Close but no cigar

Despite the valiant effort that the birds put forth, they simply fell short to "America's team". The Eagles loss is bitter sweet. A loss is always hard to deal with, but the Eagles did travel to Dallas, play controversially the best team in the league, and they showed spurts of greatness which will provide confidence and optimism for themselves and the fans throughout the remainder of the season.



So they came up short, 37-41. So how exactly did the Eagles loose? The answer to this question is fairly simple; Marion Barber! The Eagles did two out of three things very well. The offensive line protected McNabb and the Eagle offense consistently challenged the Dallas defense. The Eagles were able to limit Barber early on in the game, but the game changed as soon as Marion Barber started running wild. Barber finished the game with 63 rushing yard on 18 carries. Don't let the rushing numbers fool you, as Barber did the majority of his damage in the fourth quarter by consistently punishing the Eagle defense and moving the chains. If that wasn't enough, Marion "the Barbarian" also snagged four passes which resulted in 51 yards and a touchdown.



The game was, without a doubt, an offensive game. This game along produced the most points ever between the meeting of the two teams. McNabb completed 25 of 37 passes for 281 and a touchdown, while Westbrook added a one rushing and one receiving touchdown, giving him two touchdowns on the day. Also, the rookie DeSean Jackson look like a true stud. Yes, he did make a "bone head" play by prematurely celebrating a touchdown, but in my opinion, that does not take away from his second straight 100 yard receiving game.

Romo had a big day as well , and T.O. was on the receiving end of two of those touchdowns. Romo finished with well over three hundred yards passing, and despite some mistakes, he made some big plays.

The bottom line is simple. The Cowboys simply controlled more of the game in the fourth quarter, and Barber the reason. Despite loosing, I feel Eagle fans should have a great deal of optimism heading into the Steelers game. Please, share some of your feelings from the game.