A Filthy Showing: Dallas Cowboys Slumming in Loss to Eagles

If you came here looking for an update on Jessica Simpson—and her pimp of a father Joe—you’re reading the wrong column.

The rest of the Cowboys offense besides of Jason Witten deserves blame for this loss, and they didn’t have girlfriends in the stands that being incessantly and annoyingly spotlighted every five minutes.

The Dallas Cowboys lost 10-6 to the Philadelphia Eagles at Texas Stadium in an ugly, despicable performance in which the Cowboys could only muster six points at home. The score could’ve easily been 17-6, had Eagles running back Brian Westbrook not taken a knee at the one-yard line, giving up a sure TD to run out the clock. 

The running game was non-existent, with only 53 total yards. Marion Barber finished with a team-high 32 yards on seven carries. Don’t bother asking about Julius Jones.  

Baby Drop was at his worst, both whining on the sidelines and dropping balls that could’ve resulted in Cowboy first downs.

Only Jason Witten (eight catches for 113 yards) seemed to emerge—and even he wasn’t enough to bail this team from a game they seemed destined to lose.

Tony Romo will get the blunt of the blame for this loss—and rightly so, as he played his worst game of the season and possibly his career.  He failed to complete his first six pass attempts, and didn’t get much better when he injured his throwing hand in the third quarter.

Romo finished 13 for 36, with three INTs, no TDS, four sacks, and 214 yards.  Just four of his completions were cagught by wide receivers.

Incidentally, all three picks came on forced throws to Baby Drop, who finished with two catches, 37 yards and plenty of bitching on the sidelines. The Cowboys were just one for 13 on third-down conversions.

Romo suffered a contusion on the back of his throwing thumb midway through the third quarter and had trouble gripping and throwing the ball from that point on.  However, he was playing poorly long before sustaining that injury.

Romo might want to think twice about having his girlfriend attend home games against the Eagles. His QB rating of 22.2 today was the worst of his career, with Jessica Simpson in the stands wearing a pink Romo jersey and mugging for the cameras.

His second worst? Last Christmas Day against Philadelphia, when-then girlfriend Carrie Underwood attended.  The Cowboys lost that game 23-7, at home, with the NFC East title on the line.
 
However, the much-maligned Dallas defense came to play today—personified by DeMarcus Ware, who finished with a sack and three tackles for losses. All together, the defense sacked McNabb four times, hit him six times, and had him under pressure all day. But as a result of the offense's problems, the defense got tired in the fourth quarter from being out on the field too often.
 
The Cowboys suffered injuries throughout the game, but none seemed to be serious. Center Andre Gurode went down with a sprained left knee, as did defensive end Chris Canty. Tight end Anthony Fasano suffered a concussion, and backup safety Pat Watkins sprained his ankle.
 

Donovan McNabb finished with 208 yards on 23 for 41 attempts with a TD, and compiled a season-high 53 yards rushing. Not impressive numbers, you say? McNabb was sacked four times, and the Eagles only converted five of 16 third downs.

Quite frankly—and no offense to the Eagles offense—but aside from Brian Westbrook gaining 81 yards on 18 carries and 63 yards on nine receptions, they did nothing to win this game. The Eagles' defense was responsible for this win.

The Eagles, incidentally, move to 6-8, and are still going nowhere this season.

All teams throw out a clunker and this was the Cowboys' turn for sure. The best news for Dallas came before the game started, when Carolina beat Seattle amd secured the Cowboys a first-round bye and at least the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

This loss should not be an excuse for Cowboys fans to think that the sky is falling. Yes, it was a bad defeat. But at 12-2, the Cowboys are tied with the Green Bay Packers for the best record in the NFC and because of their head-to-head win, still have the edge for homefield in the NFC playoffs.

They do, however, have to win the last two games of the year on the road.

Now, if Romo comes back this Saturday and dominates Carolina, then all will be forgotten. Remember, this is the same Philadelphia defense that made life miserable for Tom Brady less than a month ago, so it’s not like the Eagles are a one-shot wonder.

Jim Johnson had the Eagles' defense ready and hungry today. His aggressive blitzes attacked the run and shut it down, forcing the Cowboys offense to become one-dimensional. Knowing that the Cowboys would be passing, Johnson was able to let loose the dogs and keep Romo on his heels. 

This game could be a much-needed warning for the Cowboys not to get too satisfied with themselves.  With two road games left and no slack, the Cowboys need to treat both as playoff games if they want the NFC road to Arizona to go through Dallas.

However, with two poor showings in a row—the Detroit debacle should’ve been a loss—this could be the beginning of the end for this team. December has been a cruel month to this franchise the last four years, and Sunday's lackluster performance isn’t going to make Cowboys fans feel much better about this year.