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| Dak Prescott Credit: Fox Sports/NFL Game Pass |
Yes. The Dallas Cowboys.
I know, I know, they already lost to Philadelphia. In fact,
they lost a couple of weeks ago. But that was with Cooper Rush at quarterback,
not Dak Prescott. And while Rush is 5-1 as an emergency starter, the difference
between the two was apparent in Sunday’s 49-29 beat down of Chicago.
Prescott was back to being Dak, running and throwing with
confidence, and the Cowboys were back to being a team that can bury you a
myriad of ways. They ran for 200 yards. They threw for another 242. They
converted nine of 11 third downs, scored a defensive touchdown and sacked
Chicago’s Justin Fields four times.
In short, they looked a lot like … well, a lot like the
Philadelphia Eagles.
Now, keep in mind, this was on an afternoon when running
back Zeke Elliott didn’t suit up. So the Cowboys had to rely on backup Tony
Pollard, and all he did was shred the Bears’ defense for 147 scrimmage yards
and three TDs.
Yet Pollard was the sidebar. Dak was the story.
In rhythm throughout, he led the Cowboys to four successive
scoring drives to open the game and catapult them to a 28-7 lead. The rest you
know: Dallas wound up scoring more points than any game this season. Its
third-down conversion rate of 81.8 was its best in at least 30 years. And things
went so smoothly that even the Cowboys’ punter made news. Bryan Anger nailed an
83-yard punt, with a 63-yard net after the touchback.
See what I mean? All its bases were covered.
Now, where the Eagles and Cowboys diverge is the schedule.
The Cowboys’ next three games are vs. Green Bay, Minnesota and the New York
Giants. The Eagles’ next three are vs. Houston, Washington and Indianapolis.
Nevertheless, at some point, someone will emerge to push Philadelphia.
It may be Minnesota. It may be San Francisco. It may even be
a longshot like the Giants who, at 6-2, are tied with Dallas, or Seattle. But
if you ask me which team I’d choose to push the Eagles to the finish line … give
me the Cowboys, and not just because they can beat you with the run and pass;
but because they have a Top-5 defense, too.
The last time that happened with a Mike McCarthy-coached team
was 2010. And that team (Green Bay) won the Super Bowl.
SUNDAY SCHOOL: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Jalen Hurts is making an MVP case. He
just threw four TD passes of 25 or more yards, the first time in 53 years of Eagles’
history that happened. But here’s the clincher: The guy’s thrown 10 TD passes,
run for six more scores and has only two turnovers all year. Two. And no lost fumbles. Then there’s
this: Hurts quarterbacks the league’s only unbeaten team and won his last 10
regular-season starts. Look in your rear-view mirror, Josh Allen: That image
that’s larger than it appears? It’s Jalen Hurts.
2. Mike Tomlin is doomed. He hasn’t had a
losing season in 15 years as the Steelers’ head coach, but that streak ends
this season. The Steelers are 2-6 and going nowhere with a rookie quarterback learning
on the fly. Hard to believe, but the Steelers might be sellers this week.
3. We were wrong about Seattle. When the
Seahawks traded away Russell Wilson, it seemed to signal they were in a tear-down
mode. Not true, said Pete Carroll. He insisted they were good enough to make a
run at a division title with … Geno
Smith? We don’t make ‘em up. Critics scoffed, but look where we are eight weeks
into the season: The Seahawks … with Geno Smith as their quarterback … are in
first place in the NFC West, for Pete’s sake, ahead of the defending Super
Bowl-champion L.A. Rams.
4. Green Bay is in deep doo-doo. A week
ago, Aaron Rodgers said that going to Buffalo “might be the best thing for us.”
Wrong. The Packers didn’t just lose. They were flattened. Rodgers couldn’t make
plays. The offensive line couldn’t protect. The defense couldn’t make stops. There
were injuries, an ejection, too much Josh Allen, too little Aaron Rodgers … I
think you get the picture. The Packers got drilled. Again. Now 3-5, they’re 3-1/2
games behind front-running Minnesota in the NFC North and looking less and less
like a team that will … or can … make a playoff run.
5. Beware Miami. The Dolphins don’t play
an opponent with a winning record until Dec. 11 (the Chargers), and you can
look it up. Their next three opponents are a combined 6-15-1.
THIRD AND 20
1. Let’s
be honest: Atlanta didn’t win that game. Carolina lost it. Attention, D.J.
Moore and Eddy Pineiro: Pick up your game balls in the Falcons’ locker room. Atlanta
couldn’t have survived without you.
2. Another
reason to like what’s going on in Buffalo: The Bills have beaten four opponents
that were 2021 division winners (Kansas City, Green Bay, Tennessee and the L.A.
Rams).
3. It
doesn’t matter where you go in the NFL East. You can’t lose. The NFC East is
23-8. The AFC East is 20-7. Put them together, and you have eight clubs at
43-15, a 74.1 winning percentage. Better yet, there isn’t anyone in either
division with a losing record. By contrast, four other divisions have no more
than one team above .500, while the NFC South has none.
4. Fright
Night came early to L.A. Bad enough that the Rams dropped their eighth straight
regular-season game to arch-rival San Francisco. What’s worse is that they lost
All-World wide receiver Cooper Kupp to an ankle injury late in the game. Stay
tuned.
5. How
much do the Jets miss rookie Breece Hall? We just found out. Zach Wilson can’t
carry this team. He was 1 for 14 when pressured, with three interceptions.
Halfway through the season, the Jets still have a quarterback problem.
6. It’s
time to worry about Trevor Lawrence. In 25 starts, the guy has 22 TD passes, 23
interceptions and a 5-20 record. Once upon a time, you could blame his shortcomings on Urban
Meyer. Not anymore.
7. More
evidence that it’s not so much parity as it is mediocrity that rules today’s
NFL: The Seattle-N.Y. Giants game was the only one Sunday involving two teams
with winning records.
8. Forget
accuracy. Justin Fields needs to work on tackling, too. Rewind Micah Parsons’
fumble return for a TD, and you’ll see what I mean.
9. Philadelphia
isn’t going 16-0. We know that. But who’s going to beat the Eagles? They don’t
face an opponent with a winning record until Dec. 4 when Tennessee comes to
town.
10. Derrick
Henry owns the Texans. In his last four
starts vs. Houston, King Henry has 892 yards rushing (an average of 223 per), nine
rushing TDs and over 200 yards rushing in each contest. No need to remind
rookie quarterback Malik Willis. Making his first NFL start, he won by throwing
just 10 times. How? Easy: Derrick Henry had 32 carries.
11. If
you’re shopping in New Orleans, the price for Alvin Kamara just went up. He put
up 158 scrimmage yards and scored three times.
12. That
didn’t take long. Christian McCaffrey just demonstrated why he’s the difference
maker that could (should?) make San Francisco – not the Rams or Seattle -- the
team to beat in the NFC West. With 183 yards, he was responsible for 51 percent
of the 49ers’ 362. He also became the first player since Hall-of-Famer
LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005 to score a touchdown by running, another by
receiving and a third by passing. “The guy can just do it all,” said NBC analyst Jason Garrett. Bingo.
13. Miami
is 5-0 when Tua starts and finishes a game this season. Just sayin.’
14. Just
a hunch but … no talk this week about a quarterback controversy in Foxboro.
15. Sorry,
but I still don’t get why coaches line up in shotgun with a yard or less to go.
Case in point: It’s third-and-goal at the Washington three-inch line, and Frank
Reich has rookie quarterback Sam Ehlinger in -- what else? – the shotgun. Why? Beats
me. Result: A run up the middle gains nothing, the Colts kick a field goal and
lose by one.
16. The
more I see Kenneth Walker III, the more I see a young Derrick Henry.
17. No
surprise that Indianapolis lost. The Colts started a rookie quarterback. Since
1970, Colts’ quarterbacks making their first career starts are 1-16.
18. Buffalo
should demand more Sunday Night exposure. Since Sean McDermott took over in
2017, the Bills are 4-0 on Sunday Night Football, the only team with multiple
victories and no defeats on Sunday Night the past six years.
19. Just
when you think it can’t get worse for Vegas and Josh McDaniels, it does.
Sunday’s 24-0 loss was the 22nd defeat in McDaniels last 29 games as
a head coach. A year ago the Raiders went to the playoffs with Rich Bisaccia.
They’re going nowhere now with McDaniels. Draw your own conclusions.
20. Coming
soon to Pay Per View” Jaire Alexander vs. Stefon Diggs.
SUNDAY’S GOLD JACKET STATS
Courtesy of NFL
Research: The Broncos’ Latavius Murray is the first player in league
history to score a rushing TD for two different teams in London in the same
season.
Geno Smith has six games this season with multiple touchdown
passes. He had seven in his first nine NFL seasons.
Tyreek Hill’s four games with 150 or more receiving yards
tie him with Mark Duper (1984) for the most in one season in Miami history.
Stefon Diggs has at least one touchdown in his last eight
games vs. Green Bay. That’s the longest such streak by any opponent in Packers’
history, bettering Randy Moss (7) by one game.
SUNDAY’S GOLD JACKET QUOTES
“We never can allow somebody to score that many points on
us. That’s embarrassing.” -- Chicago
linebacker Roquan Smith.
“I need to play better.” – N.Y. Jets’ quarterback Zach Wilson.
“Obviously, that wasn’t good enough in any way, shape or
form.” – Denver coach Josh McDaniels.
“We don’t have to do anything, but if it’s right we’ll do
something.” – Dallas owner Jerry Jones on
a possible trade this week.
“It hurts. I know this is not going to define me as a
kicker. Everybody misses kicks. Unfortunately, my time was today” – Carolina kicker Eddy Pineiro on his
misses.
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