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| CAR at NO | CHI at HOU | CLE at PIT | DAL at PHI | DEN at SD | DET at GB | JAX at BAL | KC at CIN |
| MIA at NYJ | NE at BUF | NYG at MIN | OAK at TB | SEA at ARI | STL at ATL | TEN at IND | WAS at SF |
Week 17 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 6, Philadelphia Eagles 44
What you need to know
| Dallas Cowboys |
QB Tony Romo continues to struggle in meaningful December games as Romo had a sub-par effort against an aggressive Eagles defense. Romo ended the day with just 183 yards on 21 of 39 attempts and one interception. He also had two fumbles on sacks. At one point Dallas turned the ball over on five straight drives. They did not find the end zone in this game.
RBs Marion Barber and Tashard Choice found the running tough all day long. The longest run from scrimmage was 18 yards (Choice). Barber had a crucial fumble that was returned for a 96 yard touchdown.
WR Terrell Owens played well and had 103 yards on six catches, but he was no match for the aggressive and opportunistic Eagle's defense. His longest catch was 42 yards, which was on a trick play.
| Philadelphia Eagles |
QB Donovan McNabb had an efficient day completing 12 of 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a score. He was in control from the onset of this game.
RBs Correll Buckhalter and Brian Westbrook both found running lanes against a Dallas defense that was on the field for most of the game. Buckhalter finished the game with ten rushes for 63 yards; Westbrook was 13 for 50.
Philadelphia Defense scored two third quarter touchdowns to put this game out of reach. In the entire defense forced five turnovers and completely dominated the Dallas team.
What you ought to know
| QB Tony Romo, Pass: 21 - 39 - 183 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 11 - 0 |
Romo was simply overwhelmed in this game and had three turnovers, two fumbles and one interception. He completed just 21 of 39 tosses for 183 yards. He was pressured often and looked out of sync with all of his receivers.
| RB Tashard Choice, Rush: 13 - 56 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Choice had little success due in part of Dallas needing to abandon the run game to play catch up. Choice had 13 carries for 56 yards with a long run of 18 yards. He added another eight yards on one reception.
| RB Marion Barber, Rush: 3 - 13 - 0, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (3 targets) |
It appeared Barber was still affected by his dislocated toe, and only had three rushes for 13 yards. He caught two balls for 20 yards out of the backfield, and had a crucial fumble that was returned for a 96 yard Eagles' touchdown in the third quarter.
| WR Terrell Owens, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 6 - 103 - 0 (10 targets) |
Owens had an effective game but seamed out of sync with Romo. His longest catch was a 42 yard effort at the hands of Jason Witten on a double pass. Owens did have two drops in this game. He also had a rush for seven yards on a reverse.
| WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 3 - 34 - 0 (5 targets) |
Crayton had three catches for just 34 yards. He was a non factor in the game.
| WR Roy Williams, Rec: 2 - 4 - 0 (7 targets) |
Williams had a horrible game and appeared to be just going through the motions. He looked completely lost in the Cowboys offense and broke a couple of patterns off when he should have made an effort to catch the ball.
| TE Jason Witten, Pass: 1 - 1 - 42 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rec: 7 - 50 - 0 (11 targets) |
Witten playing on a sore knee had an effective game with seven catches for 50 yards. He also threw a pass to Terrell Owens for 42 yards. Witten found some success over the middle of the Philadelphia Defense.
| PK Nick Folk 2 - 2 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 6 points |
Folk hit on both his field goal attempts of 42 and 37 yards.
| DAL Rush Defense |
It was a poor effort by the Dallas team and rush defense as they gave up 137 yards rushing on the day and one short score. They gave up long rushes of 33 and 16 yards. They did recover a fumble, but was completely outplayed.
| DAL Pass Defense |
Gave up 175 yards to McNabb but failed to get a turnover. They gave up a crucial 59 yard screen pass to Buckhalter, tow touchdown passes and sacked McNabb just once.
| QB Donovan McNabb, Pass: 12 - 21 - 175 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 4 - 1 |
McNabb was in control of the game from the onset and looked comfortable in the pocket. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns (four and one yards.) He also scored on a quarterback sneak from the one yard line. He completed passes to six different receivers and did not turn the ball over.
| RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 13 - 50 - 0, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (3 targets) |
Westbrook had a sub-par game and contributed only 50 yards on 13 carries. He added 12 more yards on receptions. He also had Philadelphia's only turnover on the day.
| RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 10 - 63 - 0, Rec: 3 - 59 - 1 (3 targets) |
Buckhalter was more productive on the afternoon and looked much quicker than any Dallas defender. Buckhalter had 122 yards total offense on the day (63 rushing and 59 receiving) including a 59 yard reception on a screen pass. He scored on a four yard reception in the second quarter.
| RB Kyle Eckel, Rush: 8 - 22 - 0 |
Eckel had eight rushes for 22 yards mostly in the fourth quarter when the Eagles started substituting their players to rest for the playoffs.
| WR DeSean Jackson, Rec: 2 - 46 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jackson had just two grabs for 46 yards. His stats were a result of Philadelphia not needing to pass due to the lopsided score.
| WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (2 targets) |
Curtis had only one catch for 15 yards.
| TE Brent Celek, Rec: 3 - 30 - 1 (3 targets) |
Celek scored his first touchdown on the season and contributed 30 yards on three catches. He was playing in place of regular TE L.J. Smith.
| PK David Akers 3 - 4 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 14 points |
Akers was three of four in the field goal department connecting on efforts of 50, 40 and 41 yards. He missed a 40 yard effort early in the fourth quarter. He was perfect on all five extra point attempts.
| PHI Rush Defense |
The defense over all was dominating causing five Dallas turnovers. They kept Dallas on its heels the entire day. The rush defense gave up only 87 yards on the day, and forced four fumbles. Defensive end Chris Clemons scored on a 73 yard fumble return in the third quarter.
| PHI Pass Defense |
The pass defense was also dominating, causes many errant Romo throws. They gave up 100 yards receiving to Terrell Owens, yet they harassed Romo all day long. Defensive back Joselio Hansen returned a Marion Barber fumble 96 yards for a score in the third quarter, and sacked Romo four times, twice causing crucial fumbles.
