Mid-Season NFC Championship Game?

This Sunday the Cowboys will return to Philadelphia in an attempt to try and avenge last season’s beating (hence the word crime) against the Philadelphia Eagles.  There is a lot of hype leading up to this game and it is well deserved.  The winner of this game will gain sole possession of the NFC East.  Both teams are playing extremely well at this juncture of the season.  And, via the embarrassing loss to Philly at the end of last year, the Eagles are currently the Cowboys biggest rival.  In fact, since 2003 there is only one team in the NFC that has more wins than the Cowboys and it is most conveniently those hated Eagles. 

So what should we expect in this game?  Well, contrary to many of the “experts” I do not expect this to be a shootout.  I think that both defenses will come to play and both offenses will kind of feel around for a bit.  The two teams will slug it out initially but there will definitely be big plays to be had.  The question is which team will make those big plays when they count?  I think this will be a hard fought, hard-hitting game where both teams end up scoring in the mid to low 20s.  I am too superstitious to actually pick a winner, but here are the keys to victory for the Cowboys.

1. Eliminate the big play

All week long, analyst will talk about how Philly is a very explosive team.  They are absolutely right, but they have not shown the ability to sustain drives.  If you can cover their receivers man on man and you can keep them from scoring on a big play then you’ve done most of the dirty work.  Ask the Oakland Raiders.  Philly lost to a terrible football team despite not turning the ball over once.  How do you explain that?  Oakland has the personnel to cover and they did not allow the big play.  Dallas has done well against the big play this year and they will have to maintain that approach this week.

1. Pressure Donovan McNabb

The Cowboys have done a pretty good job of this for the last few years, but if they play passively this game McNabb will pick them apart.  The defense has started to get on a roll accumulating 17 sacks and 4 interceptions in the last 5 games.  McNabb has the worst QB rating in the league against the blitz, so now is no time to sit back and wait for destruction.  I have a feeling the Cowboys defense will step up to the plate.

1. Go heavy

The Cowboys need to utilize their two tight-end sets in this game to offset Philly’s pressure packages.  Martellus Bennet is a beast of a blocker and he could also provide match-up problems in the receiving game.  Jason Witten has been held under wraps for the most part this season, but Miles Austin’s recent success along with Philly’s inability to cover the tight-end should open up some holes in the middle.

1. Romo friendly

Tony Romo has been the best quarterback in the league over the past 3 weeks.  It is hard to argue that point, but he cannot have a let-down now.  Romo needs to continue to protect the ball well.  He may not find space to throw for 3 touchdowns but he needs to continue to throw the ball short and let his receivers make plays.  As I said earlier, the tight-end should play a crucial part in this match-up.

1. Show Them Who the Tough Guys Are

Philadelphia has been a very explosive and very impressive team up to this point.  I think the one advantage Dallas may have that they did not have in the past is that they seem to be a much tougher team.  They are hitting harder, blocking better, and executing better than last season and the early part of this season.  If the game is close at the end, then they need to finish of these birds with Marion the Barbarian.  13 carries won’t be enough this week.  Barber sets the tempo for this football team so he should see no less than 20 carries.  Sprinkle in a big play or two from Felix Jones, solid special teams play, and an ever elusive turnover from this Eagles team and we’ve got ourselves a victory and sole possession of the NFC East.  If not, then Monday should be very interesting.

Enjoy the week Nation.  Look forward to a fun Sunday night!