 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
IRVING, Texas (Ticker) -- The Dallas Cowboys are a different team at Texas Stadium. Led by another strong effort from their defense, the Cowboys remained unbeaten at home and avenged an earlier loss this season to the Philadelphia Eagles with a key 20-10 victory. Dallas has won all six of its home games, having outscored the opposition, 164-57. The Cowboys, who are 1-6 on the road, play two of their final three games at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys (7-6) remained tied for second in the NFC East, one game behind Washington. Already without star wide receiver Michael Irvin, who suffered a season-ending spinal injury in a 13-10 loss at Philadelphia on October 10, the Cowboys also lost running back Emmitt Smith and starting defensive end Greg Ellis with injuries early in the first quarter. Smith carried just once before leaving with a strained left groin. Ellis, who leads the team with nine sacks, suffered a broken bone in his left leg with 11:35 left in the opening period and is likely out for the season. Troy Aikman completed 22-of-40 passes for 242 yards and one touchdown and Chris Warren filled in nicely for Smith with 92 yards on 25 carries with a TD. "We had areas of that we improved on today," Cowboys coach Chan Gailey said. "We're still adjusting to the guys that are on the field. If you start feeling snake-bit you start feeling sorry for yourself. We're professionals and we're supposed to go out and win games." Rookie Donovan McNabb had a forgettable game for the Eagles, completing just 7-of-17 passes for 49 yards with an interception before he left late in the third quarter with a sprained MCL in his left knee. He will undergo an MRI on Monday. Doug Pederson came on for McNabb and went 8-of-12 for 108 yards, including a 25-yard TD pass to rookie Na Brown with 6:41 remaining. The Eagles suffered their fourth straight road loss and are just 1-21-1 in their last 23 contests away from Veterans Stadium. "My overall evaluation of the game is that they came out more physical than us on both sides of the ball," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We shot ourselves in the foot from the get go." Ranked last in the NFC in total offense, the Eagles took their opening possession 34 yards in nine plays and got a 44-yard field goal from Norm Johnson to grab the early lead. However, the Cowboys quickly answered that score. Aikman showed his pinpoint accuracy, completing 4-of-5 passes for 54 yards on an eight-play, 60-yard drive that Warren culminated with a four-yard TD run that gave Dallas a 7-3 lead with 4:49 left in the period. "I definitely have to be ready all the time," Warren said. "It was a shock to me early but I was prepared. I just have to go in there and do my job." In the second quarter, the Cowboys made use of new kicker Eddie Murray, who they coaxed out of retirement earlier this week to take the place of Richie Cunningham. Following a 24-yard punt that reached only the Eagles 39, Dallas was able to cash in, but had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by the 43-year-old Murray and a 10-3 lead with 6:50 left in the half. A perfectly executed drive before the break led to another field goal from Murray. Dallas went 54 yards in 10 plays led by Aikman, who had completions to four different receivers. Murray made the drive a success with a 34-yard field goal as time expired. "I really like the guys we are playing with because they are doing what they can to help us," Aikman said. "The young receivers play hard and I have confidence in them. It's just a matter of getting playing time with them." Murray connected on 2-of-4 field goals. He missed from 49 yards in the first quarter and from 33 yards in final period. Meanwhile, the Cowboys' defense was havings its way as they held the Eagles to just 88 total yards in the first half and 233 overall. Dallas finished with 337 total yards. Aikman was again huge on Dallas' second possession of the second half. He had completions of 26 yards to Rocket Ismail and 16 yards to tight end Eric Bjornson before capping the drive with an eight-yard TD toss to tight end David LaFleur that made it 20-3 with 6:10 left in the third quarter. Things just got worse for the Eagles, who watched their future quarterback go down with a knee injury with under a minute left in the third quarter. McNabb was hit on a broken play by defensive tackle Leon Lett and his left knee locked on the artificial turf. He was able to walk to the sidelines. Pederson, who was the starting quarteback for the Eagles until McNabb took over four games ago, came on and moved the team effectively in the fourth quarter. He produced the team's only TD with a 25-yard scoring strike to Brown with 6:41 remaining. Duce Staley led the ground attack for the Eagles with 78 yards on 18 carries. Cornerback Deion Sanders saw his his first extended time at wide receiver for the Cowboys and had two catches for 14 yards.
|
