Eagles Whip Cowboys
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Last summer during training camp, Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy proclaimed, “I own Dallas.”
On Thursday, he went to work ruining Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ Thanksgiving.
McCoy rushed for 159 yards and scored the clinching touchdown midway through the third quarter as Philadelphia seized first place in the NFC East with a 33-10 victory over Dallas at AT&T Stadium.
McCoy stopped short of reiterating his ownership of the Cowboys and deferred to the next matchup.
“Dallas gets a lot of hype,” McCoy said. “I’m sure everybody took them to win. They’ve got good players. We’ve got good players too. We’ve got to see them again soon so I don’t want to say too much about them.”
The Cowboys were trying to stay in the game when Philadelphia faced a second-and-5 from the Dallas 38 with 7:29 left in the third quarter. McCoy found running room through the right side, shook off Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick in the secondary and dashed the rest of the way for a 38-yard touchdown that put the Eagles ahead 30-10.
The Philadelphia defense took over there, sacking Cowboys quarterback
Tony Romo twice on the ensuing drive. Eagles cornerback Cary Williams intercepted a Romo pass to end the drive and keep momentum with Philadelphia (9-3).
Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez improved to 4-1 since replacing injured Nick Foles as the starter. Foles was hurt in the first quarter at Houston on Nov. 2, and Sanchez since led Philadelphia to wins over the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans and now Dallas.
Sanchez completed 20 of 29 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions against the Cowboys (8-4).
“I think he’s just getting more comfortable,” Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. “He missed an entire year of football. There’s no substitution for playing. He played well in the preseason and then sat until the Houston game. So I think he’s starting to recognize the looks he’s getting.”
Romo and the Cowboys couldn’t keep up. Romo finished 18-for-29 for 199 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Dallas couldn’t get DeMarco Murray loose either, as the star running back finished with 73 yards on 20 carries.
“When they got ahead and we had to get into more of a passing mode to score two or three times in a hurry, that gets us out of the rhythm that we want to play with,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “One of the best things we’ve done all year long is have that balance.”
McCoy and Sanchez powered the Eagles to a 14-0 lead before the Cowboys could answer.
McCoy ignited Philadelphia’s game-opening scoring drive with a 36-yard run to the Dallas 22. Sanchez then completed three passes to move the Eagles inside the Cowboys 10-yard line and took it himself for a 2-yard touchdown run.
Sanchez hit wide receiver Jordan Matthews for a 27-yard touchdown for the second score, capping an 88-yard march.
“They got them into space with McCoy and when they do that so much of the rest of what they do seems to follow really easily for them,” Garrett said.
Dallas finally answered with Murray’s 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, finishing a 67-yard drive. Romo hit wide receiver Dez Bryant for the key play of the drive, a 38-yard gain to the Philadelphia 4.
Philadelphia threatened to run away with it in the second quarter but instead settled for three field goals on three drives inside the Dallas 20. Cody Parkey kicked field goals of 31, 22 and 26 yards.
“We still left a ton of meat on the bone,” Sanchez said. “Gosh. We were in the freaking red zone so many times and we didn’t convert.”
