Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

The final two games of this let down season were at Veterans Stadium

Week 15 Dallas Cowboys-Eagles lost 25 to 13

Steve Buerline played for an injured Troy Aikman. I think Dallas coach Jim Johnson told Buerlin that throwing incomplete passes was fine;  just avoid sacks and turnovers.  Dallas did that.    Buerline was horrible completing  just nine of 31 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown.  Despite defecting some passes at the line of scrimmage, the Eagles defense got only was sack and no turnovers.  Meanwhile, the Cowboys sacked Jeff Kemp four times for 21 yards in losses and intercepted two passes.

In addition, the Eagles special teams were below par.  Rod Harris fumbled a kickoff return which cost a safety.  The Cowboys Kevin Martin returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown.  So in two phases, special teams and defense, Dallas was clearly better and deserved to win.  This game ended Philadelphia's six game winning streak and Dallas beat the Eagles for the first time in five years.  The loss eliminated Philadelphia from the playoffs.

Nevertheless, this was not the biggest loss of the season.  The back-to-back losses in New Orleans and Tampa were the daggers.

Week 16 Washington Redskins-Eagles won 24 to 22.

Otis Smith opened scoring with a 75 yard interception return.  The Eagles did nothing thereafter until the fourth quarter.   With Philadelphia behind 19 to 7, Jeff Kemp threw two touchdown passes .  Roger Ruzek kicked a 37 yard field goal with seconds left to win the game.    Washington got their second loss to finish 14-2.  This was another time  Philadelphia defeated a Super Bowl Bound Champion.

Joe Gibbs had the  Redskins coasting  and used two quarterbacks.  Mark Rypien and Jeff Rutledge were horrible completing just 16 of 43 passes for 230 yards.  In addition to   Otis Smith's interception,  the Eagles hawked two fumbles.  The biggest statistics-the Green Front Four recorded three sacks for 30 yard in losses.  The Redskin offensive, dubbed the Hogs, yielded only five prior to this game.

That's how good the Redskins line was-just 1/2 of a sack for each game for the entire season.  And the last game was meaningless for Old DC.

That win by Dallas was the turning point in Johnsons coaching career ... A great win which put in the Cowboys and kept the Eagles out of the playoffs ... One of the most satisfying days as a Cowboys fan and viewer because we finally beat the bully on the block in the Vet, with their defense as strong as ever ...

Brian, do you have any idea what made the Eagles defense more limited in the game. Only one sack for seven yards and no turnovers.

Brian-Bad as this game was, it was not the one that hurt the Eagles & I did not mind losing it. No doubt the Cowboys were the better team. In October the Eagles lost four consecutive games. In the 23 to 7 loss to the 49ers and the 23 to 0 shout out at DC, the better team won. However, the 13 to 6 game at the Vet vs New Orleans and the 14 to 13 game at Tampa were definitely winnable. The Eagles should have won these games even with Pete Liske coming out of retirement. With Cunningham at quarterback our record should have been 12-4, a Wild Card entry. As implied here, the one sided losses do not bother me; it's the close ones that hurt.

Thanks for asking Leonard, the Eagles defensive toughness upfront, helped the Cowboy's line grow up quickly, especially after Aikman took a beating in their first 1991 matchup. The Eagles needed this game but their offense couldnt help them without Cunningham. For me, this Eagles team from 89-93 helped the Cowboys become champions more than any team, even SF and Buffalo because of that defense, which would eat the liver of players playing today ...