How Are You Feeling? Big Bad Cowboys!

I'm getting ready to watch the game last night. I spent earlier time earlier in the day watching Villanova pour it on in the second half to defeat Depaul, 79-64. It ended in time to switch over to the Chiefs/Broncos game. I have to say, I'm definitely not a Chiefs fan. I used to like them until Andy Reid became the coach. Sorry, still too many residual feelings from the time he spent in Philly. Cough, cough, cough...got to do a better job! still echoes in my head.

As the game was coming to an end, the Flyers game was beginning so I switched over to Center Ice.  During commercials, I'd flip between the game and the Eagles pre-game on ESPN. When I heard Minshew would be starting the game. Hmm...this could be a fun game to see him playing someone other than the Jets. And it was official, the Birds would be resting most of their starters., while the Cowboys would be playing their starters.

My evil side began to think... how great would it be for a bunch of reserves to humiliate the Cowboys on national television! Shots of Jerry Jones squirming in his seat! BTW - don't get me started seeing Jaba the Christie in the owner's box with him!!!

As the game began, even though I knew the Eagles pretty much conceded the game from the start, the first half was going back and forth. After the Eagles had tied the game 17-17, they had already rushed 13 times for 82 yards and 5 first downs. In the first game (week 3) they rushed 12 times for 64 yards and 1 first down. Ok, game tied 3:40 left to go until halftime. Let's get three and out and then score before the half. You know Dak was due for some kind of turnover, especially if there was pressure on him. 

After the kickoff, the first play Williams bats the ball down. Ok...here we go! Elliot runs for 26 yards....don't do this Birds. Then Clement starts to come back to haunt us. Tick, tick, tick...we make it to the 2-minute warning. Stop them here. Stinkin Cooper makes a catch at the 2. Then a catch out of bounds in the end zone. Luck break...I'm getting that bad feeling! Sure enough, next play, pass to Schultz for a touchdown. Extra point no good! Here we go...1:45 left, with two time outs, march down the field, get a TD and extra point, and go into the half with a one-point lead.

Then reality hits. Third and 16 with 0:37 left. Alright, eat some clock and if nothing else we'll punt with little time left on the clock if we don't get the first down. Sack!!! 4th and 29 with 0:31 left. So I'm thinking....a good punt, no return, and go into the half down by 6. No problem...what could go wrong? Shank...a 22-yard punt! Cowboys have it on the Birds 43 with 0:24 left and one time out. Ok D, time to put it to Dak. One sack here and we go into half still in the game. Wilson grabs one for 28 yards and takes it down to the 15. The Cowboys use their last time out. Come on just get a sack!!! There's only 0:18 left! Three plays later with 0:09 left...touchdown! Well, there goes any chance of humiliating the Cowboys.

Meanwhile, I'm flipping over during commercials to watch the Flyers...2-0 in the 3rd period with two goals by JVR. A minute after the second goal the Sharks get a score. I'm back to the Birds game, flip back 2-2! Going to overtime?!!! Back to Birds game, commercial, back to Flyers - 3-2 loss in OT.

Why do I torture myself like that!!! Maybe, just maybe, they could do something here. Coming back from halftime they show Dak on the sideline throwing the ball with a big smile on his face! There goes my blood pressure!!! Oh, sure must feel like a real big man beating second-stringers!!!

The first series, the Cowboys go nowhere. Alright, get a TD and maybe they can come back. Birds are moving the ball down the field. First and ten at the Cowboys 22, what next? There's Arcega-Whiteside in the end zone! A pass right to him! 6 points!!! And it's dropped!!! Flag...pass interference on Cowboys? No flag after all. 

Eagles come out against whoever they play next week and they stumble out the gates there's no recovering from that and the Eagles needed to find a way in my opinion over the last couple of games to get to a point where they started the game ... the right way. This was an opportunity you know I mean listen there were a couple of injuries but you can't prevent against injuries in this game and a lot of people will say well you know what they did the right thing they got rest so on and so forth but I always talk about you know the how you win and how you lose is a major predictor in how you're going to play the games moving forward...

Seth Joyner, Eagle Post Game Live 01/02/22

Didn't get enough of Arcega-Whiteside? Next play, offensive pass interference. Can you make it more obvious? Get him off the field! End result... a loss of a TD and only 3 points. Any hope of a comeback was just lost.  Especially after the next drive which went into the start of the 4th quarter. And to make it worse, Clement gets the touchdown. Oh, you must feel so proud Dak! It was like the varsity team playing against the Freshmen team.

The rest of the game just felt like a mandatory assignment....bless me father for I have sinned. "For your punishment my son, you must say 2 Hail Mary's and watch the rest of this game."

Reflecting back after the game some things came to mind. Did the Birds lose any sense of momentum by resting their starters? As Seth Joyner pointed out in Post Game Live, the Eagles have stumbled out of the gate. We're going into the playoffs! You just can't expect to think you can do nothing in the first half and expect to turn it on in the second half.

Now we have two games that we've been blown out by the Cowboys. How are you feeling now, Birds? I just can't see the Birds turning it on next week. Ray Diddy thought the only good thing that came out of the game is that they came out of the game whole. He also felt that this game "what happened tonight means diddly for next week." I wish I shared his optimism.

The one hope I have is when the playoffs begin next week, the Cowboys get destroyed especially if it's a home loss for them. It's real football next week so the Birds are going to come out fired up and the Cowboys are so overconfident that they fall to pieces.

I'm not sure we'll make it to the second week of the playoffs. My ultimate dream is the Birds get there and the Cowboys are sitting at home. 

Finally, Arcega-Whiteside, I'm not done with you yet! And Reagor, don't think you can hide behind him!