ARLINGTON -- When Rick Carlisle talked recently about NBA games being won and lost in the first quarter, I wondered if maybe he had the wrong league in mind. NFL games? It happens all the time.
The big first-place showdown in the NFC East never materialized because the Cowboys defense didn't show up in the first quarter. Philadelphia traveled 80 and 88 yards with incredible ease for a quick 14-0 lead, and the Cowboys never mounted a challenge in a 33-10 defeat.
Over after one quarter? Well, consider the fact that in the final three quarters, the Cowboys spent exactly two minutes, 46 seconds in which they were behind by fewer than 10 points.
“You try not to look at the scoreboard, but I looked up and saw ‘30’ in the third quarter and thought, ‘Wow, that’s not us,’” defensive tackle Henry Melton said.
It definitely was the Cowboys on Thursday, and you have to wonder if this defense will be overmatched in every game until the season finale in Washington, which, come to think of it, looms as a somehow scary rematch with Colt McCoy.
Yes, the Cowboys are 8-4, and everyone would have taken that record heading into December in a heartbeat three months ago. But are the Cowboys also in danger of missing the playoffs?
Absolutely.
Start in the division where the Eagles now lead by a game but will have the tiebreaker edge even if the Cowboys win the rematch in two weeks unless the Eagles suffer a loss to the Giants or Redskins. Yeah, that Dallas loss to Washington here a month ago could be really costly.
As for the wild-card chase, the Cowboys are locked in a three-way tie for the two NFC spots. That’s not terrible, but it’s not great, either.
When the Dallas defense gets shredded the way it did in this game — 464 yards and the Eagles stepped off the gas in the fourth quarter — the immediate future isn’t promising, either.
The Cowboys are in Chicago next Thursday, and at 5-7, the Bears are close to being done. But will they play that way ... or, with basically all the same weapons they had a year ago when they manhandled Dallas, 45-28, could the game look something more like that?
After the Bears game comes the rematch with the Eagles followed by the final home game against Indianapolis. The Colts are the No. 2 scoring team in the AFC (just ahead of Denver), and Andrew Luck leads the NFL with 331 yards passing per game.
It’s a tough road ahead and based on what happened against a rather average Eagles defense Thursday, you can’t count on the Cowboys offense to score 30 to bail out the defense week after week.
Or sometimes even 20.
The Cowboys wisely avoided using the excuse of the short week since it applies to both teams and sounds soft. But, realistically, which offense do you think is tougher to prepare for on limited time — Chip Kelly's up-tempo attack or the Cowboys’ relentless determination to run the football?
“It’s a good scheme, and Chip Kelly's got a great thing going,” safety J.J. Wilcox said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about men making plays.”
Defensive end Jeremy Mincey hinted that Sunday's defeat was about even more than that — lack of crowd support.
“We need fans yelling and yelling, helping the defense,” Mincey said. “We didn’t get much of that today. They’ve got to have a little more faith in us.”
Despite the fact AT&T Stadium is occasionally overrun by visiting fans — Thursday wasn’t one of those games — I can’t imagine the most loyal fan base not being disheartened by that first quarter.
Mark Sanchez led the Eagles to a 14-0 lead by driving the club 168 yards in 16 plays for those two scores. The Cowboys already ranked 25th in yards allowed per play, and they will drop even further after this weekend.
Forget third-down conversions. The Eagles converted five of nine first downs into first downs on those two drives. Sanchez was methodical and there was no stopping last year’s leading rusher, LeSean McCoy, all afternoon. He ran for 159 yards, easily outperforming this year’s lead rusher, DeMarco Murray (73 yards on 20 carries).
“Players reflect our teaching,” defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. “We didn’t get it done.”
It’s just one game if you want to look at it that way.
A season and its playoff hopes turned desperate Thursday afternoon if you want to look at it realistically.
The big first-place showdown in the NFC East never materialized because the Cowboys defense didn't show up in the first quarter. Philadelphia traveled 80 and 88 yards with incredible ease for a quick 14-0 lead, and the Cowboys never mounted a challenge in a 33-10 defeat.
Over after one quarter? Well, consider the fact that in the final three quarters, the Cowboys spent exactly two minutes, 46 seconds in which they were behind by fewer than 10 points.
“You try not to look at the scoreboard, but I looked up and saw ‘30’ in the third quarter and thought, ‘Wow, that’s not us,’” defensive tackle Henry Melton said.
It definitely was the Cowboys on Thursday, and you have to wonder if this defense will be overmatched in every game until the season finale in Washington, which, come to think of it, looms as a somehow scary rematch with Colt McCoy.
Yes, the Cowboys are 8-4, and everyone would have taken that record heading into December in a heartbeat three months ago. But are the Cowboys also in danger of missing the playoffs?
Absolutely.
Start in the division where the Eagles now lead by a game but will have the tiebreaker edge even if the Cowboys win the rematch in two weeks unless the Eagles suffer a loss to the Giants or Redskins. Yeah, that Dallas loss to Washington here a month ago could be really costly.
As for the wild-card chase, the Cowboys are locked in a three-way tie for the two NFC spots. That’s not terrible, but it’s not great, either.
When the Dallas defense gets shredded the way it did in this game — 464 yards and the Eagles stepped off the gas in the fourth quarter — the immediate future isn’t promising, either.
The Cowboys are in Chicago next Thursday, and at 5-7, the Bears are close to being done. But will they play that way ... or, with basically all the same weapons they had a year ago when they manhandled Dallas, 45-28, could the game look something more like that?
After the Bears game comes the rematch with the Eagles followed by the final home game against Indianapolis. The Colts are the No. 2 scoring team in the AFC (just ahead of Denver), and Andrew Luck leads the NFL with 331 yards passing per game.
It’s a tough road ahead and based on what happened against a rather average Eagles defense Thursday, you can’t count on the Cowboys offense to score 30 to bail out the defense week after week.
Or sometimes even 20.
The Cowboys wisely avoided using the excuse of the short week since it applies to both teams and sounds soft. But, realistically, which offense do you think is tougher to prepare for on limited time — Chip Kelly's up-tempo attack or the Cowboys’ relentless determination to run the football?
“It’s a good scheme, and Chip Kelly's got a great thing going,” safety J.J. Wilcox said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about men making plays.”
Defensive end Jeremy Mincey hinted that Sunday's defeat was about even more than that — lack of crowd support.
“We need fans yelling and yelling, helping the defense,” Mincey said. “We didn’t get much of that today. They’ve got to have a little more faith in us.”
Despite the fact AT&T Stadium is occasionally overrun by visiting fans — Thursday wasn’t one of those games — I can’t imagine the most loyal fan base not being disheartened by that first quarter.
Mark Sanchez led the Eagles to a 14-0 lead by driving the club 168 yards in 16 plays for those two scores. The Cowboys already ranked 25th in yards allowed per play, and they will drop even further after this weekend.
Forget third-down conversions. The Eagles converted five of nine first downs into first downs on those two drives. Sanchez was methodical and there was no stopping last year’s leading rusher, LeSean McCoy, all afternoon. He ran for 159 yards, easily outperforming this year’s lead rusher, DeMarco Murray (73 yards on 20 carries).
“Players reflect our teaching,” defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. “We didn’t get it done.”
It’s just one game if you want to look at it that way.
A season and its playoff hopes turned desperate Thursday afternoon if you want to look at it realistically.