COWBOYS RIP EAGLES FOR FIRST PLAYOFF WIN SINCE ‘96

Karma has a funny way of evening the score, and the Philadelphia Eagles had tempted it all year.  Signing convicted animal abuser Michael Vick to a contract was bad enough, but then the team named him this year’s recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award.  Presumably making it through an entire NFL season without killing or torturing any dogs constitutes ‘courage’ in the Eagles’ locker room.  When karma wasn’t having its way with the Eagles’ fortunes, the Dallas Cowboys were.  Tony Romo threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns as Dallas won their first playoff game in thirteen years with a 34-14 rout of Philadelphia that wasn’t even as close as the final score suggests.  The Cowboys led 27-7 at halftime and 34-7 at the start of the fourth quarter before coasting to victory.

The Cowboys also rewarded NFL betting enthusiasts as they covered the pointspread as -3’ home favorites.  Dallas has been money in the bank all season at their new $1.3 billion stadium, posting a 7-3 mark against the NFL pointspread.  The 48 combined points scored managed to make it OVER the posted total of 45’.  The Eagles’ final touchdown early in the fourth quarter may have been meaningless in determining the outcome of the game, but it was of crucial importance to NFL totals players as it sent the game OVER.   Dallas has gone UNDER in 10 of 17 games this season, while the Eagles went OVER in 11 of 17.

Dallas beat Philadelphia for the third time this season and the second time in two weeks.  The two teams met in week 17, as the Cowboys thumped the Eagles 24-0 in the final regular season contest for both teams.   More significant to Cowboys’ players, coaches and fans was the end of another streak—after dominating the early 1990’s with three Superbowl championships, they’ve been winless in the postseason since 1996.  It was also the first postseason victory for head coach Wade Phillips and quarterback Tony Romo.  Afterwards, Romo praised his teammates:

"It's just ... rewarding. It makes me proud of the guys in there -- fighting, grinding, staying committed to the approach. I'm happy for the guys, happy for Wade, happy for Jerry.”

Cowboys’ coach Phillips echoed Romo’s thoughts:

"This team has hung together all year, got stronger at the end of the year and is playing our best football. I think we're playing as good as anybody right now."

In recent years, the Cowboys have struggled late in the season but finished strong this year with 5 wins in their last 7 games.  Philadelphia had been undefeated in playoff openers under head coach Andy Reid, winning seven straight.  Now they’ll head home and Dallas will travel to Minneapolis to face Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday afternoon.  The Cowboys have opened as a +2’ point underdog in that game with the total set at 48.