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56 minutes of beautiful, nearly-flawless Eagles football. With a full week to prepare a game plan without their biggest playmaker, the Eagles were ready to prove that they still belonged at the top of the NFC East. Playing with a vengeance, carrying the enmity from the embarrassing 33-10 defeat by Dallas earlier this season, the birds looked brilliant on their first drive and their inspiring play continued throughout the majority of the game. Donovan was mobile, scrambling for first downs and moving in the pocket to garner extra time to find an open receiver. The offensive line was dominant, giving Donnie time in the pocket while plowing the Cowboys front seven to establish an effective running game. The defense, with the exception of the Peerless Price bomb that led to the Cowboys first touchdown, was tremendous. The front four, led by surprise rookie, 5th-round draft Trent Cole, pressured Bledsoe, while the Eagles secondary shut down the Cowboys passing attack. In all, it felt like the Eagles of old. The grind-it out offense, the stout and opportunistic defense, the exceptional special teams play (welcome back Mr. Akers). The Eagles were back.

But in a flash it was gone. With 4 minutes remaining, the Cowboys marched down the field with a 4 play, 72 yard, 36 second drive that resulted in a Terry Glenn touchdown. The Eagles looked tentative on defense and their all-out blitz on the TD pass burned them for the second time this season (Todd Devoe TD in Broncos game). When the Eagles regained possession, Donnie made his one and only major mistake of the game, throwing a pick to Roy Williams that was returned 46 yards for a touchdown But even after the interception, the Eagles still had a chance. But it wasn’t to be, and for the first time in my life I could take solace in the Eagles loss to a Bill Parcell’s coached football team – he lost his brother to brain cancer earlier this week and buried him yesterday morning.

A few observations from this game. Donovan has proven himself a warrior, but it is time to sit him down. The birds are not statistically eliminated from the playoffs, but they aren’t helping themselves by keeping Don in there. He is really banged up and it shows – the man cannot torque his body and it is absolutely killing his ability to throw the ball. I am not throwing in the towel on the season, but at this point I am not willing to risk D Mac’s long-term health. Moving on – Reggie Brown played like a rookie, but he is going to be pretty good in this league. I like him as our future #1. Way too many false starts last night (6) – having a new center is no excuse. Also, far too many penalties last evening – 14 for 95 years (compared to 4 for 31 for the Cowboys). The front-four finally put pressure on the QB – player of the game was definitely Trent Cole. The Eagles have been decimated by injury – Buckhalter, Fraley, Grasmanis, Pinkston, Dirk Johnson, Jason Short, and McDougle. That is a lot of players to lose for the season, and with Donnie playing hurt, you can essentially add him to that list.

Finally, the Eagles still have a shot, and until they are statistically eliminated, I will not give up hope. But I am realistic and pragmatic, and the Eagles look like they are heading for a January without playoffs. Don’t forget that after their Super Bowl victory in 2002, the Patriots missed the playoffs in a season in which they were riddled with injuries. We all know how their following two seasons ended.

And, as always, holler…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 15th, 2005 at 11:06 am and is tagged as Eagles, Football, Philly, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.