Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys Game Preview

From Texas Stadium in Irving Texas, the Dallas Cowboys (9-5) host the Philadelphia Eagles (8-6) in a game that essentially decided the NFC East. The game will be broadcast on NBC at 5:00 PM Christmas Day with Al Michaels, John Madden and Andrea Kremer making the call.

Three keys for the Eagles to pull the upset:

1) PROTECT JEFF GARCIA. Garcia has a great feel for when the rush is coming and knows how to evade defenders, but the Cowboy pass rush comes from all different angles. The 3-4 has always been this Offensive Line’s Achilles heel, particularly in pass protection, and it’ll be interesting to see if they studied more film to try and anticipate the blitz. In the first meeting, DeMarcus Ware ran circles around Runyan and Thomas, and once again he should be the focal point before every snap. The line has to identify where he is before every play begins, communicate, and make sure that he’s picked up. He’s a great athlete and pass rusher and can wreck havoc on any offense, like he showed in the first half of the last meeting. Despite employing the 3-4 defense, the Dallas Defensive Linemen are pretty athletic and can get after the QB on third down. Ware isn’t the only weapon, and the Offensive Line will have to be solid across the board if they want to put up points.

2) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DALLAS’ SECONDARY. Although Terence Newman is very underrated and one of the premier corners in the league, the rest of the secondary is weak in coverage. At the safety position, Dallas still can’t find someone to play FS to compliment Roy Williams’ box ability. Keith Davis hasn’t been as bad as Patrick Watkins was, but he is still exploitable. Williams is a liability in coverage, and can easily be beaten by an athlete like L.J. Smith or someone on the outside like Stallworth when Roy is supposed to be playing a deep half. At corner opposite Newman, the Cowboys lack depth. Henry is a decent player that can make some plays, but sometimes he can be too aggressive and make mistakes. Aaron Glenn is old and broken down. The Eagles have to make the big plays against these guys. They did it in the first meeting, and they have to be able to do it again. The weakness in the Dallas defense is their coverage, and if Garcia has time to find open guys, he has to be able to hit them.

3) PRESSURE TONY ROMO. Let’s face it. He’s no Drew Bledsoe. Romo has enough mobility to matter, and as he showed in the most recent Giant game, he’s very good at moving around in the pocket to buy time for guys to get open downfield. He’s having a very good year in place of the veteran, and it’s mostly due to being a better athlete than Drew. Instead of being a sitting duck behind the mediocre Offensive Line, Romo can elude pass rushers and won’t take as many sacks. The Eagles have to apply the pressure like they did in the first game, despite the QB change. Their O-Line, particularly the interior, has never been known for pass protection. Darwin Walker did a great job against Kyle Kosier, and he can’t do anything less this time around. Darren Howard had his best game of the season, and he needs to step it up again when it really counts. Jim Johnson used some nice pressure packages in the first meeting, and he needs to be creative and do more of the same again.

Three key matchups to keep an eye on:

1) MARION BARBER VS. EAGLES’ FRONT SEVEN. Barber runs hard and has been very effective for the Cowboys this season. Although Julius Jones has rushed for 1000 yards and has been declared the starter for the Cowboys, Barber might be the true threat to worry about. He has a nose for the endzone and the Eagles have to hold Dallas to FGs if they get into the red zone. When Barber enters the game inside the 20, he’s going to score more often than not. The Eagles have to be prepared to stop the run not just in goal to go situations, but all over the field. As good as the Dallas passing game is, Parcells would love nothing more than to just run the ball all game long and keep the Eagle offense off the field. Although the run defense stepped up big last week against Tiki Barber, the weakness is still there, and Parcells will still try to exploit it. If the Cowboys can control the clock, they will win.

2) L.J. SMITH VS. ROY WILLIAMS. In the first game, we all remember the long reception Smith had on a play where it appeared that Williams blew coverage. It’ll be interesting to see if Smith can overcome his inconsistency and have a big game when he’s potentially being covered by a safety that’s known to struggle in coverage. L.J. is probably one of the more athletic Tight Ends in the league and is clearly very physically gifted, but sometimes he just disappears leaving everyone wondering what’s going on. His occasional drops also hurt, and he’s going to have to get past those problems and have a big game. He could be an important part of the Eagle offense if Dallas focuses on Westbrook and the Wide Receivers. If Garcia has to check down, Smith could be in for a lot of work. Not only should be frequently be checked down to, the Eagles need to take advantage of the mismatch that is him vs. Williams.

3) TERRELL OWENS VS. COMPOSURE. Last time, TO played poorly. It had nothing to do with his composure, but he clearly lost it a few times. Owens needs to stay focused and in the game, which has been a problem for him throughout his career. He can’t continue to drop passes and cost his team points, especially in a game where the Cowboys will need every point they can get. If TO gets frustrated again, he could take himself out of the game. He could develop alligator arms again, drop passes and stop giving effort and run sloppy routes. TO has to stay calm even if passes aren’t being thrown his way immediately or if the Eagles get a quick score. He can make plays, and he just needs to remember to keep his head in the game and let things happen.

Three players from each team that need to play well:

PHI:

1) Darwin Walker

2) Tra Thomas

3) Lito Sheppard

DAL:

1) Roy Williams

2) Flozell Adams

3) Terry Glenn

Key Injuries:

PHI- QB Donovan McNabb

PHI- DE Jevon Kearse

PHI- LS Mike Bartrum

DAL- OLB Greg Ellis

Number to remember:

2. It’s the number of times Romo will try to throw to TO on Dallas’ opening possession.

Final score:

31-27 Dallas. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m just not feeling confident.

Garcia- 275 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT.

Westbrook- 125 total yards, 1 TD.

Brown- 60 receiving yards.

Romo- 250 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT.

Barber- 50 rushing yards, 2 TD.

Owens- 65 receiving yards, 1 TD.

And my NFL picks (I chose GB at -3.5 and KC at -7, I’m going to make an effort to get these in on time. My total record is 17-17.)

Buffalo (-4.5) over Tennessee- Vince Young won’t be able to get away with another game like that again.

New Orleans (+3) over New York Giants- The Saints looked bad last week, but I’d imagine they can bounce back.

Atlanta (-6.5) over Carolina- Atlanta isn’t a good team, but Carolina is playing Chris Weinke regularly. Never pick on his side again.

St. Louis (-1.5) over Washington- Linehan has these guys going in the right direction.

Indianapolis (-10) over Houston- This point spread is too big and I usually don’t take games like these, but Houston stinks.

Baltimore (+3) over Pittsburgh- Pittsburgh has to protect Big Ben at least three times better than they did last time.

Cleveland (-3) over Tampa Bay- I can’t imagine Tampa Bay putting together that kind of game offensively two times in a row.

Chicago (-6) over Detroit- Grossman could be peaking at the right time, but is their defense falling?

New England (+3) over Jacksonville- I like the Patriots outright in this game. Garrard has to step up and play better.

San Francisco (-4) over Arizona- The unlikeliest playoff candidate continues their mediocre surge to the postseason.

Cincinnati (+3) over Denver- Even though they trounced Arizona, I don’t think the Broncos are back yet.

Seattle (+4.5) over San Diego- This is a risky pick, but I think the Seahawks can finally take care of business at home.

Philadelphia (+7) over Dallas- This line is way too generous to Dallas. They’re not that good.

New York Jets (+2.5) over Miami- The Jets need this one to continue fighting for the playoffs.

Due to a brief vacation next week, my usual game recap and power rankings will be put off until later in the week. See you then, and go Eagles.