A Tale of Two NFC East Teams: California Edition
This past Sunday had the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys fly out west to fight their respective Southern and Northern California-based teams. An Eagles victory over Sean McVay’s Rams continues to add to their perfect record and solidify this squad as one of the NFL’s top teams. On the flipside, the Cowboys were routed by the 49ers. Falling to 3-2, the Cowboys may have shot themselves out of discussion as one of the NFC’s contenders. The details of each game may reveal to you why these respective teams have either maintained or lost their title as an NFC juggernaut.
Are the cowboys Still contenders?
Photo Credit: Godofredo A. Vásquez
In a 42-10 blowout, this game revealed the tiers that exist within good NFL teams. Dallas is an objectively good team in terms of statistics, talent, and teamplay. However, San Francisco is merely a tier above in each category. It’s not really the Cowboys’ fault, the 49ers are simply a stacked and impressive team. For the level of hype and intensity the media and fans have placed on the Cowboys, this brutal loss summarizes a usual Cowboys trend: Early season success over weaker teams, incredible statistics, explosive talent, yet only to lose handily the moment they run into a strong team. In the moments where it counts the most, the Cowboys can’t deliver. On one end, the Cowboys lost because of four turnovers (three of them via Prescott interceptions), zero red zone trips, critical penalties, and a lack of adaptability on both sides of the ball. However, as you watch this team experience polarizing highs and lows, from shutting out the giants to losing to Josh Dobbs and the Cardinals, you notice a trend. This trend is their lack of consistency as a reputable unit. So despite the blowouts, talent, and peaks, Dallas is 3-2, with no clear indication that they deserve the shared title of Super Bowl contender.
“Frankly, it starts with me. I didn't do a good enough job tonight. … It clearly just shows where we are at 3-2. It's [lack of] consistency” (HC Mike McCarthy in his postgame conference).
Eagles fly past Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Jeff Lewis
While it wasn’t the flashiest of victories, the Eagles controlled their game against the Rams from start-to-finish to go 5-0 on back-to-back seasons, a first for the franchise. It seems that the Eagles continue to find new ways to win and dominate. This time around, it was through long offensive drives that demoralized the Rams defense. Winning the time of possession with an advantage of 37:55 to 22:05, this offense refused to give up the ball, putting up 454 yards in total. Key performances by tight end Dallas Goedert (8 catches for 117 yards and 1 touchdown) and A.J. Brown (Third consecutive 120+ yard performance) once again showcases the scary dimensionality of the Eagles offense. On the other side of the ball, edge rusher Hasson Reddick and DROY candidate Jalen Carter stunted the productivity of Matthew Stafford’s offense with two sacks each. As the 49ers continue to dominate with the title as the NFL’s best team, the Eagles continue to build an identity that can match or surpasses San Francisco, with winning as “the main thing.” This only fans the flames leading up to the eventual NFC Championship rematch game in early December.
