Week 16 Game Recap: Philadelphia Eagles 23, Dallas Cowboys 7

What you need to know

Philadelphia Eagles

QB Jeff Garcia continued his streak of solid starts at quarterback for the Eagles, posting another great performance as he moved Philadelphia to first place in the NFC East. Garcia threw for 238 yards and one touchdown and posted another QB rating over 90, the fifth time in a row he has done so, moving his record as a starter to 4-1. His rejuvenation even went towards his running ability, as Garcia ran for 43 yards and three first downs.

RB Brian Westbrook was the workhorse running back, carrying the ball 26 times, a season high. Westbrook topped 100 yards for the sixth time this year as the Eagles ran for 204 yards rushing as a team. RB Correll Buckhalter added eight carries for 38 yards, including a one yard plunge for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

TE LJ Smith led all receivers with 77 yards, most of which came on a short pass that he ran for a grand total of 65 yards in the third quarter. Smith was out for a portion of the first half with a foot injury, but was able to return to the game and showed no health problems. In his absence, backup TE Matt Schobel caught a 25 yard pass on a post pattern down the middle of the field for a touchdown.

The Philadelphia wide receivers were relatively quiet, as both Donte Stallworth and Reggie Brown had three catches for 51 and 27 yards, respectively.

PK David Akers connected for three field goals and two extra points in Week 16.

The Eagles defense racked up three sacks and two interceptions, one each by S Brian Dawkins and CB Lito Sheppard. They also forced a fumble on a kickoff in the first quarter after their first touchdown. They held Dallas to a season low ten points and 201 total yards.

Dallas Cowboys

QB Tony Romo completed less than half of his passes (14 for 29) and two interceptions against the Eagles. He managed to throw a nice touchdown to WR Terrell Owens in the second quarter as he scrambled to buy time and hit him in the back middle of the end zone, but that was his only touchdown for Week 16. Romo was under pressure often and was sacked three times, but he did manage to scramble for 42 additional yards.

RB Marion Barber was limited to only six carries and three total yards, including three attempts at the goal line. He was stuffed twice on one yard to go for a touchdown by the Eagles. HC Bill Parcells decided to go for it on fourth and goal, his second decision on the drive to go for it on fourth down rather than to settle for three points. The fourth down run by Barber lost three yards and Philadelphia regained the momentum.

RB Julius Jones posted the better numbers from the Dallas backfield, gaining 38 yards on 10 carries to go with his lone 10 yard catch in the first quarter.

WR Terrell Owens had just two catches despite eight targets. He caught a 14 yard touchdown in the second quarter as he extended his route and improvised to get open for a scrambling QB Tony Romo, but his hand injury appeared to continue to bother him as he dropped another catch in the second half. WR Terry Glenn had just one 17 yard catch and WR Patrick Crayton added two more for 29 yards, with all three gains coming before halftime.

TE Jason Witten was the leading receiver for Dallas, catching six passes for 50 yards, but all of them were for fewer than 15 yards. Backup and rookie TE Anthony Fasano had two short catches for a combined 13 yards in the first half.

Dallas struggled on both sides of the ball, scoring just 10 points and gaining a season low 201 yards. They held the ball just over 22 minutes as Philadelphia controlled the game for over 37 minutes as they racked up over 200 yards on the ground.

What you ought to know

QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 15 - 23 - 238 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 7 - 43 - 0

Garcia had another solid performance, completing 65% of his passes for 238 yards and one touchdown to TE Matt Schobel. Garcia completed a pass to seven different receivers, with six of them getting two catches but remarkably none of them with more than three. Garcia spread the ball around in the Eagles’ version of the West Coast Offense to the open man, and when that was unavailable Garcia either scrambled for more time or tucked it and ran for all he could. Garcia added 43 yards rushing and picked up three first downs as a runner, doing what was necessary to keep Philadelphia’s offense moving forward. Garcia’s efforts led the Eagles to scores on four of their first five possessions of Week 16. His QB rating was over 90 for the fifth week in a row as Garcia was efficient enough to raise his record as a 2006 starting quarterback to 4-1.

RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 26 - 122 - 0, Rec: 2 - 6 - 0 (5 targets)

Westbrook continues to be a workhorse for the Eagles, as he racked up a season high for carries with 26 against Dallas in Week 16. Westbrook topped the 100 yards rushing mark for the sixth time this year, carrying the ball at least four times every quarter. He managed to pick up just three first downs on the ground, but his average of 4.7 yards per carry and two longer runs of 14 and 16 yards helped Philadelphia to top 200 yards rushing as a team and control the clock.

Westbrook also contributed as a receiver, lining up sometimes as a wide receiver and running deep routes, where he was targeted once more than 30 yards downfield, but his two catches were on short passes and added up to just six total yards. He had a seven yard reception in the third quarter that was lost due to a penalty, and he was also overthrown on a third down target when QB Jeff Garcia thought he would be running a deeper pattern.

RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 8 - 38 - 1, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets)

Buckhalter complimented RB Brian Westbrook in the backfield, adding eight carries for 38 total yards. He was used sparingly throughout the game, but did carry the ball at least once in every quarter. Buckhalter had just 15 yards on four carries in the first half, but did manage to add 13 more on his only catch and target for the game. He picked up three first downs on the ground, including a long of 15 yards in the fourth quarter. His final carry was a one yard plunge into the end zone in the waning minutes of the game.

RB Thomas Tapeh, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets)

Tapeh had one lone carry for one yard in the opening period. He later was targeted in the fourth quarter on a third and four, but he was unable to haul in the low throw.

WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 3 - 51 - 0 (6 targets)

Stallworth caught a short six yard pass on a slant in the first quarter on his second target, but his third was thrown too late towards him and his defender, CB Anthony Henry, jumped the route and intercepted QB Jeff Garcia’s throw. Garcia came back to Stallworth in the second quarter, connecting with him for a 35 yard pickup on a pass deep down the middle of the field. Stallworth was credited with one more target before halftime on a pass thrown by a scrambling Garcia near the sideline, but Stallworth had little chance to make a play. His final target was a 10 yard completion for a first down in the fourth quarter, his only target of the second half.

WR Reggie Brown, Rec: 3 - 27 - 0 (3 targets)

Brown caught all three of his targets in Week 16, catching one pass in each of the final three periods. Brown picked up 11 yards on a short slant route in the second quarter, also gaining a first down. He added 13 more yards in the second quarter on a nice sliding catch across the middle, then came back to catch a short three yard reception in the final quarter. Brown was forced out of bounds at the Dallas one yard line, a scant three feet shy of six points.

WR Greg Lewis, Rec: 2 - 29 - 0 (2 targets)

Lewis had two key catches against Dallas in Week 16. First, he caught a 13 yard pass on third down and 11 to go on Philadelphia’s opening drive, and the later came back to pick up 16 yards and another first down in the second quarter as the Eagles positioned themselves for a last second field goal before halftime. Those were Lewis’ only targets, as he was not involved very much in the second half.

WR Hank Baskett (1 targets)

Baskett had one target on a short slant early in the third quarter, but it was well defended by the Cowboys. That was his only target of Week 16.

TE Matt Schobel, Rec: 2 - 35 - 1 (2 targets)

Matt Schobel came in when L.J. Smith went out with a foot injury, and he immediately contributed. Schobel caught a 25 yard pass from QB Jeff Garcia in the first quarter on a post pattern down the middle for Philadelphia’s first score of the game. Later Schobel added another 10 yard catch and a first down in the second quarter on a slant route. These were his only two targets for the game, but his contributions to the Eagles were large.

TE L.J. Smith, Rec: 2 - 77 - 0 (3 targets)

Smith caught a 12 yard pass on third and long (seven) in the first quarter, but was forced to leave the game later in the opening period with a foot injury. After getting x-rayed he returned to the game but had no more targets until the second half. Smith caught a short pass from a hurried QB Jeff Garcia, who had multiple Cowboys blitzing up the middle. Smith caught the pass and rumbled another 50-55 yards for a 65 yard completion to the Cowboy’s 12 yard line. He was also targeted in the end zone just two plays later, but the play was a comedy of errors for the Eagles as the ball was well overthrown and Smith was called for pass interference. This was Smith’s final target of the game.

PK David Akers 3 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points

Akers made all of his attempts, including three field goals. He converted on a short 25 yard kick in the second quarter, right after a penalty added five yards to a 20 yard try. He added a 45 yard kick just as time expired in the first half. Akers capped his field goal performance with another short kick in the third period, this time from just 21 yards out.

PHI Rush Defense

The Eagles stuffed RB Marion Barber on a huge goal line stand to start the second quarter, and that seemed to set the tone for the game. Barber had just three yards rushing and RB Julius Jones added only 38 more as the leading rusher for the Cowboys was a scrambling QB Tony Romo who contributed 42 yards. The Eagles limited Dallas to just 83 yards on the ground and five first downs.

PHI Pass Defense

Philadelphia applied pressure to QB Tony Romo all game, sacking him three times and forcing two interceptions, one each by CB Lito Sheppard and S Brian Dawkins. Romo had just 14 completions and one touchdown as the Eagles held the Cowboys to only 10 points and just 201 team yards.

QB Tony Romo, Pass: 14 - 29 - 142 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 42 - 0

Romo could not get the Cowboys’ offense in gear, as he completed just 14 passes on 29 attempts for less than 150 yards. His only touchdown came in the second quarter as he scrambled to buy time and eventually found an improvising Terrell Owens in the back middle of the end zone. Romo pressed to make things happen in the second half, but he often overthrew the ball deep, which resulted in two fourth quarter interceptions. Both Owens and WR Terry Glenn dropped a pass each, but neither play would have been the sole difference. Romo added 42 total yards rushing, including two scrambles for fourth quarter first downs of 12 and 14 yards, but it was too little too late for Dallas.

RB Julius Jones, Rush: 10 - 38 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (2 targets)

Jones was the more effective running back against Philadelphia, but that still did not make him extremely productive. Jones had 21 yards on six first half carries, but he failed to pick up a first down on the ground. He added four more runs after halftime for 17 more yards, including his lone fresh set of downs for Dallas. Jones posted a long of seven yards on three of his 10 attempts. He also added 10 yards on a screen to the left side on the first play of the game for Dallas, but could not catch a low pass in the flat in the third period on his only other target against the Eagles.

RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 6 - 3 - 0

Barber had a horrible afternoon against the Eagles, getting just six carries and only three yards in Week 16. Barber had three goal line carries in the second quarter starting at the one yard line, but he gained no yardage twice then lost three yards on a crucial fourth down. Barber was stuffed on the first two carries between the tackles, and then the third was a pitch and attempted run to the right that failed. Barber added just three other carries for the game and was not involved in the passing offense for Dallas.

RB Lousaka Polite (1 targets)

Polite had one ball thrown his way on a route that started in the Cowboys’ backfield. The short pass was too high and far for Polite to make the catch in the second quarter. That was his only opportunity to gain yards for Dallas in Week 16.

WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 2 - 23 - 1 (8 targets)

Owens had troubles once again holding onto the ball in Week 16. He did not get involved in the Cowboys’ offense until the second quarter, where he caught his first target on a short nine yard slant in the second quarter. He later added a 14 yard touchdown before halftime as he improvised towards the middle of the end zone and caught a nice pass from his scrambling QB Tony Romo. After two deep targets fell incomplete in the third quarter, Owens was unsuccessful in trying to catch his final three targets of the game. The first was an interception by S Brian Dawkins in the end zone on a deep pass, where Owens did little to prevent the pick. Owens later dropped a pass that would have picked up about 15 yards before his final target sailed wide and out of bounds.

WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 2 - 29 - 0 (5 targets)

Crayton had five first half targets, catching two passes from the slot for 29 total yards and two first downs after missing his first chance. The first catch was good for 17 yards on a crucial fourth down and two to go. His fourth target was batted away by the Philadelphia secondary, but his final ball was caught for seven yards but was nullified by a Dallas penalty. Crayton was not involved at all in the second half.

WR Terry Glenn, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (6 targets)

Glenn caught only one pass in Week 16, a 17 yard gainer in the first quarter, despite six targets. Only one of the five misses was catchable, which was the first play of the second half for the Dallas offense. Glenn dropped a 22 yard pass, but Dallas still gained five yards on the play due to an unrelated Eagles’ holding penalty. Glenn was also the intended receiver on an overthrow in the fourth quarter that fell into the waiting arms of CB Lito Sheppard for Philadelphia’s second interception of the game. Glenn had no chance to either catch it or defend against Sheppard making the catch.

TE Jason Witten, Rec: 6 - 50 - 0 (8 targets)

Witten caught a number of short passes, starting with an 11 yard gain over the middle in the second quarter. His next two catches came in the third quarter on two six yard completions, followed by three more catches for a combined 27 yards in the final period. All of his catches were for 13 yards or fewer in Week 16. Neither of his other two targets were catchable.

TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (2 targets)

Fasano caught a seven yard out in the first quarter and then a six yard pass over the middle near the goal line in the second quarter. Those were his only two targets, as he was not utilized much in the second half.

PK Martin Gramatica 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points

Gramatica converted on his only kick, an extra point in the second quarter after WR Terrell Owen’s touchdown. HC Bill Parcells elected to pass on a field goal attempt on multiple occasions in the first half, going for the first down on fourth and two yards on the Eagles’ 24 yard line then again from the one yard line.

DAL Rush Defense

The Cowboys gave up 204 yards rushing to the Eagles, their worst defensive performance this year. The Eagles held the ball for over 37 minutes and controlled the game with long drives in the first half then managed to hold on to the ball for a large portion of the second half. RB Brian Westbrook topped 100 yards and RB Correll Buckhalter added a late touchdown as Philadelphia racked up ten first downs on the ground.

DAL Pass Defense

Philadelphia QB Jeff Garcia completed passes to seven different receivers, spreading the ball around evenly to all. No receiver had more than three catches, but the Eagles did manage a few big gainers and ten first downs. TE LJ Smith ran a short catch for a 65 yard pickup and his backup, TE Matt Schobel, added the lone touchdown reception of 25 yards. The Eagles had a balanced attack with over 200 yards passing and 10 first downs via the air game. The Cowboys managed just two sacks and one interception but could not convert the turnovers into points.