Oh, was this game magical, and by magical, I mean ugly as Whitney Houston emerging from a crack den.
Considering the beautiful painting by these two teams (Van Gogh or Van Gag?) the fans here were patiently behaved. For once, Eagles fans would've been well within their rights to smash something.
Following receiver Miles Austin scoring on a 49-yard touchdown, he took the football, and tried to throw it at a gigantic sign that had an Eagles logo on it located directly in front of him.
He missed.
Classic.
Dallas was victorious 20-16 against Philadelphia and the Cowboys now have sole possession of first place in the NFC East, but that's like being the Prince of Chechnya.
Some games are ugly because of defensive brilliance. Others are ugly just 'cause. This is the latter.
What this game demonstrated was that neither of these teams is a serious threat to win a Super Bowl. Indeed, for right now, the entire division is suspect. The once mighty NFC East, for the moment, is a dumpster fire; it's the noise a lobster makes upon first entering the boiling water.
Next week comes the announcement that the winner of the NFC East will play Rutgers in the Motor City Bowl.
Tony Romo needs a better effort from his teammates quickly if the Cowboys are going to have a meaningful January. (US Presswire)
Even more stunning than the poorly played game was the attitude of the Eagles afterward. This is a proud and well-run franchise and truly one of the best in all of sports. Yet the sly whining about the officials because of a crucial fourth-quarter play was as hard on the ears as the game was on the eyeballs.
The complaining stemmed from a blown short-yardage call by the game officials. The score was tied at 13 and the Eagles had a second-and-1 at the Cowboys 45. Two tries by LeSean McCoy to get the single yard were unsuccessful. So on fourth-and-one, quarterback Donovan McNabb kept the football and pushed forward but was ruled short of the first down.
"It felt [like] half of my body was past the marker," McNabb said. He added later: "By the way they spotted the ball, they made it look like I lost a yard."
The Eagles are correct that the spot was wrong. McNabb said after the game that it's tough to come back when calls like that went against them. Yet the Eagles forget they had both second and third down to get one lousy yard. If a team can't get a single yard on several tries, they deserve to lose.
That wasn't the only series that typified the ugly nature of this game. Another came late in the first half. The Cowboys had a first-and-goal at the Eagles 4. One Tony Romo pass was thrown so far behind wide receiver Roy Williams in the end zone he had to do some sort of Romanian half twist just to make an attempt at a catch. The second Romo pass was again behind Williams. A third pass to Marion Barber was deflected near the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys settled for a field goal.
McNabb wasn't much better. He had two interceptions and a passer rating of 61.4. There are still too many times when McNabb one week looks like Joe Montana and the next like Joe Pesci.
At one point, the Cowboys were penalized for delay of game after Terence Newman kicked the football about 20 yards downfield like he was Diego Maradona after the play was whistled dead. Meanwhile the Eagles were called for excessive celebration and taunting penalties.
Late in the third quarter, the Philadelphia defense got a huge stop by sacking Romo then McNabb gave the ball right back with a pick.
One play was so bad, it was almost comical. The Eagles, in the third quarter, had fourth-and-inches. They lined up attempting to draw the Cowboys offside but Jason Peters -- whose nickname is "Snap Count" due to the large number of false-start penalties he receives (true story) -- was called for, yes, a false start. So the Eagles were trying to draw the Cowboys off but instead jumped themselves.
There was stupid play after dumb play after boneheaded play.
And, of course, there was the prerequisite Romo interception. Romo throws more horrific picks than Bill Laimbeer ever did.
The Cowboys might win this division or the Eagles or even the Giants. But whichever team emerges will be cannon fodder for some other team from another division.
The Saints would crush the Cowboys 40-10.
And they would look pretty doing it.
For more from Mike Freeman, check him out on Twitter: @realfreemancbs
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