Cowboys vs. Eagles: Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy Keeping Dream Season Alive

In just two games, the Philadelphia Eagles have gone from a former NFL "Dream Team"—who were stuck in reverse—to a not-so-dark horse to win the wide-open NFC East.

The majority of the problems that plagued the Eagles in the early going—perplexing play-calling by Andy Reid, shoddy decision-making by Michael Vick and porous play by the defense—seemed to melt away on Sunday night. In their place, we were left with a convincing 34-7 win over the division-rival Dallas Cowboys, every glorious moment of which was on national TV for legions of football fans to see.

Philly's offense—at least from a productivity standpoint—has been anything but a problem area this season. The Eagles demonstrated that much against the Cowboys, feeding the ball to LeSean McCoy early and often, mostly by land, to tear apart what had been the league's stingiest run defense coming into Week 8. McCoy accounted for 185 of the Eagles' 239 rushing yards, chipping in two touchdowns on the ground and another 15 yards on two receptions.

With McCoy wreaking havoc on the ground as effectively as he did, Vick finally had some room to operate. The Eagles quarterback used that room quite effectively to complete 21 of his 28 pass attempts for 279 yards and two touchdowns, along with seven carries for 50 yards with his fleet feet.

However, if you had to pick out just one area in which the Eagles impressed that bodes well for the rest of the season, it was the team's defense. Juan Castillo's unit came in allowing more than 340 yards per game. On Sunday night, they held Tony Romo and the Cowboys' loaded attack to just 267 yards, which is well below their own season average.  

Still, do the Eagles have problems to address? Yes. Were they perfect against the Cowboys? Not by a long shot. Philly's offensive line still surrendered four sacks. However, in their defense, nobody has yet figured out how to stop DeMarcus Ware—arguably the best defensive player in the game today—on a consistent basis.

That being said, Philly has plenty of reason to be encouraged after this performance. The Eagles dominated a division opponent and put themselves back within striking range of a playoff berth in the process. There's still plenty of work to be done in the City of Brotherly Love, of course. However, a win over the Chicago Bears on Monday night in Week 9 would give Philly its third win in a row, a 4-4 record and more than a puncher's chance to win the NFC East.

Not bad, considering how faint the signs of life were in Philly just a few short weeks ago.