When a team like the Philadelphia Eagles scores 21 points in the first 19 minutes, while holding their opponent scoreless for the first 29 minutes, they almost always win the game.
Unless…
The offense quits doing what it had been doing those first 19 minutes. It also doesn’t help when said offense, the defense, and even the special teams units start making dumb plays.
Big gains getting wiped out by penalty.
Turnovers wiped out by penalty. Your star running back, Saquon Barkley, fumbling the ball.
Then there is your punt returner fielding a punt at the two-yard line and promptly fumbling it at the 12 with the score tied at 21.
The last screw-up was saved by Dallas somehow failing to even so much as score a field goal from 12 yards out.
Given Dak Prescott had thrown an interception in the endzone earlier, that would have been a huge talking point if the game had ended in a loss. Fortunately, it won’t be.
Especially with his 8-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
Still, the Eagles’ returner should have let the ball go into the endzone. Instead, he chose to field it at the two with Cowboys’ defenders too close by.
But these kinds of gifts don’t happen every week. And the Cowboys only have four days to get ready for the Chiefs.
Kansas City is starting to look like the defending AFC champions again after the rallied to beat the Colts on Sunday.
Thanksgiving Day is going to be huge for the Cowboys.
Black Friday, when the Eagles host the suddenly surging Bears, might be problematic for Philadelphia.
Moving CeeDee In 2026?
George Pickens has become WR1 in Dallas. This is not in question.
Pickens had nine catches on nine targets for 146 yards and a critical touchdown just before halftime.
For the season, he now has 67 catches for 1,054 yards and eight touchdowns on 92 targets.
CeeDee Lamb, who began the year as WR1, had four catches for 75 yards on 11 targets. He now has 44 catches for 632 yards and just two touchdowns on 72 targets for the season.
He also dropped a sure touchdown late in the game.
He had several other miscues on Sunday.
Lamb was spotted sulking at times. He needs to get his act together. Or Dallas needs to send this brewing head case off to become an SEP.
Someone. Else’s. Problem.
Eye in the Sky Time?
Thursday Night football gave us a rarity. The referee, Adrian Hill, was following behind a play in the Texans-Bills game when he suddenly came up lame.
Hill has been an NFL official since 2010 and was a college official from 2004-2009.
He’s also 61 years old (Note: I’m the same age.)
I can confirm that 61-year-olds don’t shake off leg injuries like the 20–30-year-olds sharing the field. Hill avoided a serious injury.
But he will miss several weeks of action, according to several reports.
On Thursday night, Hill’s departure forced umpire Roy Ellison to don the white hat and do his job and Hill’s.
A few calls were missed with one-less set of eyes on the field.
Which begs the question: Is it time for the NFL to use available technology? Not only to help when an official goes down mid-game, but for the entire game?
An eye in the sky would catch a few missed calls – yes, we’re looking right at you, you tush-pushing Eagles.
The tech is there, and it clearly can be deployed quickly, just like replay assist is already currently being used.
Coach, Take The Damn Points!
It just keeps on happening. Coaches have point-blank field goals ready to put three points on the board.
And they keep passing them up.
And they keep losing games because of it. Just ask the New York Giants’ interim head coach, Mike Kafka. The Giants declined to add to their three-point lead with an easy field goal late in the game.
The Lions got the stop and marched down field to tie the game with a field goal, then won it in overtime.
I’ve lost track of how many times this has happened this year alone. I’m blaming analytics, which keeps telling coaches to make stupid decisions.
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