The Philadelphia Eagles dominated their much-anticipated Thanksgiving day matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, taking a one-game lead in the NFC East while making a big statement with a 33-10 victory. Philadelphia scored twice in the opening 11 minutes and was never threatened, despite settling for field goals on four of its five red-zone trips.
Turnovers and missed red-zone chances continue to be major storylines for the Eagles this season, but all the while Chip Kelly’s team is 9-3 and playing some of its best football with backup Mark Sanchez under center. That includes a resurgent running game with LeSean McCoy having racked up 289 yards over the last two weeks.
Whether coincidental or not, McCoy has gotten on track as Andrew Gardner has locked down the right guard position in the absence of injured Todd Herremans. That line combination has seemingly offered much-needed stability after Kelly was forced to cycle through lineups due to Lane Johnson’s suspension and injuries to Herremans, Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce.
Add up all the ingredients, and you get an Eagles offense that ranks fourth in the NFL in both total yardage (416.2 ypg) and scoring (31.3 ppg) and still hasn’t hit its full stride. Remember, this is a team that ranks last in the NFL in giveaways (28) and 29th in red-zone touchdown percentage (43.5 percent). It’s almost scary to think what Kelly’s offense can do when operating at full efficiency.
Philadelphia has a chance to build on its impressive Week 13 showing with key matchups against the Seahawks and Cowboys in the next two weeks. Winning those matchups would all but assure the Eagles would win their second straight NFC East title under Kelly.
Jon Ritchie and Dustin Hockensmith talked about their takeaways from the Eagles’ big win over the Cowboys, what it means for the rest of their season and plenty more in this week’s Keystone Sports Network podcast. Check out audio from the show in this post and get plenty more podcasts and analysis on KeystoneSportsNetwork.com and by following @KSNSportsNet on Twitter.