 | GAME REPORT: DALLAS VS. PHILADELPHIA |
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| GAME REPORT: DALLAS VS. PHILADELPHIA |
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| Posted November 4, 1996 | |||
THE COWBOYS DO THE PHILLY FLOPMENTAL MISTAKES HELP THE EAGLES GET A 31-21 WINFor 59 minutes, the combatants had fought, hand to hand. On the floor of Texas Stadium, the Cowboys and Eagles traded haymakers Sunday. The Cowboys had taken an early lead with a Herchel Walker uppercut in the first round. The visitors had responded with short, crisp jabs to the Cowboys midsection, racking up points in the second and third stanzas. Dallas had roared back with an impressive touchdown drive early in the fourth. In doing so, Michael Irvin had apparently solved the riddle that was Bobby Taylor. Cowboys mistakes had hurt the team early and forced it to seek its second last gasp victory in three weeks. But now, Dallas stood on the threshold of a knockout. With first and goal from the Eagles three, trailing 24-21, the Cowboys had a timeout, and 1:11 to play with. A touchdown would put the reeling visitors on a painful plane back to Philly. At worst, a field goal would prompt an overtime. Here was an opportunity to inflate the legend of Troy Aikman. He had moved his team from its 28 with precise throws through a determined Eagles defense. A daring and amazing fade route to Irvin had beaten Taylor the play before, giving Dallas its badly needed first down. Three more yards, acquired any way, would erase the sting of two costly and uncharacteristic mistakes by Aikman early in the game. Instead, Aikman's and the Cowboys' pain would linger and intensify. On third and goal from the three, Aikman dropped to pass and found Tyji Armstrong, his intended receiver, covered by Philly linebacker James Willis. Instead of tucking the ball away and giving Chris Boniol a chip shot at tying the game, Aikman inexplicably forced the ball at Armstrong. The interception was returned 104 yards for a touchdown, all but crushing Dallas hopes of a divisional title. It is not known how long the sting will linger. Dallas cannot afford to dwell on the loss, with San Francisco and Green Bay approaching. Still, it will be hard to shake the thought that this game should have been won. Worse, it will hard to explain how Aikman, the consummate perfectionist, could turn so reckless. With the game tied at seven, early in the second quarter, Aikman and Emmitt Smith drove the Cowboys to the verge of a go-ahead touchdown. Facing third and goal from the Eagles' one, the Cowboys overloaded their formation right. Smith had found sizable holes running behind Larry Allen and Erik Williams and now called on them for one last push. They responded. Daryl Johnston met James Willis in the hole and Smith had a clear lane to his second touchdown of the day. He never saw the ball because Aikman dropped the exchange from center. He recovered the ball at the Eagles' three, but Dallas had to settle for a field goal. With the game tied at 21-21 midway through the fourth quarter, Aikman faced a third and ten at his own thirty. Ernie Zampese rolled Aikman right, and sent the receivers on that side of the formation deep. Michael Irvin ran a drag underneath them and came open. Aikman held the ball far too long, then forced a pass into coverage as he approached the sideline. It was intercepted and returned to the Cowboys 35, setting the Eagles up for their game winning field goal drive. These miscues might not have mattered against a weaker foe, but the Eagles matched Dallas blow for blow on this day. Ty Detmer proved that his gaudy stats, racked up against the likes of Miami and Carolina, were no fluke. He stood boldly in the pocket and picked the Cowboys top ranked secondary to pieces. Detmer received much improved protection and led the Eagles on several time consuming drives. His main weapon was receiver Irving Fryar. Shut down by the Cowboys in game one, the Eagles lined up Fryar inside, and he repeatedly beat Brock Marion and the Dallas linebackers for sizable gains. This strategy must shake the Dallas staff. Jerry Rice and Robert Brooks had destroyed the Cowboys secondary with these same routes last year. The offseason changes in the Dallas scheme were supposed to prevent this strategy from beating them again. The rushing defense also proved leaky. Just two weeks after being overrun by Jamal Anderson, the front surrendered over 100 yards to Ricky Watters. Dallas had held him to 68 yards in the team's first meeting. He had rushed for a season low the week before against Carolina. This second poor performance betrays a lack of intensity at best. At worst, it means the defensive staff has some scheming to do this coming week. WALKERS' RETURN HAS THE EAGLES SEEING DOUBLEAt first, it appeared that Dallas would again exploit the weaknesses they had located in the Eagles' game. Herschel Walker took the opening kickoff at his six and followed his wedge left. He got solid blocks from Kavika Pittman and Brock Marion near midfield and rocketed down the sideline. He was finally pushed out of bounds at the Philly six, giving the Cowboys a first and goal. On first down, Emmitt Smith ran behind Nate Newton and Mark Tuinei to the four yard line. On second down, Aikman faked to Smith and fired incomplete to Tyji Armstong, who was well covered in the end zone by Michael Zordich. On third down, Aikman lofted a pass into the left corner of the end zone, where Michael Irvin was running a fade route. He was well covered by Bobby Taylor, who knocked the ball away. Taylor was called for contact with Irvin before the ball arrived, giving the Cowboys first and goal at the one. Smith barreled into the end zone on the following play and Dallas had a quick 7-0 lead. The Eagles started from their own 25, after Pittman tackled returner Derrick Witherspoon. The Eagles wasted no time going to their scheme, as Fryar lined up in the left slot and caught a Detmer throw between the Cowboys linebackers. Two plays later, Fryar lined up outside on Deion Sanders. Sanders released Fryar to Brock Marion in the Cowboys' zone, but Detmer hit Fryar at the Dallas 40 before Marion could close. Two plays later, Detmer faced a third and nine. He rolled to his right and fired again for Fryar, who had run a stop at the Dallas 45. The pass sailed high but Kevin Smith was flagged for hitting Fryar in the back just before the pass arrived. With a new set of downs in his possession, Detmer got the Eagles offense rolling. Philly lined up in a two tight end set and Detmer passed to Ed West for nine yards on a bootleg right. Ricky Watters slammed behind Lester Holmes and got the needed yard for a score. A screen and another Watters carry left the Eagles in third and six from the Dallas 31. Dallas tried another zone but Eagles coordinator Jon Gruden had the right call. Chris T. Jones broke open in the middle of the field and made a sliding catch of a badly thrown Detmer pass at the Cowboys' fifteen. The Eagles tested Deion Sanders on first down and he broke up a fade route to Mark Seay. Detmer then handed off twice to Ricky Watters, who found ample room on both sides of the Dallas line; his first carry moved the ball to the six. His second carry put the Eagles in the end zone. Gary Anderson's PAT tied the game at seven all. Dallas went three and out and the Eagles regained possession on their nineteen. Dallas had played zone almost exclusively on their first drive and started the second in the same coverage. Fryar beat the Cowboys coverage again when he ran a slant inside the Dallas coverage and caught a Detmer pass at the 40. Leon Lett beat Ricky Watters to the handoff on the next play, spilling Detmer for a three yard loss. A completion to Fryar two plays later gave the Eagles a first down at midfield. Two Watters runs then netted eighteen yards, giving the Eagles a first down at the Dallas 32. Here, Dave Campo shifted out of his zone coverage schemes and blitzed Detmer twice. Deion Sanders left his right cornerback position and covered Fryar in the slot, forcing Detmer to throw two incompletions. On third down, Dallas shifted to a three man line and Detmer sailed a pass over Ricky Watters' head. The Eagles kept their offense on the field on fourth and ten, since Gary Anderson was at the limit of his field goal range. The Eagles went to a three receiver two back formation, but Dallas knew where Detmer would look, putting three men on Fryar. His pass sailed incomplete and Dallas had the ball. ONE YARD SHORT OF SUCCESSOnly 2:13 remained in the quarter and Dallas had possessed the ball for only seven plays. They now attacked the perimeter of the Eagles' rush defense and gained huge chunks of yardage. On the first play from scrimmage, Emmitt Smith found a huge hole off right guard and ripped off a 23 yard gain to the Eagles 44. It was his longest run of the year. On second down he ran a pitch left and gained five more yards. A tripping penalty on the next play gave Dallas a first down at the Philly 30. On the next play, Aikman took to the air and completed a pass to Deion Sanders, who beat Troy Vincent on a comeback route to the Eagles' 24. After a Smith draw gained two, Dallas set Irvin and Sanders to the left. Aikman threw right to Kelvin Martin, who made the catch on the right sideline at the Philly nineteen, giving the Cowboys another first down on the last play of the first quarter. The Cowboys then spread the Eagles formation and ran Smith on a draw to the ten. Two plays later, Aikman kept the ball and followed Larry Allen and Ray Donaldson to the seven. On the following play Daryl Johnston ran a trap draw to the four. Emmitt Smith tried the left side of the line and bulled his way inside the one yard line. Dallas lined up right and had the blocking established for another Smith score, but Aikman dropped the center's snap. With the loss back to the three, Barry Switzer waved Chris Boniol on the field. His short kick was good, but the drive was essentially a failure. The Cowboys had pinned the Eagles on the ropes, wound up and whiffed with the knockdown blow. The play did not seem that serious at first. The Eagles sputtered on their next series. Kevin Turner was called for a vicious chop block on Tony Tolbert, pinning the Eagles deep in their territory. On the next play Deion Sanders jumped a flare to Charlie Garner and just missed an interception that would have pushed the Dallas lead to ten. The Cowboys forced an Eagles punt and took over at their own 29. Dallas resumed their ball control play of the series before. On third and three, the Cowboys employed a two tight end, two back set and got a first down when Eric Bjornson split the Eagles' linebackers at the Dallas 41. Sherman Williams here game Emmitt Smith his first half breather. This seemingly inconsequential move would be huge. After Deion Sanders gained nine yards on a comeback route, the Cowboys faced third and one from midfield. Williams remained in the game and tried a dive off right guard. He was met and dropped for no gain. This was a play that Emmitt Smith could have carried for the needed yardage. 3:43 remained in the half and Dallas had lost a chance to at least run out the clock. They also lost field position when John Jett boomed his punt into the end zone. Detmer opened the Eagles drive with a quick out to Fryar, who was again lined up in the right slot. Brock Marion read the play and dove for an interception, but missed Detmer's pass. With Marion on the ground, Fryar rumbled to the Cowboys' 35, where Deion Sanders brought him down. After a procedure penalty moved the Eagles back to the 30, Watters ran a delay behind solid blocks to his 41. On the first play after the two minute warning, Detmer threw over the middle to tight end Ed West. His pass just missed being intercepted, and the completion gave the Eagles a first down at the Dallas 42. Watters then ran a sweep right and gained nine yards. A second sweep moved the ball to the 28 and gave Philly a new set of downs. Here Detmer made his best throw of the day. Mark Seay split right and got Kevin Smith to bite inside on a post-corner route. Detmer threw a perfect pass that Seay caught just in bounds at the Dallas one. The Cowboys appeared to get a break when left tackle Barrett Brooks jumped offsides, moving the Eagles back to the six. Detmer erased the mistake when he twisted the six yards for a score on a quarterback draw with only 59 seconds left in the half. Anderson's extra point sent the Eagles to the locker room with a 14-10 lead. MICHAEL IRVIN CRACKS THE CODEThe Eagles were set to receive the second half kickoff, and Dallas desperately needed a stop. The defense complied. Starting from their fourteen, the Eagles rode a Detmer rollout and a Watters' draw to their 25. They got no farther than the 30, though, because Fred Stickland broke up a pass to Chris T. Jones, who was running a crossing route under the Dallas linebackers. Kelvin Martin returned Tom Hutton's punt to the Dallas 45, but an illegal block penalty forced the Cowboys to start their drive at their 25. Michael Irvin had been shut out in the first half by Bobby Taylor, but Ernie Zampese wasted no time getting Irvin back into the game. On the Cowboys first play, Irvin rifled an out to Irvin, who got away from Taylor at the 36. A sweep to Smith moved Dallas to the 40. A holding penalty on the Eagles moved the ball to the 45, where Smith ran a lead draw for four yards. Facing third and six, Aikman fired a low pass to Kelvin Martin, who reached down and caught the ball at the Eagles' 44 despite being held. On the next play, Emmitt Smith took a pitch right. He got a great block from Johnston on the right corner, ducked under Eagles' safety Brian Dawkins and dove to the Philadelphia 30. Irvin then ran a second comeback in front of Taylor and gave Dallas another first down at the Eagles eighteen. Two plays later, on third and ten, Aikman tossed right for Irvin, who was running a slant. Irvin had the needed yardage to keep the drive going, but dropped Aikman's pass. The Cowboys again settled for a Boniol kick, which cut the Eagles' lead to 14-13. Ty Detmer had taken the Eagles on three time consuming drives in the first half, and he picked and prodded the Cowboys defense again, leading a thirteen play drive that pushed the Cowboys to the brink of surrender. Ricky Watters got the Eagles off to a flying start when he broke outside right tackle and dashed seventeen yards to the Eagles' 42. Dallas threw Watters for a three yard loss on the next play, but Detmer moved the Eagles into Dallas territory with a 20 yard strike to Fryar, who beat Alundis Brice on a deep out. Brice was replacing Kevin Smith, who had injured a toe. An offensive pass interference penalty put the Eagles in second and 20. Rob Carpenter got ten of the yards back when he ran a crossing route to the Dallas 45. Watters then ran a draw for seven more. Philadelphia went for it on fourth and three and converted when Fryar cut between the Dallas linebackers for nine yards. After a short Watters run, Chris T. Jones beat the Cowboys with another short crossing route that moved the Eagles to the Dallas eighteen. Detmer got the team a new set of downs when he snuck for a needed yard on third and inches. The short crossing routes were killing Dallas so Jon Gruden called another. On third and nine from the fifteen, Fryar lined up in the slot left, put a hesitation move on a Dallas linebacker then streaked across the middle. Detmer released his pass just before he was crushed by Leon Lett. Fryar gathered the pass in at the five and raced untouched into the end zone. The extra point capped the long drive and gave the Eagles a 21-13 lead with 1:47 left in the third quarter. The Cowboys answered the Eagles thirteen play drive with one of their own. Starting from their sixteen after a holding penalty, Dallas again looked to Michael Irvin. The Eagles rolled coverage to his side, but Aikman fired a perfect pass between Bobby Taylor and a deep set Eagles' linebacker. The reception put the Cowboys at their 33. A pitch left to Emmitt Smith gained five more. Smith then ran a lead draw left, got great blocks from Newton, Tuinei and Johnston and roared to the Dallas 41 as the third quarter expired. Two plays later, on third and six, Aikman looked to Kelvin Martin, who ran a curl route down to the Philadelphia 37. Two plays later, the Cowboys set two receivers left and Deion Sanders right. Aikman waited for Sanders, who was running a slant, to clear an Eagles linebacker before firing a dart his way. Sanders made a difficult catch between three Eagles and was dragged down at the Philly 22. Two plays later, Irvin lined up in the left slot and ran a crossing route of his own, catching Aikman's pass at the Eagles' fourteen. On third and two, Smith ran behind Newton and Ray Donaldson. He leapt over a pile of bodies at the line of scrimmage and streaked to the seven yard line. Smith ran the same play on the following play. He found a seam between Newton and Tuinei and scampered untouched into the end zone. Dallas called for a two point conversion and put Smith, Johnston and Herschel Walker in the backfield. Bjornson was set left with Irvin split wide right. Walker went in motion to Irvin's side just before the snap, drawing a linebacker to his side. Aikman took a short drop and looked left. Johnston was cutting towards the sideline. Bjornson ran a stop inside of him just behind the goal line. Aikman's pass to Bjornson was sure and the score was tied at 21 with eleven minutes remaining in the game. THE BIG MISTAKEThe Cowboys finally had momentum and the defense maintained it, forcing the Eagles to punt after three plays. Kevin Smith made the big play of the sequence when he trailed Fryar across the field and broke up a deep fade pass. The momentum was short lived. Facing a third and eight from his own 30, Aikman rolled to his right. He had no receivers open and should have stepped out of bounds. Instead he forced a pass back over the middle to Irvin, which was intercepted and returned to the Dallas 35. The Eagles had over eight minutes and were already on the fringes of Gary Anderson's field goal range. They tried to drain time off the clock. On second and ten, they gained a first down when Fryar found a dead spot in the Dallas zone at the 25. Two plays later, Ricky Watters roared to the fifteen on a sweep. Fryar suffered a concussion trying to block on the play and left the field. On third and nine, Detmer looked to his left and found Watters open behind a Dallas linebacker. Watters might have scored, but Detmer's pass bounced off an Eagles lineman's head. Anderson nailed a short kick, giving the Eagles a 24-21 lead with 3:23 to go. THE KILLING MISTAKEDallas took the field with conditions similar to those faced against Atlanta two weeks ago. Starting at his 28, Aikman threw to Bjornson in the left flat for two yards. He then fired a strike to Irvin, who beat two defenders at his own 39. Irvin ran an out in front of Taylor on the next play and Aikman hit him at midfield. A measurement showed him to be inches short of a first down. The Cowboys went to a three receiver set and Smith carried a draw to the Eagles 45, giving Dallas a first down at the two minute warning. And offsides call on the first play after the break moved the Cowboys to the 40. Aikman went back to the air and hit Martin, who beat Troy Vincent on an out at the Eagles 31. Dallas ran a second draw to Smith and he darted to the Philly 23. One play later, a pass to Bjornson was then broken up, stopping the clock with 1:20 remaining. On third down, Aikman lofted a fade to Irvin, who sold Taylor on an inside move, then tapped his feet in bounds with the ball at the three. 1:15 remained and Dallas had one time out. On first down, Smith bounced outside and appeared for an instant to have an angle to the end zone pylon. He was dragged out of bounds by Troy Vincent at the two, stopping the clock with 1:11. On second down, Smith tried the right side and was stuffed for a one yard loss. Dallas took their time and lined up for a third down pass. With the time out in hand, Aikman could have taken a loss and stopped the clock inside of ten seconds, giving Boniol a glorified extra point for the tie and overtime. When he found Tyji Armstong covered in the end zone, Aikman tried to force him the ball. James Willis intercepted the pass and ran the ball to about the Dallas ten. He there lateraled the ball to Troy Vincent. Most of the Cowboys had given up on the play when Woodard intercepted, figuring he would go down in the end zone. They were in no position to stop Vincent from going the remainder of the way. For a second time in the game, the Cowboys had put the Eagles on the ropes. One more flurry would finally give the Cowboys a hard fought decision. Instead, it was the counterpunching Eagles who beat Dallas with a punch from the knees. The blow left the Cowboys on the canvas, watching their divisional hopes -- and perhaps their playoff hopes -- slowly get counted out. COWBOYS NOTES
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