Dallas Wins, Eagles Advance

You are what your record says you are.  The Eagles are 1-1.  In the second half last night, it seemed that Dallas was playing down hill a bit.  It was apparent to me that it was their game.  One way or another, I thought midway through the 3rd quarter, Dallas will make the plays to win the game.  So they did.

But the fact remains that Donovan McNabb had what very likely could have been a game winning score 40 yards ahead of him and the clock on his side.  His inexplicable ball fake (which failed to send any Dallas defenders toward the end around receiver) fooled only Brian Westbrook.  The gig was up and I knew it.

Dallas won.  You are what your record says you are.  The Eagles are 1-1.  Dallas, clearly, is a mighty team, studded with big time play makers.  They are 2-0.

But who advancedlast night?  Whose fortunes improved the most? Who made the greater declaration vis-a-vis their game time position. 

Clearly, the Eagles did.  There is no doubt that Dallas in the early season is living up to their billing as one of the top teams in the NFL.  In the missing Brady and wounded Manning era, maybe the very best team.  And the Eagles moved the ball easily and repeatedly on them.  While Reggie Brown and Kevin Curis are not elites, the Eagles still accomplished this without their starting wideouts, one of whom had 77 catches last year.  In addition, the loss of Shawn Andrews clearly slowed the Eagles running game in the second half, as did Dallas' half time defensive adjustments.

My point is this: more people see the Eagles contending now than did before the game last night.  More people in the stands, more people in the league and more people with stars on their helmuts.  And we have a long way to go before we see Dallas again in week 15.

Which leads me to a seemingly insane point: this Eagles team has a better chance to win the Super Bowl than any other team under Reid.  I know, I know . . . the 2004 team only lost one game it actually played in during the regular season and hung within 3 of the Patriots . . . blah, blah, blah.  But the Patriots controlled that Super Bowl and it was not that close.  After the Steelers thrashed the Eagles in midseason, I think many of us - at least I - knew they were destined to go to the Super Bowl and lose.  Moreover, that team could not stop the run, but this one can and - in general - has a much more robust and talented defense.

Last night tells me that the Eagles could beat Dallas in an NFC champsionship game.  Not that they will, but that they could.  They could beat Green Bay, as they did last year -  fairly easily -  except for those two damned kick returns.  They could also beat the Giants.  They could easily get to the Super Bowl.

The difference is that this year, the opponent coming out of the AFC is no prohibitive favorite.

Stay tuned Eagles fans.  Last night's performance shows that this team has a legitimate shot.