Cowboys shake off December woes, beat Eagles and Sanchez
COWBOYS 38, EAGLES 27
PHILADELPHIA - December meltdowns have become a Cowboys tradition but like a lot of things about this surprising year, they're not following the script.
Just when it looked as though they would surely blow a 21-0 lead at Lincoln Financial Field, they stormed back behind Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, took advantage of a Mark Sanchez interception and came away with a 38-27 win that, at 10-4, gave them control of the NFC East with two games left.
Romo's fumble while being engulfed by the Eagles' pass rush had allowed Philly to come all the way back to take a 24-21 lead. Darren Sproles cashed in the turnover by sweeping around his right side from the one.
But Romo wasn't going to be the goat in this game. He brought the Cowboys back with a 78-yard drive, setting up DeMarco Murray's two-yard TD run with a 22-yard completion to Bryant, the guy the Eagles couldn't cover. Dallas was back up by four with 38 seconds left.
Bryant had been jawing with Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins before the game and they never really shut him up. He scored two of the Cowboys' first three TDs as they raced out to their early lead and then, he was given a chance for a third by Sanchez.
On the last play of the third quarter, Sanchez' inability to put the ball on his receivers bit him again. He had tight end Zach Ertz open and missed him. Ertz made a diving attempt to pull it ion but it went off his hands to J.J. Wilcox at the Philly 42.
Four plays later, Romo dropped in a perfect pass to Bryant for a 25-yard TD up the right sideline, a carbon copy of Bryant's 26-yard TD catch in the second quarter. A second Eagle turnover on a Zach Ertz fumble - thanks to a Jason Garrett challenge - allowed Dan Bailey to extend the lead.
For Romo (22-31-265), it was a continuation of his impressive play in leading the Cowboys to a 7-0 road record. He's taken the blame, not necessarily valid, for Cowboy collapses before so he deserves some credit. He has the best road stats of any QB in the league, better than Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning with 18 TDs and one interception.
'We just have so few games to be able to show how good you are and what kind of player you can be,' Romo said during the week.
'Ultimately, though, once you step on the field, no one actually cares how you feel, so it doesn't really matter what you have going on,' he said. 'It's going to be about production and performance. You're going to be judged off that no matter what. You've got to find a way regardless to go out and help your football team. Otherwise, you're just hurting them. You don't want to be that guy.'
Sanchez, in the end, was that guy again, throwing pair of picks.
Mocked by the Seahawks' Michael Bennett last week for 'impersonating an NFL quarterback,' it may have been Sanchez' last chance to hold onto his job. Nick Foles is undergoing another scan on his broken collarbone Monday and could be ready to return next week at Washington.
The Eagles will have to win at FedEx Field and again in the season finale at the Giants to have any chance, hoping the Cowboys stumble at home against the Colts next week. Even if they finish 11-5, the Eagles may not get a wild card. They currently trail the Seahawks and Packers by a game and have lost to both.
For the moment, the Cowboys are holding their own destiny.
In December.
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