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By Scott Garbarini
Associate NFL Editor, Sports Network
The Dallas Cowboys accomplished a feat never before performed in the team's storied 50-year history in their last game. Now they'll attempt to do something for the first time in more than a decade in their next.
Sunday's 24-0 blanking of the rival Philadelphia Eagles not only gave the Cowboys the NFC East title and the No. 3 seed for the upcoming conference playoffs, it marked the first time the club registered shutouts in consecutive games. Dallas entered its colossal Week 17 showdown off a 17-0 whitewash of Washington on December 27, eight days after dealing the then-unbeaten New Orleans a eyebrow-raising 24-17 loss at the Superdome.
The Cowboys never allowed Philadelphia's potent offense to establish a rhythm in Sunday's clash, holding the Eagles to season lows of 228 total yards and 10 first downs en route to ending a frustrating streak of nine straight losses in regular-season finales. The most recent of those defeats came in Philadelphia last season, a memorable 44-6 verdict that kept Dallas out of the postseason fray.
The defense has risen to the occasion more often than not during the Cowboys' second-half surge, especially against the run. Dallas has yielded a scant 54.5 rushing yards and 3.1 yards per attempt over its past four contests, as well as an impressive 11.6 points per game over the last seven weeks.
The offense did its part as well in Sunday's convincing victory, piling up 474 total yards and getting a total of 182 from the formidable running back tandem of Marion Barber and Felix Jones. Quarterback Tony Romo added 311 through the air to break his own team record for passing yards in a season, with the two- time Pro Bowl participant having amassed 4,483 in his 16 starts.
"I'm proud of the way they played, especially since what happened last year," said Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips of his team. "People are always going to go back to that [last year's loss] unless you do something about it, and this team did something about it."
Dallas, which also handed the Eagles a 20-16 loss in Philadelphia on November 8, still has one mental roadblock to overcome when it takes the field this Saturday for a rematch with Philly in the NFC Wild Card Round. The Cowboys last won a playoff game in 1996, having come up short in five consecutive postseason bouts since a 40-15 opening-round drubbing of Minnesota that year.
Phillips and Romo will also have the opportunity to remove unwanted stigmas they both share in this Saturday's game. The former is 0-4 lifetime in playoff tests as a head coach, while the latter has been under center for each of the Cowboys' past two postseason failures, the most memorable being a 21-20 decision at Seattle in the 2006 Wild Card Round in which Romo mishandled the snap on a potential game-winning field goal in the closing minutes.
If the Cowboys are able to break their long playoff jinx, they'll next travel to Minnesota to battle the 12-4 Vikings in the Divisional Round on Sunday, January 17.
Associate NFL Editor, Sports Network
The Dallas Cowboys accomplished a feat never before performed in the team's storied 50-year history in their last game. Now they'll attempt to do something for the first time in more than a decade in their next.
Sunday's 24-0 blanking of the rival Philadelphia Eagles not only gave the Cowboys the NFC East title and the No. 3 seed for the upcoming conference playoffs, it marked the first time the club registered shutouts in consecutive games. Dallas entered its colossal Week 17 showdown off a 17-0 whitewash of Washington on December 27, eight days after dealing the then-unbeaten New Orleans a eyebrow-raising 24-17 loss at the Superdome.
The Cowboys never allowed Philadelphia's potent offense to establish a rhythm in Sunday's clash, holding the Eagles to season lows of 228 total yards and 10 first downs en route to ending a frustrating streak of nine straight losses in regular-season finales. The most recent of those defeats came in Philadelphia last season, a memorable 44-6 verdict that kept Dallas out of the postseason fray.
The defense has risen to the occasion more often than not during the Cowboys' second-half surge, especially against the run. Dallas has yielded a scant 54.5 rushing yards and 3.1 yards per attempt over its past four contests, as well as an impressive 11.6 points per game over the last seven weeks.
The offense did its part as well in Sunday's convincing victory, piling up 474 total yards and getting a total of 182 from the formidable running back tandem of Marion Barber and Felix Jones. Quarterback Tony Romo added 311 through the air to break his own team record for passing yards in a season, with the two- time Pro Bowl participant having amassed 4,483 in his 16 starts.
"I'm proud of the way they played, especially since what happened last year," said Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips of his team. "People are always going to go back to that [last year's loss] unless you do something about it, and this team did something about it."
Dallas, which also handed the Eagles a 20-16 loss in Philadelphia on November 8, still has one mental roadblock to overcome when it takes the field this Saturday for a rematch with Philly in the NFC Wild Card Round. The Cowboys last won a playoff game in 1996, having come up short in five consecutive postseason bouts since a 40-15 opening-round drubbing of Minnesota that year.
Phillips and Romo will also have the opportunity to remove unwanted stigmas they both share in this Saturday's game. The former is 0-4 lifetime in playoff tests as a head coach, while the latter has been under center for each of the Cowboys' past two postseason failures, the most memorable being a 21-20 decision at Seattle in the 2006 Wild Card Round in which Romo mishandled the snap on a potential game-winning field goal in the closing minutes.
If the Cowboys are able to break their long playoff jinx, they'll next travel to Minnesota to battle the 12-4 Vikings in the Divisional Round on Sunday, January 17.
