Eagles Destroy Cowboys 37-9 Good and Bad

Eagles Destroy Cowboys 37-9 Good and Bad

Robert Knuckles

“Second Half Adjustments”

Eagles faced their long time rival the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football and destroyed them on primetime. So let's get to the good and bad.

Bad:

1. Offense first half: The Eagles had a great opening drive and it seemed liked the Eagles were going to destroy the Cowboys but after the Eagles got the ball back nothing seemed to work. Receivers weren’t getting open, receivers sometimes dropped the ball and Wentz wasn’t making the best throws. The Eagles seemed to be pass happy in the first half but they soon fixed the issues in the second half.

Good:

1. Running Game: The triple head running backs in the second half destroyed the Cowboys. The Eagles rushed for a total of 215 yards. Wentz and Barner added a few of those numbers but the major contributors were Legarrette Blount with 57 yards, Corey Clement with 50 yards and Jay Ajayi with 91 yards. The running game was too much for the Cowboys to handle. This triple headed running looks like it's going to be a problem for a lot of teams down the road. Even if you stop one guy you still have to worry about the other two running backs.
2. Alshon Jeffery: Now when you look at the numbers for Alshon four receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown but the chemistry between him and Wentz continues to grow. Alshon was arguably the best receiver Sunday night. The catch he made on 4th and 5 was just incredible. Really hoping the Eagles will keep him for years to come and hopefully he’ll get a 100 yard game soon.
3. Defense: The pass rush was just all over Dak Prescott. The Eagles definitely used Cowboys left tackle Byron Bell to their advantage. They sacked Dak four times and some of those pass rushes led to Dak throwing interceptions. Now the rush defense wasn’t great because Alfred Morris managed to run for 91 yards but they didn’t allow the Cowboys to get a touchdown.
4. Ronald Darby: Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby had his welcoming party at Dallas. Darby returns from a gruesome ankle injury that looked to be a season ender but he was out for about eight weeks. Dallas was going to try Darby since it was his first game back but it cost them. Darby had a few pass deflections and also got a interception. Having Darby back gave this secondary more depth and playing so much better. I really can’t wait to see what this secondary looks like when Sidney Jones plays.
5. Derek Barnett: The Eagles first round pick continues to improve each game. The sack that he had on Prescott really showed how athletic he is. Barnett refused to give up on the sack. Normally a quarterback would get away from an one arm tackle but Barnett never let go and made the sack. Barnett also stripped the ball out of Dak’s hand and caused a fumble and Nigel Bradham recovered the fumble and ran in for a touchdown. Barnett has to be nominated for rookie defensive player of the year.
6. Offensive Line: The protection against a good Cowboys pass rush was great. They didn’t allow Wentz to get sacked and right tackle Lane Johnson kept the leading sack leader Demarcus Lawrence away from Wentz. We even see Big V getting no help at the left tackle position. This shows how much confidence they have in him and plus he’s a lot better at left tackle than right tackle.
7. Carson Wentz: I mean what can I say about this kid? After a rough first half he threw two touchdown passes. Wentz had another game where he didn’t throw an interception. I mean for a second year quarterback to do all of this is amazing. Wentz makes everyone on this team play so much better. He might be very well the MVP.

I’m so happy of how the Eagles are playing this year. They are arguably the best team in football on both sides of the ball. I think after this win they are the clear winners of the NFC East. Now the Eagles are taking it one game at a time as they should be but probably in the back of their mind now they are racing to get first place of the NFC Conference and they are getting to the rough part of their schedule. They face a Bears team at home that has a good defense. The Eagles need to win this next game because next they are on a three game road trip against tough teams but this will be a great opportunity for the Eagles to beat these teams.

Eagles Destroy Broncos 23-51 Good and Bad

Eagles Destroy Broncos 23-51 Good and Bad

“Total Destruction”

Carson Wentz and the Eagles had a tough battle against the league’s number #1 defense in the Denver Broncos but they handled the task pretty well by defeating them 23-51 so once again let's talk about the Good and Bad.

Bad:

1. Taking staters off the field: I really don’t have anything bad to say performance wise but only issue I had was Pederson not taking out the starters towards the end of the 4th quarter. The score was 9-44 I believe. There was no point leaving the starters out there and potentially getting hurt and thank god that didn’t happen.

Good:

1. Carson Wentz: The midseason MVP. A lot was said that this was going to be Wentz toughest test against No Fly Zone and he passed with an A+. He threw 15/27 for 199 yards, no interceptions and four touchdown passes. I mean no interceptions against the league's best defense. After that ehh performance last week against the 49ers he bounced back played like an elite quarterback. And sure the numbers aren’t huge but that's due to the running game but you see an amazing growth with Wentz coming into his second year. He’s putting the NFL on notice.
2. Alshon Jeffery: Alshon probably hasn’t been having the big season a lot of people expect but he had a great game against top cornerback Aqib Talib. Alshon had six receptions for 84 yards and two touchdowns. I think we are starting to see the Wentz and Alshon chemistry start to develop now and I believe it's going to be better.
3. Running Game: The running game was really strong against the number #2 ranked rush defense. Every running back had a great game. LeGarrette Blount had nine carries for 37 yard, Corey Clement had 12 carries for 51 yards and one reception for 15 yards and two touchdowns and their latest addition Jay Ajayi had a great debut having eight carries for 77 yards and a touchdown. I thought he was only going to have only a few touches but eight carries for a touchdown is a great start and after seeing that should make Eagles fans very excited for the future with these running backs.
4. No Ertz no Problem: About and an hour and a half before the game news came up that Zach Ertz was inactive due to his hamstring injury. We saw how Travis Kelce was all over Denver’s safeties last week and a couple fans were nervous but as we all said next man up and Tight Ends Trey Burton stepped up with two receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown and long time veteran Brent Celek still got it with three receptions for 39 yards. This team continues to win without their big time players.
5. Defense: “No Rush Zone” the new title for the Defensive front seven. They are the League’s number #1 rush defense and it showed yesterday. They pressured Brock all day long and not letting the running backs have a big gain. With three sacks and a couple tackles for lost. But It’s not just the front seven the secondary has been stepping up as well with two interceptions. It could’ve been four interceptions after a few drops. They continue to get better and correct their mistakes. It really excites me to see what this secondary will be when Ronald Darby and Sidney Jones come into the fray.
6. Howie Roseman and Miami: I mean picking up Jay Ajayi was a great move from Roseman and Miami. We have to give a huge shoutout to Roseman from all the offseason additions and this recent addition with a new running back. Roseman might deserve GM of the year and thank you Miami for Jay.

The Eagles are now 8-1 heading into the bye week and it couldn’t come at a better time. Zach Ertz will be ready to play and hopefully we’ll see cornerback Ronald Darby back as well too because I truly believe their next game will be the hardest game of the schedule and that's the Dallas Cowboys . I mean sure Denver was a tough test as well but the Cowboys have a great offense and their defense is pretty good and always going against your division rival is always tough. Now maybe the Eagles might be a little rusty heading into this game after a bye but we’ll see. I’m very happy where this team is at but as I said take one game at a time but this was just a great team win.