Tim Cowlishaw
The Dallas Morning News
Have you ever waited so long for something to happen that when it finally did, it felt like an incredible letdown? That was the case for Cowboys fans everywhere Sunday as the Philadelphia Eagles, having struggled but found ways to win for several weeks, finally lost a second game to narrow the gap in the NFC East standings.
They did it by replaying the 49ers nightmare that Dallas endured in Santa Clara in October. In the Cowboys’ case, the 49ers scored 42 points in a little more than three quarters and then shut it down for a 42-10 win. On Sunday, the 49ers took the first quarter off (two three-and-outs, minus-6 yards) before gaining 462 yards and scoring 42 points in the final three quarters for a 42-19 destruction of the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
The win against Dallas made you think San Francisco is the league’s best team. The Philadelphia game made you understand that for sure.
In the short term, this is all good for the Cowboys. Had the game continued on the path it was taking in the first quarter when Philly dominated, but led only 6-0, you could have kissed first place goodbye for the regular season. As it now stands, the Cowboys can tie the Eagles for first with a victory Sunday night at AT&T Stadium that virtually everyone will assume will happen.
Dallas is undefeated at home this season, and the Eagles secondary remains highly vulnerable. San Francisco’s Brock Purdy joined Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Dallas’ Dak Prescott and Washington’s Sam Howell in having thrown for more than 300 yards against Philadelphia just in the last five games.
But even with a Cowboys win, Dallas will need the Eagles to lose again if it is to try to finish first and get home games for the playoffs. If both win out after next Sunday to finish tied at 14-3, the Cowboys’ loss to Arizona hits harder than the Eagles’ loss to the Jets and so Philadelphia will win the tiebreaker based on having a better conference record.
Dallas may have help along the way, at least when it comes to the Eagles losing part of the equation. Philadelphia goes to Seattle after playing the Cowboys. If the Seahawks can produce the same offensive effort they did here Thursday night, Geno Smith may hit 400 yards against the Eagles. That appears to the most likely loss left on Philadelphia’s schedule. The Eagles have two games against the Giants and one against the Cardinals. At least Tyrod Taylor is returning at quarterback for New York (an upgrade from the Tommy DeVito-led Giants that Dallas faced) and Kyler Murray has managed a couple of wins including Sunday’s at Pittsburgh since returning from injury in Arizona.
None of these potential stumbling blocks on the Eagles’ schedule will mean much, of course, if Dallas can’t improve its road production. The Cowboys are 3-3 away from home and go to Buffalo and Miami later this month. The Bills are a disappointing 6-6 but showed the level they can get to in a 37-34 overtime loss at Philadelphia a week ago. Buffalo can still be a challenge at home, and the Cowboys, historically, are 0-2 there in games played in November or December. Miami, meanwhile, is challenging for the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 9-3 record, ranks No. 1 in total offense and is second only to the Cowboys in points scored.
So the chase in the East remains a challenging one for Dallas, even with the Eagles losing Sunday. And what about that Eagles’ opponent?
It’s early December and we don’t know which 14 teams will earn postseason invitations. But we surely know which team has the highest ceiling in big games when it’s healthy. Look at it this way. The Cowboys’ best road win was over the Chargers and best home win, arguably, came against Seattle. Dallas won those games by a total of nine points. Both could have gone either way. In Philly’s case, the Eagles have wins over the Chiefs (road) and Cowboys (home), also by nine points. They trailed the Chiefs in the fourth quarter and you know the inches that separated Dallas from victory.
The 49ers’ two best wins are against the Cowboys (home) and Eagles (road). They won those games by 55 points.
Kyle Shanahan’s team appears to be one of those that needs all the parts working in conjunction to succeed. When tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Deebo Samuel were injured, the club found a way to lose three games in succession to Cleveland, Minnesota and Cincinnati. But put those pieces back together like they were Sunday or as was the case in October against Dallas and, oh my. That’s what a Super Bowl champion looks like.
But there’s no guarantee on who will be healthy and how the breaks will go in January and February. These December games have real meaning for the Cowboys now. They can offer a brief thanks to the 49ers for that and worry about what it all means in a potential San Francisco rematch later.
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