Dallas Cowboys

The NFC East’s all division team almost perfectly reflects the final standings. The three top teams (the Giants, Eagles and Cowboys) are all well represented while the cellar dwelling Redskins had just five players make it.

It’s a testament to the talent level in the division that so many quality players missed out. Even scoring double digit touchdowns from the receiver position (Laurent Robinson) or coming close to breaking the sack record (Jason Babin) wasn’t enough to guarantee you a spot on an all division team which features some of the league’s best receivers and pass rushers.

Enough about those who didn’t make it though, let’s take a look at those who did …

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Divisional games with meaning in Week 17, this will please the NFL brass. In an odd game in the pouring rain at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the Giants jumped out to a huge lead, making it to the half up 21-0. It looked as if the Cowboys simply hadn’t turned up and it was going to be a complete walkover, but then Dallas began to make a game of it.

The Cowboys pegged the game back with some scores and some defensive stands of their own before Tony Romo threw a pick just as it seemed the momentum was back with Dallas. The Giants were able to control the game from that point onwards and closed it out 31-14 to win the NFC East in a season where none of the teams stood out.

For Dallas, it’s back to the drawing board again, and an offseason of heat on owner and general manager, Jerry Jones, for a roster with plenty of issues. New York, on the other hand, rolls into the playoffs on a run of form, and will not be easy outs. Read the rest of this entry »

It is not often that division rivals meet twice in the regular season on Sunday Night Football, but here we are as the 8-7 Dallas Cowboys travel to the 8-7 New York Giants for what has turned out to be a de facto playoff game with the winner taking the NFC East crown.

The Cowboys are coming off a 20-7 loss to the Eagles in a game many inaccurately labeled “meaningless” (the Cowboys could have won a wild card spot with a win and two Falcons losses) despite playing all their starters for the majority of the game except Tony Romo and Felix Jones. Meanwhile, the Giants–after being swept by the bottom-dwellers of their division, the Washington Redskins–bounced back last week with a 29-14 win over in-state rivals, the New York Jets.

These two teams’ last meeting was a classic football game for the ages, with the G-Men winning 37-34 thanks in part to a blocked field goal at the end of the game. Could this rematch possibly live up to that epic first game? Check out three factors that could determine who is still playing next weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

Coming into the week, this was a much-anticipated game as the Philadelphia Eagles finally have gotten their act together and were making a late run for the playoffs. However, a Giants victory that went final in the early moments of this contest meant that this Eagles/Cowboys outcome would have no bearing on the playoffs–the Eagles were out, and a matchup between the Giants and Cowboys next week would determine the division winner.

Thus, when Tony Romo hurt his hand after four plays it became the Stephen McGee show, while Felix Jones was given just seven snaps before being rested. While it’s disappointing that for a second straight year, players were rested in a late season Philadelphia/Dallas matchup, but it’s hard to blame the Cowboys for playing it safe as the real test is next week. Read the rest of this entry »

After I, along with so many others, counted them out of the playoffs a few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles somehow still have a chance to win the NFC East with just two weeks to go in the season. If they can pull it off, nobody is going to want to see them in the playoffs.

As big a surprise that the Eagles are still in the hunt, it’s surely an even bigger surprise that the Dallas Cowboys haven’t wrapped up the division yet. The late loss at home to the New York Giants continues to loom large in the rear view mirror.

In the first matchup between these two, the Eagles ran out 34-7 winners with both Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy having big games. Neither team can afford a loss, although the Eagles quite literally can’t lose if they want to have any chance to win the division, so with that in mind let’s take a look at the three areas to focus on.

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He may be unpopular outside of the dressing room, but we’ve been told all week how Tampa Bay Buccaneer head coach Raheem Morris has the support of the players. Words from Kellen Winslow before the game reinforced this idea, with the tight end adamant that he and his team would fight for their HC.

Either those were empty words or the Buccaneers are just not very good.

The Dallas Cowboys dominated from the get-go and it was only a lax third quarter that allowed the Bucs any sniff of getting back into the game–before the Dallas defense tightened-up and turned Josh Freeman into a check-down machine. The scoreline, if anything, flattered a limp and idealess Tampa Bay team who must be scratching their heads and wondering how this group of players earned victories over both the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Read the rest of this entry »

The Buccaneers were very close to the playoffs last year, and–after seven straight losses–they will be watching from home again this time around. Their passing game just isn’t what it was last year, and their defense has been equally as bad.

Common sense says that it should be Dallas who wins this game, as they need to fight for their playoff spot, but they’ve been one of the hardest teams to predict, though they’ve typically pulled out victories when facing the weaker teams in the league. The loss of DeMarco Murray at running back certainly doesn’t help and every year we see a handful of games where the team playing for pride pulls it off, so this one’s far from in the bag for Dallas.

Can the Buccaneers be one of those teams that has a late-season upset to hurt someone else’s playoff chances? Here are three matchups that can help answer that question. Read the rest of this entry »

Exhausting. Fun. Unbelievable.

However you want to describe the New York Giants rollercoaster victory over the Dallas Cowboys, it doesn’t change what was a quite remarkable contest to cap off a good day of football. Full of big plays, blown coverages and lead changes, this was the kind of game that didn’t just live up to the billing; it surpassed it.

I’ll get to the most impressive aspects of the game in detail shortly. Looking past the individual performances for a second, this game was as big a statement as either could make – that it happened in all three phases made it all the more memorable. What if Tony Romo connects with Miles Austin when he was open deep with 2:25 to go in the fourth quarter? What if the Dallas defense doesn’t surrender two late touchdowns? What if Dan Bailey got his kick over the outstretched arm of Jason Pierre-Paul?

They didn’t, and instead the Giants defense got Eli Manning the ball back with 2:12 left and he was able to lead one of the great comebacks of the 2011. That seems as good a place to start as any as we look at the key performances of note on both sides here.

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Given some of the big games these two divisional rivals have played in the Tony Romo and Eli Manning era, it’s a bit surprising that the first 2011 meeting between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys hasn’t come until Week 14. Thankfully, here we are and what a good bit of timing it turned out to be as the winner of this Sunday Night game will then be the front-runner to win the NFC East. Both teams are coming off close losses with the Cowboys losing in overtime to the Cardinals and the Giants off a tough home loss to the Packers.

Manning has had some fond memories in Dallas as he upset the Cowboys there in the 2007 Divisional Playoffs and won the first game in the Cowboys’ new stadium in 2009. Romo might have nightmares about this matchup though, as it was the Giants who ended his season in Week 7 of last year, also in primetime. Assuming both signal-callers can somehow survive their opponent’s fierce pass-rush, this should be an entertaining, high-scoring contest.

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OK, raise your hand if you saw this one coming. Dallas with a chance to take control of the NFC East blows the game to the Cardinals who were just grateful they didn’t have to start John Skelton anymore.

In a game that went down to the wire (actually beyond the wire as we hit over time), Jason Garrett showed some impressive coaching calamity as he successfully iced his own kicker, negating a kick Dan Bailey put straight down the middle with a late timeout only to see him shank his next try.

Arizona got the ball in overtime and worked their way to midfield before a moment of magic sealed the win with a touchdown. So how did it go down?

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