Well, that was a butt-whooping. I have to say I'm pretty surprised. Eagles head coach, Andy Reid, was 12-0 following by weeks, but still, the Eagles had yet to put a complete game together and had lost four straight games before beating Washington the week preceding their bye. But, last night, on Sunday Night Football, against division foe Dallas, the Eagles finally played well in all phases of the game and for four quarters.
The Dallas Cowboys came into the game ranked 1st in the NFL in run defense. The Eagles ran for 239 yards against the vaunted Cowboys' D. They also threw for 256 net yards for a total of 495. They were 7 for 12 on 3rd down, accumulating 31 first downs in total. The team ran 70 plays and held the ball for 42:09 of the 60:00. Perhaps most importantly, the Eagles didn't turn the ball over. Michael Vick had a great day passing the football, completing 21 of 28 attempts for 279 yards (10.0 p/a), 2 touchdowns and a rating of 129.9. He also ran the ball 7 times for 50 yards (7.1 avg). Tailback LeSean McCoy carried the ball 30 times for 185 yards (6.2 avg) and 2 scores.
For the year, the Eagles are now 3-4 and in 2nd place in the NFC East division, two games back of the Giants. Philly will stay at home and play the Chicago Bears next Monday night.
It's really a shame the Eagles killed themselves with turnovers, sacks and penalties in their four losses. On the season, the team is ranked 9th in passing yards (269.4), 1st in rushing yards (179.9), 10th in opponents' passing yards (212.3) and 18th in opponents' rushing yards (118.3). Vick has completed 63.2% of his passes so far this season (144-228) for 1,852 yards (8.1 p/a) and 11 touchdowns to go with 8 interceptions and a rating of 90.0. He's also run the ball 52 times for 422 yards (8.1 avg). McCoy has rushed the ball 135 times for 754 yards (5.6 avg) and 8 touchdowns. While 9 guys have caught passes, there have been five main targets for Vick: Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant, Brent Celek and LeSean McCoy. Maclin has caught 40 passes for 543 yards (13.6 avg) and 4 scores. Jackson has caught 27 passes for 487 yards (18.0 avg) and 2 touchdowns. Avant has caught 31 passes for 412 yards (13.3 avg). Celek has caught 20 passes for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns. Finally, McCoy has caught 23 passes for 138 yards (6.0 avg) and 2 scores. If these numbers continue on the pace they are now, Vick will throw for 4,233 yards, which would be, by far, a career high. He'd also throw 25 touchdown passes, also being a career high. To go along with that, he'd rush for 965 yards for a combined 5,198 yards of total offense. McCoy is on pace to rush for 1,723 yards and 18 touchdowns, to go along with 315 yards receiving and an additional 5 touchdowns for a combined 2,038 yards and 23 touchdowns. As far as receivers go, here would be the final numbers if the players stay at their current pace (excluding McCoy, as I've already made mention of him): Maclin - 91 catches for 1,241 yards and 9 touchdowns, Jackson - 62 catches for 1,113 yards and 5 touchdowns, Avant - 71 catches for 942 yards, Celek - 46 catches for 478 yards and 5 touchdowns. The numbers are astonishing, but will only mean something if the Eagles win football games and that's not going to happen if they regress to where they were just three weeks ago, as they turned the ball over, failed to protect Michael Vick, made careless penalties, couldn't stop the run and were sub-par on special teams. At least for one game, against the Dallas Cowboys last night, the team came together in all phases and hope to continue that trend against the Chicago Bears this next Monday to even their record at 4-4. If that doesn't happen, the Eagles will need to really go into desperation mode, but if it does happen, then look out! The Eagles could be well on their way to 5-4 with a win over Arizona the following week. Then come the New York Giants and New England Patriots. The Giants game is close to must win and if they do, it could be acceptable to fall to the Patriots and 6-5, but they'd likely need to win four of their final five to have a shot at the playoffs. There's still a long ways to go and a lot of ground to make up considering their early-season struggles, but it's nice to finally see the Eagles team that was anticipated at the start of the season.
The Dallas Cowboys came into the game ranked 1st in the NFL in run defense. The Eagles ran for 239 yards against the vaunted Cowboys' D. They also threw for 256 net yards for a total of 495. They were 7 for 12 on 3rd down, accumulating 31 first downs in total. The team ran 70 plays and held the ball for 42:09 of the 60:00. Perhaps most importantly, the Eagles didn't turn the ball over. Michael Vick had a great day passing the football, completing 21 of 28 attempts for 279 yards (10.0 p/a), 2 touchdowns and a rating of 129.9. He also ran the ball 7 times for 50 yards (7.1 avg). Tailback LeSean McCoy carried the ball 30 times for 185 yards (6.2 avg) and 2 scores.
For the year, the Eagles are now 3-4 and in 2nd place in the NFC East division, two games back of the Giants. Philly will stay at home and play the Chicago Bears next Monday night.
It's really a shame the Eagles killed themselves with turnovers, sacks and penalties in their four losses. On the season, the team is ranked 9th in passing yards (269.4), 1st in rushing yards (179.9), 10th in opponents' passing yards (212.3) and 18th in opponents' rushing yards (118.3). Vick has completed 63.2% of his passes so far this season (144-228) for 1,852 yards (8.1 p/a) and 11 touchdowns to go with 8 interceptions and a rating of 90.0. He's also run the ball 52 times for 422 yards (8.1 avg). McCoy has rushed the ball 135 times for 754 yards (5.6 avg) and 8 touchdowns. While 9 guys have caught passes, there have been five main targets for Vick: Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant, Brent Celek and LeSean McCoy. Maclin has caught 40 passes for 543 yards (13.6 avg) and 4 scores. Jackson has caught 27 passes for 487 yards (18.0 avg) and 2 touchdowns. Avant has caught 31 passes for 412 yards (13.3 avg). Celek has caught 20 passes for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns. Finally, McCoy has caught 23 passes for 138 yards (6.0 avg) and 2 scores. If these numbers continue on the pace they are now, Vick will throw for 4,233 yards, which would be, by far, a career high. He'd also throw 25 touchdown passes, also being a career high. To go along with that, he'd rush for 965 yards for a combined 5,198 yards of total offense. McCoy is on pace to rush for 1,723 yards and 18 touchdowns, to go along with 315 yards receiving and an additional 5 touchdowns for a combined 2,038 yards and 23 touchdowns. As far as receivers go, here would be the final numbers if the players stay at their current pace (excluding McCoy, as I've already made mention of him): Maclin - 91 catches for 1,241 yards and 9 touchdowns, Jackson - 62 catches for 1,113 yards and 5 touchdowns, Avant - 71 catches for 942 yards, Celek - 46 catches for 478 yards and 5 touchdowns. The numbers are astonishing, but will only mean something if the Eagles win football games and that's not going to happen if they regress to where they were just three weeks ago, as they turned the ball over, failed to protect Michael Vick, made careless penalties, couldn't stop the run and were sub-par on special teams. At least for one game, against the Dallas Cowboys last night, the team came together in all phases and hope to continue that trend against the Chicago Bears this next Monday to even their record at 4-4. If that doesn't happen, the Eagles will need to really go into desperation mode, but if it does happen, then look out! The Eagles could be well on their way to 5-4 with a win over Arizona the following week. Then come the New York Giants and New England Patriots. The Giants game is close to must win and if they do, it could be acceptable to fall to the Patriots and 6-5, but they'd likely need to win four of their final five to have a shot at the playoffs. There's still a long ways to go and a lot of ground to make up considering their early-season struggles, but it's nice to finally see the Eagles team that was anticipated at the start of the season.
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