Dallas sucks. We all know that by now. Most seasons, they don’t actually ‘suck,’ but they may be the most embarrassing franchise in the NFL at the moment.
Since their starting quarterback went down with a gruesome injury, the Cowboys have shown little fight. They’ve lost their last two games by a combined score of 63-13 and they’ve allowed at least 20 first half points in six of their seven games this year. Even to the Giants, an offense that was only averaging 12.5 points per game before their game with Dallas.
Players are starting to point fingers via anonymous leaks and the organization is already starting to get rid of some of their overpaid veterans. They’ve already traded defensive end Everson Griffen, and they’ve informed defensive tackle Dontari Poe and cornerback Daryl Worley that they’ll be released if they aren’t traded by Wednesday.
The Eagles have been the antithesis of Dallas this season. Despite the early season struggles, Doug Pederson’s team has continued to fight through all the adversity. With the assortment of injuries to key players, it would’ve been easy for the Eagles to mail it in this year. Regardless of their 2-4-1 record, they deserve credit for showing heart through this rollercoaster ride of a season.
The Eagles seem to be trending in the complete opposite direction of the Cowboys right now. But despite Dallas’ lack luster effort throughout the year and the fact that they may have to start a rookie 7th round quarterback on Sunday, the Eagles can’t afford to overlook this opponent.
Based on what we’ve heard from the team so far this week, it doesn’t appear they’re overlooking Dallas at all. “We can’t worry about what goes on in another organization. We have our own problems,” Fletcher Cox said during Monday press conference. Rodney McLeod echoed that sentiment when he said, “We haven’t done anything yet.” He continued on by saying, “Man, this is a rivalry game. Lot of history and quite frankly, they embarrassed us last year at their home, so we have a chip on our shoulder. We’ve got to go out there and prove ourselves.”
Dallas’ manhood has come into question in recent weeks, and it came to a head after Andy Dalton took a blatant cheap shot against Washington last week. Not one Dallas player came to Dalton’s defense. No one even batted an eye. Remember when Nick Foles took a cheap shot blind side hit against Washington in 2014? This is what ensued:
No one condones fighting on the football field, but everyone understands that you have to stick up for your teammates. It just shows that you actually care for one another. Dallas hasn’t been that kind of team all year. They seem like a bunch of guys just coming in to cash their checks every week.
The Eagles have the opportunity to put Dallas out of their misery Sunday night. They mustn’t play down to them. If they allow this team to stick around all game and gain confidence, the Birds could lose this game. I know we’ve all gotten accustomed to late game heroics from Carson Wentz and the rest of this team, but that’s not a sustainable formula for success. The Eagles need to put this game away early and make Dallas quit. They’ve shown the tendency to quit when to going gets tough.
If the Birds are able to put up points early and cause a turnover or two, Dallas won’t fight back. They’ll roll over and take the L like they have all season. They’re the definition of losers, and the Eagles need to keep it that way.