Dec 30th 2008 9:28AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Giants, NFC East, NFL PlayoffsNew York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will get to enjoy a bye for the first week of the NFL postseason. His brother, Peyton, will lead his Colts into San Diego to take on the Chargers this Saturday night.

So, during a conference call, Eli was asked if he was going to San Diego to watch Peyton’s game:”No, no, no plans,” Manning said. As an afterthought, Manning added: “My plans to Cabo fell through, so I am going to sit here. That is a joke, by the way.”That, obviously, is a jab at Tony Romo’s vacation to Cabo during last year’s playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys had the No. 1 seed in the NFC last year and an off week, just as the Giants do this year. Romo spent his off week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with Jessica Simpson and her family. Romo’s Cowboys would go on to lose to Eli’s Giants the very next week.

Dec 28th 2008 4:02PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Buccaneers, Cowboys, EaglesComing into the day, the Dallas Cowboys knew if they beat the Eagles this afternoon they would be in the playoffs. Philadelphia knew that they needed a lot of help during the early games to know if they had anything to play for.

They do.

Thanks to Tampa Bay’s monumental meltdown and Chicago losing in Houston, the Philadelphia Eagles are a win away from the playoffs. Heck, this makes the Cowboys-Eagles a de-facto postseason game.

Now things are really looking up for Philly. Dallas has lost their last eight season finales and has lost eight of eleven in the City of Brotherly Love. There is also this little thing about Tony Romo and the Cowboys coming up short in playoff games. Since this is a win-or-go-home atmosphere for both teams, it will be interesting to see how Romo performs.

The winner of the Cowboys-Eagles game will travel to play Minnesota next weekend.

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Dec 28th 2008 4:55PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, Vikings, NFL PlayoffsThe Minnesota Vikings won the NFC North on this Ryan Longwell 50-yard field goal as time expired:

Minnesota didn’t exactly set the world on fire, needing a last-second field goal to beat a Giants team that was basically phoning it in as it rested its top players for the playoffs. But when the Vikings needed quarterback Tarvaris Jackson to deliver down the stretch, he did: Jackson hit Bernard Berrian for a 54-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Vikings fans have to feel good about that.

Next weekend the Vikings will host the winner of this afternoon’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

Dec 28th 2008 6:06PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, EaglesCowboys haters love to point out that Tony Romo doesn’t perform well on the big stage. His signature moment in this regard was the fumbled hold on a field goal attempt that would have beaten the Seattle Seahawks in the 2006 playoffs. For all the wins and successes he has had as a young quarterback, he has nothing to show for it.

So it should surprise no one that, as I type this, the Cowboys are down 34-3 to the Philadelphia Eagles. The latest score came off a Romo fumble that was returned by Chris Clemons 73 yards for a touchdown.

Earlier in the game, the Cowboys were driving towards midfield when Romo threw an interception. Philadelphia would capitalize on the turnover by scoring a touchdown and building a 24-3 lead.

This is a virtual playoff game as the winner will face Minnesota next week in the wild card round of the playoffs.

As I type this, Romo is 13-for-24 for 91 yards with no touchdowns and two turnovers.

UPDATE: Thanks to a Marion Barber fumble, the Eagles now lead 41-3

UPDATE II: Romo turns the ball over for the third time. He has the ball stripped as he scrambled for a first down.
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Dec 28th 2008 7:20PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, NFC EastThis has got to be the most disappointing season in the history of the Dallas Cowboys. Oh, many seasons ended with the Cowboys not winning the championship, and others have had disappointing finishes, but none have been like this.

The Cowboys were the preseason favorites to win the NFC Championship and get to the Super Bowl. After the first three weeks of the season, Dallas had the look of the best team in the NFL. Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Terrell Owens and Jason Witten were firing on all cylinders, and there was no way this year would end with anything less than a Super Bowl.

Then the Redskins came into Big D and knocked that smile off their face. The win showed the league that Dallas can be contained and beaten. The next week saw them barely squeak out a home win over the lowly Cincinnati Bengals. From there were losses in Arizona and St. Louis (one of the Rams’ two wins all season) and the Cowboys were suddenly 4-3 and without Romo for a month.Continue Reading

Dec 28th 2008 8:45PM by Enrico Campitelli (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, NFC EastIn a game in which the winner would earn a spot in the playoffs, the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed and embarrassed the Dallas Cowboys in South Philadelphia and extended their season at least another week.

Andy Reid, in his post-game press conference, thanked the fans first for showing up at the Linc to cheer on the Birds against their most hated rival. Not shortly after, Reid thanked the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans for doing their part to put the Eagles in position to play next weekend. How ’bout them Oakland Raiders?!?

Finally, he acknowledged his players for bringing the thunder on the final day of the regular season and making the Dallas Cowboys look more like Monaco’s Team than America’s Team.

It was an all-out team showing by the Eagles, who put up impressive offensive drives ending in two McNabb touchdown passes and another QB sneak in the first half. After that, the Birds’ defensive looked rabid against a lifeless Cowboys offense. Tony Romo came up extremely small, giving the ball away, in another big game in the lore of Romo.Continue Reading

Dec 28th 2008 11:15PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Broncos, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Jets, NFL PlayoffsWe can mock the Lions’ 0-16 season, wonder how good the Patriots would have been if Tom Brady didn’t blow out his knee, or speculate over which NFC team is most likely to give the Giants trouble in the playoffs.

But after watching a wild December of football, it’s hard to avoid the fact that 2008 is the year where an amazing number of teams simply gagged their way out of the playoffs. Usually there are one or two teams that peaked in October and failed to live up to their potential, this year, we had a futile four that all choked away what were once seemingly safe playoff berths.

Here’s a ranking of who sucked the worst in a season that saw plenty of teams throw away their chance at playoffs glory.
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Dec 28th 2008 11:29PM by Enrico Campitelli (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, NFC East, NFL InjuriesJim Johnson’s defense brought the heat on Sunday and Tony Romo was the unhappy recipient of the Eagles’ swarming blitzes and constant pressure. According to the Dallas News blog, Romo’s back was causing him so much pain following the game that he collapsed in the shower and needed two people to help him down a single step.

As discussed ealier, Tony Romo once again came up very small in a big game. The Cowboys QB was often viewed as a savior for America’s Team, but after failing to get Dallas into the playoffs once again, all is not well in Big D.

When asked how he deals with all of these tough defeats, Romo responded, “I wake up tomorrow and I keep living.”

Albeit with a painfully sore back and vacation plans.

Romo’s loud-mouthed receiver, Terrell Owens, called the game an “old-fashioned butt whipping.” It’s safe to say his quarterback would agree.

Dec 29th 2008 8:30AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Jets, NFL Fans, NFL CoachingChad Pennington’s eight-year Jets career came to an inglorious end four-and-a-half months ago, when he was by Brett Favre. New York restocked the roster with big-name players last offseason, and Favre was supposed to be the guy to get them back to the playoffs following the four-win effort in 2007.

Instead, after an 8-3 start, the Jets stumbled into Week 17 at 9-6, needing to win the season finale against the Dolphins and hoping that either the Bills beat the Patriots or the Ravens lost to the Jaguars. As it turned out, New England outlasted Buffalo, Baltimore blew the doors off Jacksonville, and New York went through the motions against Miami.

Favre, who has been inconsistent all season, threw three interceptions yesterday, all typically Favre-ian. Although the Jets were only down three points heading into the fourth, it just seemed like Favre was too old, too slow, and too reckless to keep New York in the game. And that’s exactly what happened when he threw an inexplicable pick midway through the fourth quarter that basically signaled the end the 2008 season. And if we’re lucky, Favre’s career.Continue Reading

Dec 29th 2008 10:00AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, NFL Fans, NFL VideoHigh fives are a way of life. No matter how popular the exploding fist pound becomes, the high five will remain a universal symbol of celebration. Unless, of course, Jeffrey Lurie continues to use said symbol as a method of popping his wife in the face. (Note: he didn’t do this intentionally, but it’s still funny.)

See, this is why it’s funny to see old people high fiving: it’s almost always guaranteed to be awkward, and it’s only exacerbated when someone — like Lurie in this case — misses and plants a hand on his wife’s grill. And sure, she might look embarrassed, but at least not as embarrassed as the Cowboys.