Big Dom(ination)! Dallas Cowboys Crush Philadelphia Eagles: Top 10 Whitty Observations
Mike McCarthy was back. Brad Sham was back. The Dallas Cowboys' high-octane offense never left.
With their coach on the sideline and their iconic radio voice in the booth after recent health scares, the Cowboys dominated another overwhelmed opponent at AT&T Stadium. This time they spanked the Philadelphia Eagles, 33-13, and gaining a share of the NFC East lead Sunday night.
10. HOME SWEET HOME - These Cowboys are the NFL's best home offense since the St. Louis Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" in 1999. They scored 24 points on their first four possessions and again cruised in the second half. Their point differential at home through seven games (+171) is the biggest in the league since Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Rams were sprinting to the Super Bowl title. The Cowboys have won 15 straight at home.
9. LIVIN' RIGHT - You know you're on a roll when the referees pick up a flag on two of your touchdowns. Calls for holding and then offensive interference were waved off, allowing touchdown catches by CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup as Dallas waltzed to a 24-6 halftime lead.
8. QUICK RECOVERY - Just four days after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, McCarthy was not only back on the sideline but also back on his "A" game. He was aggressive from the jump, going for 4th-and-2 from Philly's 40 with a 7-0 lead and green-lighting Brando Aubrey's 60-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter.
McCarthy also showed no physical signs of wear and tear, throwing his red flag a good 15 yards in the air in successfully challenging Rico Dowdle's touchdown run in the second quarter.
7. DAN'S DEFENSE - While the offense gave Dallas a big lead early, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn's defense helped them hold on late. The Cowboys beat the Eagles mostly by taking the ball away from their best players. Donovan Wilson stripped Jalen Hurts. Stephon Gilmore stripped A.J. Brown. Markquese Bell stripped DeVonta Smith. All three fumbles were recovered by the Cowboys deep in their territory to stop potential Eagles' scoring drives.
After getting gashed by the Seahawks and Geno Smith for 35 points in their last game, the defense didn't allow an offensive touchdown by Philly. This is the first time the Eagles haven't scored an offensive touchdown in 95 regular-season games.
6. STRANGE SIGHT - On their first drive of the third quarter - after a drop of a long pass by Lamb - the Cowboys punted. No biggie, except we hadn't seen that occurrence since Thanksgiving. The Cowboys' offense went 17 possessions between appearances by punter Bryan Anger.
Tony Pollard rolled over another opponent at AT&T Stadium, this time the Eagles.
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5. BIG DOM(INATED) - A week ago the Eagles were surviving big tests and getting credit for bring Philly tough, even with their head of security "Big Dom" earning publicity for being a fighter. Whoops.
After this dismantling the Eagles have been outscored 75-32 the last two weeks. If the Chiefs' Marques Valdez-Scantling wouldn't dropped that pass in the end zone three weeks ago the Cowboys would have sole possession of first place in the division.
4. AWESOME AUBREY - While some teams spend (waste) draft picks on kickers, the Cowboys found themselves a star out of nowhere. Aubrey the rookie free agent is not only accurate, but also a long-distance weapon. His 60-yarder was the first in the first quarter in NFL history, and also increased his record start to a career to 27 in a row. Added a 59-yarder later to put Dallas up 27-13, and also become the first kicker to have two field goals of 59+ in the same game. Both hit the net well beyond the crossbar.
Two kickers in Cowboys history have made 60+ field goals: Aubrey and Brett Maher. Just for fun, he also hit from 45 and 50 to improve to 30 of 30 this season.
3. SICK SACK - Micah Parsons has been dealing with the flu late in the week, but you wouldn't know it from his performance. He played a huge part in a Dallas defense that shut down Philly's high-powered offense, on one impressive bull-rushing through almost impenetrable Eagles' right tackle Lane Johnson for a sack of Jalen Hurts. Two players in NFL history have 12+ sacks in each of their first three seasons: Hall of Famer Reggie White and Parsons.
2. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING - Remember how it seemed like a big deal when free-agent linebacker Shaq Leonard dissed the Cowboys and signed with the Eagles? Philly's newest find contributed a whopping two tackles.
1. DAK-TASTIC! - Dak Prescott aced his "prove-it" test. He threw for two more touchdowns, and even overcame a sack-fumble that led to Philly's only touchdown. His record at AT&T Stadium against Philly improved to 6-1, throwing 14 touchdowns in the process. In the last four home games against the Eagles, Prescott has led the Cowboys to point totals of 37, 41, 40 and 33.
In Philly last month Prescott stepped out of bounds. Sunday night he simply stepped on the Eagles' neck. How good was Dak? Don't look now, but he's the betting favorite to win MVP.
Said Dak after the game, "I don't think I was at my best tonight ... far from it. But when you have a defense that holds them to six points and a kicker that can make it from anywhere it makes my job easier."
