Share
Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
IRVING — Many of the Dallas Cowboys have never seen a replay of their 44-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles to end last season. Receiver Patrick Crayton could stomach only part of it.
"I watched it the week after the game," Crayton said Monday. "It was just kind of disgusting. It was just disgusting to watch. ... We just flat out got our tails whipped, man. No excuses or anything like that. They played good. They showed up to play that day, and they wanted to win to get into the playoffs, and we didn’t. We had to sulk and deal with that the whole off-season."The Cowboys return to the field of their nightmares Sunday. Dallas has won only twice in their past 10 trips to the City of Brotherly Love.But last year’s season-ending loss hurt the worst.In a game that decided the NFC’s final playoff berth, the Eagles handed the Cowboys their worst loss in 20 years. Dallas had four turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns in the third quarter. Chris Clemons had a 73-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, and Joselio Hanson went 96 yards with a fumble for another score."It was overall a horrendous game for us," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said Monday.The Cowboys are a different team today than they were Dec. 28. After that game, Phillips vowed changes. The Cowboys cut Pacman Jones, Terrell Owens and Greg Ellis and let Tank Johnson, Chris Canty and Zach Thomas leave as free agents. They fired defensive coordinator Brian Stewart. They traded for a backup quarterback, Jon Kitna, and signed three veteran defensive players who have become starters."If you don’t make your goals, you need to look at things and see what you need to do," Phillips said. "Our goal wasn’t to go 9-7 and have a winning season. Our goal was to make the playoffs first and then do well in the playoffs, and we didn’t succeed in that area."The Cowboys like who they are, and where they are, now. They have won three in a row to get to 5-2. Since halftime of the Chiefs game — the past 10 quarters plus overtime in Kansas City — the Cowboys have outscored their opponents 98-48 and outgained them 1,072 to 803. They have returned two punts for touchdowns. In that stretch, Tony Romo has completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 762 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions, and Miles Austin has 17 receptions for 411 yards and five touchdowns. "I think Tony’s playing well right now," Phillips said. "I think our team is playing well right now. At this point in this season, that’s where we are. Three weeks ago, I might not have said that, but things change quickly in this league, and you can make change, and that’s why you play the games."The Cowboys will recite that last year is last year, and this week is this week. But there is no escaping the fact that this week’s game might end up being as big as last year’s game in Philadelphia when it comes to playoff implications."I think everybody realizes what’s at stake in this game, and how crucial this one really is," Crayton said. "I’m not going to call it a 'must-win,’ because it’s not going to break the season, but I think it’s a 'have-to-win.’ "ONLINE: star-telegram.com/cowboys
U-G-L-Y The lowlights from the Cowboys’ season-ending loss to the Eagles last year:The Cowboys turned the ball over five times (four fumbles, one interception).The Eagles returned two fumbles for touchdowns on consecutive drives (a 73-yard return by Chris Clemons and a 96-yard return by Joselio Hanson).The 44-6 loss was the largest margin of defeat for the Cowboys in 20 years.
Charean Williams, 817-390-7760
@Nyx.CommentBody@