This was as close to a perfect game is it gets for the Eagles. Their offense only punted once and their defense gave up a long touchdown but little else. The Cowboys made too many early mistakes with sacks and turnovers to recover and their top-rated run defense couldn’t stop the Eagles' vaunted ground game.
The result only clouds the NFC East situation further as the Cowboys, despite facing the easiest schedule, now fall to 3-4 and 1-1 in the division. With the Giants' victory over the Dolphins they have a two-game lead but also have one of the toughest second halves to a season and have tended to struggle in November and December.
After being written-off following their nightmare start, the Eagles and their ‘dream team’ have a strong chance of they can stay on this track. Here's a look at how performances from both teams influenced Sunday Night Football.
Dallas – Three Performances of Note
Surprising struggles at inside linebacker
Sean Lee (-3.6) was one of our most promising rookies a year ago and, while he’s surpassed expectations against the run this year, he’s consistently graded poorly in coverage. He had his worst game of the 2011 season Sunday night. The Penn State product struggled in both facets of the game, grading negatively against the pass and, surprisingly, the run. He was consistently in position to make plays but failed to do so, missing tackles on both a Michael Vick scramble and a Lesean McCoy run. In coverage he wasn’t especially close to Brent Celek who caught a slant for 19 yards with 6:23 to go in the first quarter. The fact his -3.6 grade came on just 20 snaps (before he was forced to leave with a wrist injury) reflects the uncharacteristically poor display of the entire Cowboy defense. A horrible one way to end his season potentially. The worrying thing must be the veterans expected to step up, Keith Brooking (-6.4) and Bradie James (-3.0), were just as poor. Brooking was especially poor, missing two tackles of his own, and looking lost in zone coverage as Philadelphia consistently had success on intermediate routes over the middle (the former Falcon gave up 7-of-8 balls thrown his way for 88 yards). This unit will have better days.
Be-A-Ware
It was just another day at the office for DeMarcus Ware (+2.6). The four sacks don’t tell the whole story as Vick took off and was tackled behind the line of scrimmage a couple of times but this was another very good display from perhaps the Cowboys sack machine. While three of his QB takedowns had more to do with Vick holding the ball too long, his strip sack with 5:03 to go in the third was vintage Ware. Coming from the left side, he was able to beat right tackle Todd Herremans with a speed rush and knock the ball loose; one of the few negative plays for the Eagles’ offense all night. Ware also added another pressure taking his season total to 38 combined QB disruptions. He also graded positively in coverage and against the run, where he made a further three defensive stops, leaving him first overall amongst 3-4 OLBs.
The trials of rookie linemen
Every time you write something nice about a rookie look what happens? Tyron Smith (-1.3) had plenty of trouble with the Eagles defensive ends Jason Babin, conceding three sacks and a further two pressures, after having previously only given up two sacks all year. The opening Cowboys offensive series was particularly tough for the USC product who gave up a sack to a Babin spin move, and then another to a stunting Trevor Laws. He went pretty much error-free in pass protection from then on aside from giving up a coverage sack to Babin and a pressure to a Trent Cole bull rush. Smith was also below average in the run game (-1.0) as Laws stood him up at the line of scrimmage on one occasion and Mike Patterson beat him to made a tackle for a short gain on another. That’s the worst we’ve seen him look, but the Eagles' defensive line will do that to you.
Philadelphia – Three Performances of Note
Loving the spotlight
It seems Jason Peters (+6.2) always saves his best performances for national television. It helps that NBC analyst Chris Collinsworth is such a fan but his praises were rightly deserved in this one. Peters was perfect in pass protection (+2.3) despite being matched up with DeMarcus Ware for much of the night. His run blocking (+3.4) was even more impressive as he moved defenders at will. Jason Hatcher was his favorite victim, as the Eagles’ offensive line won the battle in the trenches. To cap it all off, he dominated in the screen game, taking out Mike Jenkins on the Jeremy Maclin touchdown and pancaking Brooking in the second quarter. Peters is now 10th in Pass Blocking Efficiency among tackles at 95.5.
Another rookie center but different results
Jason Kelce (-3.8) had another very poor game. I identified the matchup between him and Jay Ratliff (+3.6) in my “Three to Focus on” article and this was a case where the result was true to form. Kelce was continually moved backwards in pass protection to the tune of a hit and four pressures in his 39 pass blocks. To his credit, his athleticism meant he was rarely beaten cleanly off the line, at least giving Vick a chance to step up and avoid the rush, but that’s little consolation. Kelce was also called for holding Ratliff with 1:39 to play in the third. With this performance he now ranks dead last in PBE amongst centers with a rate of 95.7. He remains the weak link on an underrated line.
Playmaking corners finally making plays
An incredibly inconsistent player, but when Asante Samuel (+1.9) is good, he can be very good. He allowed just two of six targets to be complete for 17 yards, with one impressive pass defense on a fade route. As for Nnamdi Asomugha (+0.9) he seems to be finding his feet as an Eagle. He frustratingly continues to miss tackles (two) but is starting to prove he’s the cover man the Eagles expected they signed him. Asomugha made a nice diving interception off a deflected pass and later knocked a pass down intended for Jason Witten. Overall, he allowed two completions on four targets for 14 yards.
Game notes
● Lesean McCoy had a season high 92 yards after contact
● Safety Gerald Sensabaugh had three pressures in just four rushes
● The Eagles only sent more than four rushers four times in the game
Game ball
That’s how you announce yourself back in your team’s starting line-up Jason Peters. The Eagles’ returning left tackle was perfect in pass protection and pivotal in setting up the cutback runs that gashed the Cowboys' run defense.
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