Despite a rough season in 2011, the Philadelphia Eagles had three players elected to the Pro Bowl. Jason Peters, LeSean McCoy, and Jason Babin were all selected as part of the 2011 Pro Bowl team. All three will start for the NFC team. The Eagles have sent a lot of players during the Andy Reid era so it is not surprising that three players made the roster in 2011. As an Eagles fan, I don’t think anyone will complain about the three players earning their spot on this team.

Peters is one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. On a unit that improved as the season progressed, Peters easily proved that he was as good as ever. He rarely made any mistakes on the line and might deserve consideration as the team’s MVP. He is easily one of the best acquisitions of the Reid era. I have to think that with Peters playing at this level and still in the prime of his career, the offensive line for the Eagles will be set.

McCoy has had a spectacular season. He has crossed the 1,300 yard mark already and has 20 total touchdowns. That is a franchise record. Had he had not had several games where the Eagles simply didn’t run the football, McCoy could have set a team record for rushing yards as well. McCoy is a special player and was definitely the best playmaker on the roster. He beat out some quality running backs to earn the starting spot on the NFC roster.

Babin figured to be a Pro Bowl lock given his ability to get sacks. He has 18 sacks through 15 games. Babin’s aggressive nature and ability to get to the quarterback were the reasons the Eagles decided to sign him. While Babin takes some heat for his ineptitude in the running game, he is definitely a worthy Pro Bowl selection. He is a sack machine that still has an outside chance at setting a new franchise record. Any time you are pushing for a record owned by Reggie White, you are having a good year.

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The Philadelphia Eagles will close their 2011 season with a home game against the Washington Redskins. With a win, the Eagles will finish with a 5-1 record against NFC East opponents. While that’s not good enough to win the division, it would be nice to finish the season on a high note. As an Eagles fan, I remember a lot of great games between these two tames. Here is a look back at the best Eagles home games against the Washington Redskins since 1980.

November 8, 1987 – Eagles 31, Redskins 27

The Redskins were 6-1 when they visited the Eagles in this game. In the second quarter, Washington took a 21-7 lead and seemed to be in complete control. At that point, Randall Cunningham took over. Cunningham had three touchdown passes to help the Eagles take control. Overall, Cunningham threw for 268 yards and added another 80 on the ground.

September 19, 1993 – Eagles 34, Redskins 31

This was an exciting early season game between the rivals. Fortunately, the Eagles offense was just a little better. Wide receiver Calvin Williams was the big star. He caught eight passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns. The biggest play he had was an 80 yard touchdown catch from Randall Cunningham. Cunningham threw for 360 yards and the Eagles scored 17 points to win the game in the final quarter.

October 8, 1995 – Eagles 37, Redskins 34

Both teams were 2-3 when this game began. The Eagles led 34-24 when the Redskins tied the game in the fourth quarter. The Eagles mounted one last drive and got a game winning field goal from Gary Anderson. The Eagles had two running backs cross the 100 yard mark. Charlie Garner ran for three touchdowns.

December 20, 1992 – Eagles 17, Redskins 13

This was a game between two 9-5 teams with a lot on the line. The Redskins were the defending Super Bowl champions and were looking for an easy path to repeat. Washington led 13-7 when Calvin Williams caught a big touchdown pass to put the Eagles up by one. The defense shut down Washington in the second half and the Eagles went on to take the 17-13 win.

November 12, 1990 – Eagles 28, Redskins 14

This game was all about little regarded Eagles running back Heath Sherman. He carried the day for the team, rushing 35 times for 124 yards. He kept the Eagles offense plugging along for the entire game. Meanwhile, Randall Cunningham and Keith Byars each had a touchdown pass to Sherman as well. This might be the most memorable game in Sherman’s Philadelphia career.

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The Philadelphia Eagles are putting a lot of things together when it is way too late. While this only makes Eagles fans like myself more furious about how 2011 ended up, Philadelphia will still try to hope that the groundwork for a bigger 2012 has been laid out. Of course, since the Birds’ three-game winning streak means that Andy Reid will be back and Juan Castillo has a shot to return, it’s hard to say how good 2012 will turn out.

It would be a better sign if the DeSean Jackson of the last month returns for 2012 as well. The Eagles certainly can’t afford for the September-November Jackson to show up again. But ever since his bad behavior and the terrible Eagles peaked in the Dec. 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, they have both somehow been on their best behavior.

Jackson’s stats haven’t been mind blowing during the winning streak, as he has combined for 11 catches, 177 yards and one touchdown. However, the fact that he is catching the ball and getting more yards – and has stayed pretty quiet in the meantime – has been a relief after how the previous few weeks went. It still doesn’t erase the accusations of how he gave up before then – which loom even larger now when more effort and at least one more win would have made Week 17 very meaningful.

At this point, however, Jackson and Philadelphia fell so far during the first 13 weeks that anything other than another meltdown looks better. And now that the team is winning and there hasn’t been any new Jackson controversy lately, the hope is that both sides are cooling down before they get back to contract negotiations. Yet that leaves the question of whether too much damage has been done already.

Too much has been done to save the 2011 season, although it likely hasn’t been enough to fire Reid after all. However, if too much has been done to salvage negotiations with Jackson and to not just franchise tag him or trade him, 2012 will look more ominous. The Eagles already learned the consequences of keeping Jackson without paying him, and they cannot waste 2012 re-learning that lesson. Since 2012 stands to be Reid’s very last chance in Philadelphia, he certainly won’t want to waste that year figuring it out as well.

Going from 4-8 to a potential 8-8 record will be touted as a step forward, even though it really isn’t. If they want to make this last month of wins mean something, the Eagles will take this cooling off period to reassess Jackson and act accordingly. Whether that means resigning him or trading him is yet to be decided, but it has to be settled before training camp this time.

Philadelphia fans are skeptical that the good Eagles in December will show up for 2012, so maybe that should be the case with the good Jackson as well. However, if that good Jackson justifies a resigning at last – just as it somehow justifies keeping Reid around – then perhaps this big finish is worth something. If it’s too late, then at least his last month in town hasn’t been tarnished as much as his next-to-last month was.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday is now behind the Dallas Cowboys and now it is time to look ahead to the New York Giants. The Eagles loss means nothing in the grand scheme of things but the Giants game will mean everything.

The most important thing for the Cowboys, and this is especially true of the Eagles loss, is to come into the Giants’ matchup at 100-percent. That means that losing to the Eagles, because they rested Tony Romo and Felix Jones, was exactly the right decision. Dallas also has to hope that defensive players, like cornerback Mike Jenkins and linebackers Sean Lee and DeMarcus Ware are also ready to go.

Tony Romo

Tony Romo injured his hand on this second pass attempt of the Eagles’ game when he knocked it against the helmet of a rushing Jason Babin. It was really the closest that Babin, the NFL sack leader, got to a Dallas quarterback in the game, which says great things about that maligned offensive line.

X-rays were negative and the hand bruised and swelled. It is thought to be broken vessels in the hand but it should be healed and ready to go for the big Giants’ game. The hope is that there is no soreness in the hand. Romo has not thrown an interception since Week 12 against Miami and he has eight touchdown passes since that game.

Felix Jones

Felix Jones had back-to-back 100-yard games heading into the Eagles matchup. However, early in the week he showed up on the injury report with a tight hamstring. When this started is unknown, but once Romo left the game and Dallas learned the Giants won, they pulled Jones out to allow him to rest his leg. There should be no worries here as Jones averaged 6-yards a carry before leaving the game.

Mike Jenkins

Mike Jenkins has been battling injuries all season but Dallas needs him in the lineup against the Giants. With the playmakers that New York has, and Eli Manning able to throw the ball all over the field, the Cowboys secondary needs all the help it can get.

DeMarcus Ware

You can’t get Ware out of the lineup. Even after Dallas learned that the Giants won, and the Eagles game meant nothing, he remained in the game and finished with two more sacks, moving his total to 18 on the season. He has been dealing with a neck injury but has not missed a game. He needs two more sacks to tie his own personal best.

Sean Lee

Sean Lee injured his hand in the first game with Philadelphia. He missed one week and has been playing with a cast ever since. In this game, he injured his hamstring. He says he could have come back into the game but didn’t because of the Giants win. He finished with five tackles before leaving the game. He says he will be ready for the Giants.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: dallascowboys.com

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The Philadelphia Eagles should not be favored over the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 24. Even Eagles fans like myself know that Philadelphia is as likely to get blown out by Dallas and be utterly humiliated as it is to pull off an upset. However, due to the Birds winning two straight games for once and somehow still being alive in the NFC East, they have become the popular pick.

The Cowboys are the one who control their own destiny, lead the NFC East by a game and are extra motivated to avenge the 34-7 loss to the Eagles on Oct. 30. Now that Philadelphia is being talked up as the scariest 6-8 team in history – even by owner Jerry Jones – it gives Dallas an extra reason to play with a chip on its shoulder.

It isn’t like the Cowboys haven’t taken care of a red hot Eagles team before. In 2009, the Birds came in on the last week of the season on a seven-game winning streak. But Dallas still utterly slaughtered Philadelphia to win the NFC East, and then destroyed the Eagles again the next week for its only playoff win in 15 years.

These Eagles should be a lot easier to defeat, especially if they have one of their off weeks. They haven’t won three games in a row this season, so they may be due for a collapse pretty soon. Of course, the Cowboys aren’t one to judge since they have been up and down all year themselves, although it has paid off for two more wins so far.

Dallas can easily defeat Philadelphia and get closer to the NFC East title, despite all of the buzz favoring the Eagles lately. On paper, it should be simple – although both the Eagles and Cowboys are much better on paper than they have been in reality in 2011. Fourth quarter collapses have doomed them both all year, yet the Cowboys’ only blowout loss was to the Eagles almost two months ago. At the least, Dallas has pulled out a few close victories since then, while Philadelphia hasn’t really been tested in the fourth quarter in the last two weeks.

The entire complexion of this game could change even before kickoff, depending on the New York Giants-New York Jets showdown. If the Giants win, the Eagles will be eliminated and will really have no reason to play. Of course, the Cowboys will be rooting for the Jets as well, since they can clinch the NFC East with a win and a Giants loss. But no matter what, Dallas can clinch the division with a win next week while Philadelphia has absolutely no margin for error left.

These are two teams that can each shoot themselves fatally at a given moment, or blow each other out. Yet even though the Eagles are still closer to last place than first place and are on the road, the Cowboys are the ones being underestimated. That kind of disrespect could give Dallas all the added motivation it needs to kill off its arch-rivals once and for all.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The Philadelphia Eagles are not facing America’s Team on Dec. 24 after all. While Eagles fans like myself have had no problem hating the Dallas Cowboys, the rest of the nation still regards the Cowboys as America’s Team. Yet for now, America has dethroned Dallas in the latest sign of the Cowboys’ lack of glory lately.

According to a new poll on Dec. 21 from Public Policy Polling, the Green Bay Packers are now the new favorite team for the average American. In fact, with 22 percent of the vote, the Packers doubled the Cowboys’ vote total. Since Green Bay is the defending Super Bowl champion, the favorite for a second straight ring and are more universally beloved than Dallas, it makes sense that it would finally take this crown.

The Cowboys do at least still have one No. 1 mark as America’s least favorite team, as they got 22 percent in that vote and doubled up the Chicago Bears. But that is a given for Dallas, although it at least had the America’s Team label and Super Bowl rings to balance it out. However, that applied to Cowboys teams of a different era, as the modern day Boys are now just another team struggling to get over the hump. They’ve been that for about 15 years now and for over five years with Tony Romo at the helm.

Despite the old glorious image and the new billion dollar stadium, Dallas is no more special than anyone else these days. It could have been a much different story this year, since if the Cowboys had held onto half their blown fourth quarter leads, they would be right up there with the Packers in 2011. Instead they are 8-6, struggling to hold on in a pathetic NFC East and are no one’s favorite to reach the Super Bowl if they do make the playoffs.

Still, although the Cowboys don’t inspire the buzz and as much love as they used to, at least people do still feel something for them. In contrast, the Eagles didn’t even make the cut of most liked teams, while the Cowboys, New York Giants and Washington Redskins all got above 4 percent support. Philadelphia didn’t even make the cut of most hated teams either, despite the negativity that has surrounded the Eagles at home most of the year. Yet Michael Vick remains the most hated quarterback in the NFL to help balance it out.

The Eagles used to have to envy the Cowboys for being so famous and successful. But even now when Dallas is leading its division, it isn’t sitting on the kind of pedestal it used to anymore. Perhaps nothing short of making or winning a Super Bowl will put the Cowboys back in America’s good graces. Yet until then, they only have the usual bad graces and more December disappointment to define them now.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The Philadelphia Eagles have inspired doubt about Andy Reid’s future for weeks. However, Eagles fans like myself who have called for Reid’s departure are now prepared for disappointment, since winning the last two games should be enough to keep him around.

Yet while “improving” to 6-8 and being an extreme long shot for the NFC East crown should save Reid, another NFC East coach with a 7-7 mark and more realistic playoff hopes is on thinner ice. In fact, should the New York Giants lose to the New York Jets and/or the Dallas Cowboys in the next two weeks, Tom Coughlin may be gone much sooner than Reid.

Coughlin has been around for years just like Reid, albeit not for 13 seasons. The bigger difference between them is that Coughlin has actually won a Super Bowl and didn’t need to lose four NFC title games first. Yet Coughlin has been even closer to wearing out his welcome than Reid, especially as the Giants have fallen from 6-2 to 7-7 in 2011.

Coughlin is more expendable for the Giants than Reid is for the Eagles, since he doesn’t have as much power and has been much more volatile. But it is still funny that he might be closer to being fired, even though he actually started 6-2 and the Giants have actually been able to win in the fourth quarter, and that he wasn’t consumed by “Dream Team” hype or free agent disappointments.

Yet in the NFL, how one finishes is more important than how one starts. While both the Eagles and Giants seem destined to end the year in a rotten fashion, they are getting there in different ways. Philadelphia is at least making one more effort at a division title with two straight wins, while New York is falling down with a 1-5 mark in the second half. But the Giants are used to coming apart in the second half – with the exception of that closing run in 2007 – unlike Reid and the Eagles.

Philadelphia has already pushed one head coach over the edge this season, as Miami’s Tony Sparano was fired after losing to the Birds on Dec. 11. Now the Eagles can help push Coughlin out by losing, as a loss to the Cowboys on Dec. 24 and a Giants loss to the Jets would give Dallas the NFC East and eliminate New York and Philadelphia. Such a fate might put Reid back on the hot seat, but he would still have a better chance to stick around than Coughlin.

Through all his year of annoying the Eagles fan base and falling just short of glory, Reid keeps finding a way to stick around a while longer. Coughlin has been doing that for years as well, yet unlike Reid, his luck may have a shorter shelf life – which didn’t seem likely about six weeks ago.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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Paul Sokoloski

Posted: December 22
Updated: Today at 3:52 AM

When the Philadelphia Eagles play the way they did Sunday, they really do look like the NFL’s version of a “Dream Team.”

Their problem is, most of the time the Eagles come across as team turmoil.

Jets coach Rex Ryan couldn’t figure out why and neither could his brother Rob, the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, who gets another shot to save face for the family against the Eagles on Saturday evening.

By then, it may already be too late for Philadelphia.

If the New York Giants beat Rex Ryan’s Jets earlier Saturday, then the Eagles are eliminated from playoff contention.

No matter how much of a case they try to make for themselves against the Cowboys, part of the Eagles destiny will remain in someone else’s hands.

So nothing will be handed to a team crowned paper champions after Philadelphia’s free agent signing spree in training camp.

That whole “Dream Team” thing started on the basketball court, where a group of NBA stars won an Olympic gold medal to earn that moniker, and then rebounded in Miami when LeBron James and Chris Bosh showed up to join Dwayne Wade with the Heat last season.

The tag seemed to fit the Eagles perfectly in the summer.

And they appeared to be in perfect harmony while clobbering the Jets, 45-19 this past Sunday.

It was a record-setting day for LeSean McCoy, who scored his franchise-best 17th rushing touchdown of the season by crossing the goal line three times.

It was a career day for tight end Brent Celek, who wound up with 156 yards receiving, including a 73-yard bomb and a 26-yard touchdown he tipped one-handed to himself.

It was a dominating day for defensive end Jason Babin, who swooped in for three sacks to help resurrect a beleaguered defense.

And it was perplexing.

Because if the Eagles can look so good one week, you have to wonder how their world seems to fall apart the next.

“If you get guys doing the right thing, in the right place, good things happen,” Babin said.

For too much of this season, the 6-8 Eagles have seemed out of place talking about being among the elite teams in the league. Then, every once in awhile, they put on a show that makes heads turn.

“It shows you the type of fight we have,” McCoy said.

The Eagles had a game like this last one back on Oct. 30, a 34-7 victory over the Cowboys and their loud defensive coordinator Rob Ryan – who bragged his Dallas defense was going to stuff the Eagles. Instead, he got his mouth stuffed that day.

Everyone thought the Eagles were ready to roar off on a big run after that one, only Philadelphia ran backwards by losing four of its next five games.

Taking one step forward and long leaps back put the Eagles in this precarious position, needing some help along with victories in their final two games to have a shot at winning the NFC East with an 8-8 record.

“We are not where we wanted to be at the beginning of the season,” Celek said. “But we are doing all we can do with what we have.

“We just have to play together as a team and go out there, fight, and beat Dallas.”

It’s the only way to finish a season that stopped seeming like a dream with a slap of cold, hard reality.

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The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, December 24. Both teams are still entertaining playoff hopes in Week 16, but the game is much more important for the Eagles. Fortunately, they are no strangers to big games in Dallas. These two bitter rivals have a long history of great games. As an Eagles fan, I can think of plenty of great games for the Eagles in Dallas. Here is a look at the five most memorable Eagles wins in Dallas.

September 3, 2000 – Eagles 41, Cowboys 14

This game is famous for pickle juice. However, the more important factor in the game is that it kick started the best years of the Eagles under Andy Reid. Coming off a 5-11 season, the Eagles started the 2000 campaign by recovering an onside kick. They dominated the Cowboys after that. Duce Staley ran for 201 yards in the game and the Philadelphia defense completely shut Dallas down. This started a nice trend of Reid winning big games in Dallas.

November 23, 1989 – Eagles 27, Cowboys 0

Sure, Dallas was an awful team when the two teams met in this game. But going into Cowboy Stadium and shutting out the Cowboys on Thanksgiving is pretty sweet. The Eagles pulled off that feat in this contest thanks to a strong defensive performance. Dallas managed just 191 yards of offense as the Eagles rolled from start to finish.

November 3, 1996 – Eagles 31, Cowboys 21

The early 1990s were not kind to the Eagles when it came to Dallas, especially when they traveled there. But that changed when the 6-2 Eagles visited the 5-3 Cowboys in 1996. The game was back and forth but the Eagles had a 24-21 lead late in the contest. Dallas was driving for what seemed like the winning touchdown. However, Troy Aikman threw his second interception of the game. Troy Vincent took it back 90 yards for a touchdown that sealed the win.

November 15, 2004 – Eagles 49, Cowboys 21

This game took place in the memorable 2004 season for the Eagles. It was a Monday Night Football showdown that was really no contest. Donovan McNabb threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns. At one point, he scrambled for what felt like an eternity before finding Freddie Mitchell deep. Terrell Owens also had three touchdown catches in the game.

December 25, 2006 – Eagles 23, Cowboys 7

The Eagles needed a big late season rally to win the NFC East in 2006. They won three straight road games against division opponents in order to earn their playoff spot. This was the biggest win in the stretch. The 9-5 Cowboys looked like they should have easily handled the 8-6 Eagles. But backup quarterback Jeff Garcia and running back Brian Westbrook helped the Eagles to 426 total yards. That was more than twice what Dallas had.

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The Philadelphia Eagles were supposed to be absent from the NFL playoff picture two weeks ago. Yet to the shock of Eagles fans like myself, Philadelphia sees a clear picture to the playoffs and the NFC East title. Two more wins will help the Birds get closer to getting it done – although the rest depends on some extremely unreliable New York teams.

Trusting the New York Jets and Giants to bail Philadelphia out really seems like an iffy proposition, especially after their horrific losses in Week 15. However, the Eagles are reduced to rooting for a Jets club they just throttled within an inch of their lives on Dec. 18. And then after that, they would have to depend on a Giants team that will have hopefully lost six of its last seven games going into Week 17.

Before the Eagles even face the Cowboys at 4:15 p.m. et on Dec. 24, they have to root for the Jets to beat the Giants at 1 p.m. A Giants loss doesn’t seem that out of the question, especially after they were destroyed by the Washington Redskins at home on Dec. 18 before the Jets got throttled. But considering how Philadelphia blew the Jets out, it really seems iffy to depend on them to beat the Giants for us. However, since the Jets are even more up and down than their New York rivals, they might be due to go up again this coming week.

Even if the Jets come through, the Eagles still have to beat the Cowboys to stay alive going into the final week. However, their prospects would get iffier because they would have to depend on those pathetic, hopefully 7-8 Giants to deliver the final bailout. To win the division, Philadelphia would have to beat the Washington Redskins on New Years’ Day and then have New York defeat Dallas to forge a three-way, 8-8 tiebreaker that the Eagles would win.

If the Giants did lose to the Jets, asking them to sweep the Cowboys might really be a stretch, even if it is at home. Of course, should Dallas lose to Philadelphia, drop to 8-7 and stare in the face of another late December collapse, it may make it easier on New York. Still, the Giants have forfeited their gifts almost as much as the Cowboys have.

This isn’t an ideal playoff picture for the Eagles in many ways, even though they would already be out of it on any other year. It makes sense that since Philadelphia shot itself all season, it would have to depend on two equally clumsy New York teams to help save it at the last moment. That is the kind of iffy prospect that these Eagles probably deserve – although they could still easily let the Jets and Giants off the hook by losing a game.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The Philadelphia Eagles may still have hopes to win the NFC East, but they still need things to go absolutely perfect to win the division. Yet Eagles fans like myself can take solace in how the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants aren’t blowing everyone out of the water. In fact, if one looks at the last few weeks, the strongest teams in the NFC East lately have been the third-place Birds and last-place Washington Redskins.

Philadelphia only just got on track by winning two straight while Washington is still 5-9 after having a six-game losing streak earlier this year. But the Eagles and Redskins have shown more impressive stuff in recent weeks than the two teams closely fighting for first in the East.

The Giants, of course, have been decidedly unimpressive in losing five of their last six games. Meanwhile, the Cowboys at least showed some signs of being impressive by throttling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 17 to retake first place. However, that didn’t excuse how Dallas blew its previous two games at the last second and has been extremely inconsistent every December.

As for Philadelphia, it has suddenly become the scariest team in the NFC East although it is still a long shot to get out of it. It would take wins over the Cowboys and Redskins, a Giants loss to the New York Jets on Dec. 24 and a Cowboys loss to the Giants on Jan. 1 to win the division on an 8-8 tiebreaker. Yet that doesn’t seem out of the question, due to both the Eagles’ improvement and mainly to the Cowboys and Giants’ inconsistency and occasional incompetence.

Washington has actually looked a lot better in losing its games lately than Dallas and New York has. The Redskins have come very close to beating the Cowboys, New York Jets and New England Patriots in recent weeks, have beaten the Seattle Seahawks before they got hot, and finally broke through by throttling the Giants on the road on Dec. 18. At 5-9, the Redskins have to kick themselves because they could have been right in this race with a few breaks, just like the Eagles could have been.

Philadelphia and Washington are finishing this season with more style than Dallas and New York are, if only by comparison. Of course, if the Eagles and Redskins showed this improvement in October and November, they would be the ones fighting for first place. Instead, the Cowboys and Giants are setting the low bar in the NFC East, even though they’ve been playing like the third and last place clubs in the division for a while now.

If or when either Dallas or New York takes the division by default, Washington and Philadelphia will have a whole offseason to wonder what could have been. The Eagles and Redskins have been the NFC East’s scariest teams in December – but being like that in October and November as well would have been much better.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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Week 15 in the NFL showed us quite a bit. The San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles aren’t completely dead while two big streaks ended. Here is what we learned from week 15 in the NFL.

We’re going streaking - With that thought of Will Ferrell streaking through the quad and into the gymnasium fresh in your head, two big streaks ended Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts finally got their first win without Peyton Manning as they defeated the Tennessee Titans while the Kansas City Chiefs upset the Green Bay Packers, handing them their first loss in recent memory. Speaking of the Chiefs….

Two Coaches One Goal - The Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins trotted out new head coaches on Sunday, both with the intention of making their current position permanent. Todd Bowles won his Miami debut over the Buffalo Bills while Romeo Crennel and his Chiefs took down the previously undefeated Packers, making the ’72 Dolphins very happy.

Tom > Tim - Tom Brady showed us all why he is one of the best quarterbacks ever. With ESPN unable to keep their mouths shut about Tim Tebow and “Tebow Mania”, Brady helped shut it for them as he threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns while running in another score as New England won in Denver 41-23. I’m a big Tebow fan, but I’m glad they lost, because ESPN might just change SportsCenter to TebowCenter. I think they forget which quarterback has three rings. Thanks Tom!

I’ve seen better hands on a clock - Did anyone else see that special on ESPN with Cris Carter and Hakeem Nicks? Carter was so impressed with how great of a catching receiver Nicks is, then Nicks goes out and drops one of the easiest touchdown passes ever from Eli Manning. Oh sweet irony!

Better late than never - At least that’s the motto of the Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers. The Chargers embarrassed the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night improving their record to 7-7 as they now sit one game behind Denver while the Eagles dismantled the New York Jets, improving their record to 6-8, only two games behind the consistently inconsistent Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East. Speaking of the Jets….

Mark Sanchez - Why the heck is he still their quarterback? For that matter, why is Santonio Holmes mocking the Eagles after he scored a touchdown which brought the Jets to within 18? Look at that scoreboard buddy. Between Sherlock and Santonio, I’m not sure which was the bigger bust this weekend.

Currently, I cover the Orioles for the Baltimore Guide along with being addicted to the entire Major Leagues as well as the NFL. Follow me on Twitter here, or on Facebook here.

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Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles have a slim chance to move on to the playoffs after shellacking the New York Jets, 45-19. Their chances are in the neighborhood of 200-1 to make the playoffs but as Lloyd Christmas said in “Dumb and Dumber”: “So you’re telling me I got a chance?”

Michael Vick needs to bring his “A’ Game the rest of the season.
Photo by: SRA Moses Ross Wikimedia Commons

LeSean McCoy said it best when learning where the Eagles stand after their win, “Sounds like a lot.”

The Eagles have no say in their fate but it will not matter if they do not win out. The Eagles can only make the playoffs by capturing their division title. They must win in Dallas in Cowboys Stadium and at home against the Washington Redskins. Then they must hope for some help. The Giants have to lose against the Jets and then the Giants must beat the Cowboys in the final game of the season.

As McCoy said, “It sounds like a lot.” It is possible for the Eagles to make the playoffs despite the convoluted route that will get them there. Luck will play a part but the Eagles will have to win out as well.

If the Eagles make the playoffs and they play like they did against the New York Jets December 18, they have a chance to become the Green Bay Packers of the 2011-2012. The Packers struggled until December last season and then Aaron Rodgers and the Packers could not be stopped once the post season began.

When Vick is healthy he makes the Eagles a formidable force. The question for Vick and Andy Reid is if Vick can stay healthy through the regular season and the NFL playoffs. The Eagles have already witnessed their future if Vick gets hurt and the future doesn’t look bright without VIck.

Vick did not have a blockbuster performance but his 274 yards passing and two touchdowns, one through the air and one on the ground, were enough to compliment LeSean McCoy’s three touchdown game.

The real story for the Eagles is a resurgent defense. Kurt Coleman continues to make big plays and Jason Babin scored three sacks for the second consecutive game to bring his season total to 18 sacks. The pass rush led by Babin is the key to the Eagles being in position to make the playoffs. Vick is important but Babin and the defense will determine the future of the Eagles.

*Todd Jacobs lives in Las Vegas but has been a Philadelphia Eagles fan since the ’70s. Members of Todd’s family were devout Eagles fans and he had little choice but to follow the Eagles from an early age.

Sources:

NFL Network: Game recap

ESPN Philadelphia Eagles Clubhouse: Stats and news

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The Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers are incredibly similar in many ways. Eagles fans like myself have ranted about their Super Bowl near-misses every year, yet the Chargers are just as much of a near-miss franchise. This season, it looked like the bottom had fallen out for both Philadelphia and San Diego, as they completely collapsed even before the postseason.

The Eagles and Chargers were both 4-7 a few weeks ago, and looked ready to get their long time frustrating head coaches run out of town at last. Yet Andy Reid and Norv Turner may have saved their jobs with a few December victories that have kept Philadelphia and San Diego improbably alive. However, this is nothing new for the Eagles and Chargers, as they are once again red hot in December when it is too late to really do any damage.

Both Philadelphia and San Diego are experts at winning big in the final weeks of the regular season. They always go into January with major momentum and fuel hopes that this is finally their year to win the Super Bowl, only to get cold when it counts in the postseason. Last year, the Eagles were both hot and cold in the final month and stayed cold in the playoffs, while the Chargers recovered from a 2-5 start and got to 9-7 when it was too late to save their season.

That same scenario is happening again for the Chargers, as they are once again rallying back from a terrible first half of the year and are getting scary again. But for the second straight season, it might be too late to get them into the playoffs, in spite of how they destroyed the Baltimore Ravens by 34-14 on Dec. 18. At 7-7, San Diego still needs a great deal of help to win the AFC West and overtake the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders, even though the Chargers might be among the hottest teams in the AFC right now.

Over on the East Coast, the Eagles are trying to put together an impossible rally of their own. Like San Diego, Philadelphia humiliated itself by underachieving in the first three months of the season. But in December, Reid once again flipped the switch and put together two easy wins over the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. And the Eagles were even more thorough in destroying an AFC playoff contender at home, as they throttled the Jets by 45-19.

Philadelphia is clinging to life even harder than San Diego, since it is still 6-8. But two more victories and key losses from the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants could get the Eagles into the playoffs in spite of it all. And even with their mostly embarrassing seasons and poor records, no one would want to play the Eagles or Chargers in the playoffs if they did find a way in.

These two teams were supposed to be this scary all year and finally get over the Super Bowl hump. Instead, they have waited too long to get good, as usual, and now have to be utterly perfect for two more weeks just to make the postseason. Even if they do find a way, they are still long shots to actually make the Super Bowl and win a ring at long last, which is the goal they have fallen short of for over a decade already.

Philadelphia and San Diego are two of the cruelest franchises in the NFL, as they are major letdowns at the beginning and end of a season without fail and still get everyone’s hopes up in the middle. Right now, they are raising hopes for redemptions and miracle Super Bowl runs right on cue – yet this also means the Eagles and Chargers are on cue to let everyone down worse than ever any moment now.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

Other stories by this contributor

Eagles save Reid’s job by destroying Jets

Eagles, Jets matchup of big disappointments

Cowboys push Eagles to absolute brink

Jets to keep having their way with NFC East?

Eagles reduced to rooting for Bucs over Cowboys

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