Score One For Wade: Dallas Cowboys beat Philadelphia Eagles 20-16

Well, well, well.

This changes everything, now doesn’t it?

Wade outcoached somebody. Not a phrase that has been uttered often around the Ranch.

A big time win for the Dallas Cowboys last night, and while it may not have been the most spectacular win in team history, it certainly went a long way to erase last year’s debacle to end the season.

So can this team really challenge for the conference crown? The answer to that along with more game thoughts after the jump.

Wade Phillips took a lot of flak last season, much of it deserved. This week, though, the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys deserves some credit. The Dallas Cowboys came out ready to play and knew exactly what they had to do to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. And they did it.

Save for a few dumb penalties (which I’m starting to put on the players rather than Wade – he’s not out there for them), this team looked more polished, more prepared and frankly, more talented than the Eagles. Well done by Wade Phillips – now the test begins: keeping the players focused on the postseason.

If this defense only allows one touchdown per game, the Dallas Cowboys will be tougher than raw meat to beat this season. While the Philadelphia Eagles did manage three field goals, none of them were under 45 yards. Once the weather (freakishly warm up north) turns to what we expect, the Dallas Cowboys will happily make the opposing kicker attempt 45, 48 and 52 yard field goals.

DeMarcus Ware was his old self, wreaking havoc in the backfield and pressuring Donovan McNabb all night. Jay Ratliff was also playing great, with two sacks and two tackles for loss.

But maybe the best game that was played on the defense that no one will realize is Anthony Spencer. The stat sheet is not outstanding – only two solo tackles. But without Spencer creating matchup problems for the offensive line of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jay Ratliff probably isn’t able to have the game that he’s able to have.

Keith Brooking was his normal self, flying around and making all sorts of tackles. The defensive holding penalty was frustrating, but that kind of stuff will happen. No one is going to be perfect. By the way, the officials have definitely had better games. That was disgusting. Oh well, it’s just fortunate for the Dallas Cowboys that none of their calls prevented the team from winning.

All week, I was terrified that DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin were going to tear our secondary up, but that game last night was one of the best games our secondary has played in a long while. Mike Jenkins is developing into a shutdown corner. DeSean Jackson had two catches for 29 yards. Pretty self-explanatory that Terence Newman did his job. Sensabaugh got beat on the touchdown to Celek, but McNabb was in front of the line of scrimmage anyway.

The Cowboys weren’t going to get beat, and they didn’t. Kudos to Wade Phillips and the Dallas Cowboys coaches for a stellar game plan.

Special Teams again were a strength for the Cowboys. It’s simply amazing how much that area has improved – just like the Rangers’ defense this past year. One bad punt for McBriar, but he still managed to average 43.8 yards per punt.

There was that one kick return – but because of the holding penalty, it didn’t happen. So there you go.

If a perfect game is a picture worthy of hanging in the Louvre, this offensive game for the Dallas Cowboys is worthy of hanging in the Dallas Museum of Art. Not spectacular, but good enough. Tony Romo finally threw an interception, but also threw for 300 yards and made enough plays for the Dallas Cowboys to win.

The running game struggled at times, although the Wildcat formation looked deadly and Marion Barber continues to turn it on in the fourth quarter. All the gimmicky plays worked for Jason Garrett last night, highlighted by the play of one Kevin Ogletree. Each catch he had was a big one, but it was a great effort by him and his blockers to make that happen.

Philadelphia’s defense is pretty solid. No shame in only putting up 20 points against them.

So now the Cowboys move on to take on the Green Bay Packers, who just got done giving the Buccaneers their first win of the season. The offensive line has gotten the major pub this year for being the weak link for the Pack, but there really hasn’t been an area where the Pack has been great this year.

Another winnable game coming up this Sunday. There is a propensity to look ahead and see a few mediocre-to-average teams coming up on the schedule, but one game at a time will do.

First place is first place. Let’s just enjoy that for now.

Wade pic: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/pt/slideshows/2008/10/pho_bengalscows_2008/