Eagles vs. Cowboys: 8 Things We Learned from Dallas' 20-7 Loss

Well this is it. The Cowboys will face the New York Giants next Sunday for a game that will decide their 2011 playoff fate. On Sunday evening, the Cowboys lost to the Eagles 20-0

Oh yeah, for the record the Dallas Cowboys have dropped two straight to the Eagles for a combined score of 54-7. Let that marinate for a minute.

For their contest against Philly, the 'Boys had nothing to gain. With a win it was just another "W" in the plus column, and with a loss, it would move Dallas to seven for the season. Because the Giants dropped the Jets earlier in the day, the two teams, New York and Dallas, will play for the division title next week in New York.

But before we start to discuss the Giants and Cowboys for the division crown, let's take a look at the whooping the Eagles placed on Dallas.

Here are eight things we learned from the Cowboys 13-point loss to Philly.

Cowboys Aren’t Very Good

I started to go with unpredictable or maybe inconsistent. But at the end of the day the Cowboys just aren’t very good. Very good teams do not lose seven games. While Dallas couldn’t do anything to help themselves with a win it still would have been nice to see them emerge victorious.

Quarterback Tony Romo left the contest early with a right hand injury and never returned leaving back-up Stephen McGee to lead Dallas against the ferocious Eagles defense. He did ok but the Cowboys offensive line did him no favors as he was sacked three times and pressured 27 times.

It just wasn’t a great day for the Dallas Cowboys and now everything rests on a victory against the Giants next week in the New Meadowlands.

Dallas will be improved next season but for 2011 they just aren’t a good team.

Terence Newman Is on His Way out

Newman has had an up-and-down year, and with the state of the Cowboys' secondary, fans are more likely to remember the bad plays over the good ones.

Newman didn't have the best game as he and cornerback Mike Jenkins gave up a touchdown, but he did have six tackles.

It will be interesting to see what direction the Cowboys decide to go in after this season with Newman, but from my perspective, he has probably played his last season as a Cowboy.

Cowboys' Offensive Line Needs Improvement

The understatement of the weekend, right?

Dallas' offensive line isn't very good as evidenced by their showing against Philly. There will be more changes to the line next season as more pieces will be added, but as it stands right now, I'm not sure how this line will play against the Giants.

New York defensive end/linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul had two sacks, a safety and a forced fumble against the Cowboys the last time these two teams faced each other. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and offensive line coach Hudson Houck will have to figure out new ways to protect Tony Romo and possibly Stephen McGee in a very short period of time.

Dallas has a very good right tackle in Tyron Smith and a good but inconsistent left tackle in Doug Free.

The pieces are there; they just need more time to gel.

Cowboys Miss DeMarco Murray

Another captain obvious statement here, but Dallas really misses the rookie from Oklahoma. Before Murray went down, the Cowboys offense had balance and a good portion of variety due to the emergence of the running game.

For the day against the Eagles the Cowboys had 81 rushing yards on 23 carries and no touchdowns. Newly signed running back Sammy Morris had 13 rushes for just 2.2 yards per carry.

The Cowboys mailed in their performance against Philly in my opinion, so maybe the running backs gave a half-hearted effort. But regardless of that, the running game looks totally different without Murray.

Running back Felix Jones had a tight hamstring, and to add depth, Dallas brought running back Chauncey Washington up from the practice squad.

Dallas Rush Defense Has Stiffened

Over the past two games, Dallas has allowed just 163 rushing yards.

The Bucs had just 58, only 21 from LeGarrette Blount, and while Philly had over 100 on the ground, Philly fire starter "Shady" McCoy had only 35 of them.

We'll see just how well the rush defense is next week against the Giants, but for the past two weeks, Dallas' rush defense has looked much better.

Is Anthony Spencer Woth Keeping?

Spencer had Vick wrapped up, and then, Vick got away.

Not a knock on Spencer as this happens to defenders on a weekly basis. But this just seems to be a microcosm of Spencer's career in Dallas. He's expected to step up, and he doesn't or he's expected to make a play, and he doesn't come through.

Spencer had six tackles and a near sack but couldn't close the deal. He also had a personal foul penalty that makes you wonder if Dallas needs to move on.

So--Is Anthony Spencer worth keeping?

Cowboys Will Beat Giants Next Week for Division Crown

No, they aren't a very good football team, and yes, they have issues, but so do the Giants. New York is just as inconsistent as Dallas, and because of that, I fully expect Dallas to beat the G-Men next week.

The Cowboys will be ready for primetime next week as Tony Romo, Felix Jones an DeMarcus Ware will come ready to play.

I type that with more bravado than conviction, but I truly believe that Dallas will win the division and host a wild-card playoff game.