Eagles lead Cowboys 24-0 at halftime
January 3, 2011
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—By the time Jason Garrett leaves the office Monday, hemay have a new title.
Stephen McGee(notes) threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten(notes) with 55 secondsleft to lift the Dallas Cowboys to a 14-13 victory over the NFC East championPhiladelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Will the latest win be enough for owner Jerry Jones to remove the interimlabel and make Garrett the full-time head coach?
“I think I could make the decision tonight, but I may just have to waittill the morning,” Jones said. “We should have a decision on the coach beforethe end of the week.”
Garrett went 5-3 after replacing Wade Phillips at midseason, and he hadplenty of support from his players.
“He demands a lot from the coaches and it is that commitment that allows usto be at our best and to play our best football and ultimately that is what itis about,” Witten said.
Michael Vick(notes) and nearly every starter didn’t play in a game that had noeffect on Philadelphia’s playoff positioning. The Eagles (10-6) are locked intothe No. 3 seed and will host Green Bay in a wild-card game next Sunday.
The Cowboys (6-10) were playing for jobs next year. The Eagles were playingto stay healthy for next week.
Still, Dallas struggled against a bunch of backups and seldom-used reserves— until the final drive.
McGee, making his first career start for an injured Jon Kitna(notes), led theCowboys on a 54-yard scoring drive and helped them end a dismal season on apositive note.
The Cowboys have come a long way since a horrific 1-7 start to a season thatbegan with them having aspirations of becoming the first team to play in a SuperBowl in its home city.
Jones said after the game he has yet to decide if Garrett will get the job.Jones wants to interview wide receivers coach Ray Sherman, which would satisfythe league’s rule about interviewing minority candidates. Jones also wouldconsider speaking to candidates outside the organization. He said he won’trequire an interview with Garrett.
“I would absolutely love to be this team’s coach,” Garrett said.
The Cowboys’ three losses under Garrett have been by a total of sevenpoints.
On a rainy day at the Linc, a few thousand empty seats made it seem morelike a preseason game. Fans lacked their typical enthusiasm and most of thefamiliar names were in street clothes or on the bench.
Kevin Kolb(notes) threw a touchdown pass and had three interceptions filling in forVick. He was sacked six times. Kolb began the season as the starter after theEagles traded Donovan McNabb(notes) to Washington. But he sustained a concussion inWeek 1 and Vick played so well that Kolb never reclaimed his job.
“It obviously could’ve been a lot better, but at least if the situationcomes where I have to go back in there, you know, you feel like you knocked someof that (rust) off,” Kolb said.
David Akers(notes) kicked a 43-yard field goal in the opening minute of the fourthquarter to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead.
After David Buehler(notes) missed a 52-yarder wide right with 9:45 left, Akers madeone from 22 to make it 13-7.
But McGee made some clutch throws in the final minutes to rally the Cowboys.
“I think he handled himself good in a tough environment,” injured Cowboysstarter Tony Romo(notes) said of McGee.
Dallas tied it at 7 in the second quarter when DeMarcus Ware(notes) returned afumble 17 yards for a touchdown. Anthony Spencer(notes) stripped Kolb, who wasscrambling, and Ware picked the ball up and ran untouched into the end zone.
Kolb made a Vick-like escape to toss a 4-yard TD pass to Chad Hall, givingthe Eagles a 7-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter. Kolb avoidedpressure in the pocket, started to scramble, then stopped and found Hall, whomade his first career TD catch.
With that score, the Eagles set a franchise record for points in a season.They finished with 439 this year. It’s the third straight season they set a newmark.
The Eagles used only two starters on offense—wide receiver Jeremy Maclin(notes)and center Mike McGlynn(notes)—and two on defense—cornerback Dimitri Patterson(notes) andlinebacker Moise Fokou(notes).
“I think it’s the right thing to do for us,” coach Andy Reid said aboutresting his starters. “Other people do it other ways, but that’s what I believein. It gives everybody an opportunity to rest up, in particular in the shortamount of time that we have here.”
Eagles lead Cowboys 14-0 after 1 quarter
January 3, 2011
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—By the time Jason Garrett leaves the office Monday, hemay have a new title.
Stephen McGee(notes) threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten(notes) with 55 secondsleft to lift the Dallas Cowboys to a 14-13 victory over the NFC East championPhiladelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Will the latest win be enough for owner Jerry Jones to remove the interimlabel and make Garrett the full-time head coach?
“I think I could make the decision tonight, but I may just have to waittill the morning,” Jones said. “We should have a decision on the coach beforethe end of the week.”
Garrett went 5-3 after replacing Wade Phillips at midseason, and he hadplenty of support from his players.
“He demands a lot from the coaches and it is that commitment that allows usto be at our best and to play our best football and ultimately that is what itis about,” Witten said.
Michael Vick(notes) and nearly every starter didn’t play in a game that had noeffect on Philadelphia’s playoff positioning. The Eagles (10-6) are locked intothe No. 3 seed and will host Green Bay in a wild-card game next Sunday.
The Cowboys (6-10) were playing for jobs next year. The Eagles were playingto stay healthy for next week.
Still, Dallas struggled against a bunch of backups and seldom-used reserves— until the final drive.
McGee, making his first career start for an injured Jon Kitna(notes), led theCowboys on a 54-yard scoring drive and helped them end a dismal season on apositive note.
The Cowboys have come a long way since a horrific 1-7 start to a season thatbegan with them having aspirations of becoming the first team to play in a SuperBowl in its home city.
Jones said after the game he has yet to decide if Garrett will get the job.Jones wants to interview wide receivers coach Ray Sherman, which would satisfythe league’s rule about interviewing minority candidates. Jones also wouldconsider speaking to candidates outside the organization. He said he won’trequire an interview with Garrett.
“I would absolutely love to be this team’s coach,” Garrett said.
The Cowboys’ three losses under Garrett have been by a total of sevenpoints.
On a rainy day at the Linc, a few thousand empty seats made it seem morelike a preseason game. Fans lacked their typical enthusiasm and most of thefamiliar names were in street clothes or on the bench.
Kevin Kolb(notes) threw a touchdown pass and had three interceptions filling in forVick. He was sacked six times. Kolb began the season as the starter after theEagles traded Donovan McNabb(notes) to Washington. But he sustained a concussion inWeek 1 and Vick played so well that Kolb never reclaimed his job.
“It obviously could’ve been a lot better, but at least if the situationcomes where I have to go back in there, you know, you feel like you knocked someof that (rust) off,” Kolb said.
David Akers(notes) kicked a 43-yard field goal in the opening minute of the fourthquarter to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead.
After David Buehler(notes) missed a 52-yarder wide right with 9:45 left, Akers madeone from 22 to make it 13-7.
But McGee made some clutch throws in the final minutes to rally the Cowboys.
“I think he handled himself good in a tough environment,” injured Cowboysstarter Tony Romo(notes) said of McGee.
Dallas tied it at 7 in the second quarter when DeMarcus Ware(notes) returned afumble 17 yards for a touchdown. Anthony Spencer(notes) stripped Kolb, who wasscrambling, and Ware picked the ball up and ran untouched into the end zone.
Kolb made a Vick-like escape to toss a 4-yard TD pass to Chad Hall, givingthe Eagles a 7-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter. Kolb avoidedpressure in the pocket, started to scramble, then stopped and found Hall, whomade his first career TD catch.
With that score, the Eagles set a franchise record for points in a season.They finished with 439 this year. It’s the third straight season they set a newmark.
The Eagles used only two starters on offense—wide receiver Jeremy Maclin(notes)and center Mike McGlynn(notes)—and two on defense—cornerback Dimitri Patterson(notes) andlinebacker Moise Fokou(notes).
“I think it’s the right thing to do for us,” coach Andy Reid said aboutresting his starters. “Other people do it other ways, but that’s what I believein. It gives everybody an opportunity to rest up, in particular in the shortamount of time that we have here.”
