Commentary

Report card: Cowboys vs. Eagles

Tim MacMahon hands out his grades for Cowboys-Eagles wild-card game

Updated: January 13, 2010, 12:06 PM ET
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com

Tim MacMahon's Eagles-Cowboys Report Card

Felix Jones
A

Rushing offense

Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith are the only Cowboys to rush for more yards in a playoff game than Felix Jones, who had career highs with 16 carries for 148 yards. Jones' 73-yard touchdown in the third quarter, which knocked any sign of life out of the Eagles, was the longest postseason dash in franchise history. The Cowboys didn't need Marion Barber, whose bruised knee kept him standing on the sideline after three carries for 4 yards. Tashard Choice (14 carries, 42 yards, 1 TD) was so-so with Barber's workload, but Jones put on a show in his playoff debut.

Tony Romo
A

Passing offense

Other than a spectacular second quarter, all Tony Romo had to do to earn his first playoff win was serve as a bus driver. Romo finished with 244 yards and two touchdowns on 23-of-35 passing. He threw for 139 yards and both scores in the second quarter, when the Cowboys set a team playoff record with 27 points. Eight Cowboys caught passes, led by Miles Austin (7 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD). Roy E. Williams even made a significant contribution with five catches for 59 yards. Romo expected a bunch of blitzes from the Eagles and executed against them. He took two sacks and didn't commit a turnover, although safety Sean Jones had a diving pick overruled after review. That was a rare mistake by Romo.

Leonard Weaver
A

Rushing defense

The Eagles did not rush for a first down. Zero. That's another franchise first for this defense. As was the case last week, the Eagles abandoned the run early. Brian Westbrook, arguably the best back in Philadelphia's history, didn't even get a carry. LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver combined for 43 yards on 10 carries, an average inflated by McCoy's 14-yard gain on a third-and-long. Outside linebackers Anthony Spencer (two tackles for loss) and DeMarcus Ware (one tackle for loss) handled their business against the run when they weren't making Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb miserable.

DeSean Jackson
A-

Passing defense

One of Philadelphia's explosive receivers finally made a big play against the Cowboys when Jeremy Maclin took Michael Vick's pass 76 yards for a touchdown. That was the only meaningful play the Eagles made in the passing game. McNabb had 191 of his 230 passing yards in the first half, when the Cowboys led by 20. After a bunch of pregame bravado, all DeSean Jackson did was catch three passes for 14 yards, with a 4-yard TD that happened while folks were discussing whether Jon Kitna ought to play the next series. The Cowboys' pass rush produced four sacks -- two by Ware -- and kept McNabb from feeling comfortable in the pocket.

Patrick Crayton
A

Special teams

The Eagles' average starting field position was the 20, and that's with Mike Jenkins' unwise lateral near midfield skewing the numbers. David Buehler boomed three touchbacks. Mat McBriar pinned the Eagles inside the 20 on five of six punts -- three inside the 10 -- and helped limit Jackson to 9 yards on two returns. Patrick Crayton averaged 18.7 yards on three punt returns. And Shaun Suisham went 2-for-2 on field goals, including a 48-yarder in the final seconds of the first half that went right down the middle with distance to spare.

Tim MacMahon

ESPNDallas.com
  • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
  • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
  • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

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