The Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs is upon us and only one division is absent. With the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys losing in the Wild Card Round, the NFC East is now the first division to be completely eliminated from the playoffs. It is a remarkable turn of events considering both the Eagles and the Cowboys once seemed like legitimate Super Bowl contenders this season.
Coming off a great year which saw them reach the Super Bowl, the Eagles once again seemed poised to appear in the big game for a second straight season. They started the year off 10-1 behind the stellar play of star quarterback Jalen Hurts and star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Against the NFL’s best, Philadelphia proved that they belonged. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in a Monday Night Classic. The following week, Hurts and kicker Jake Elliott pulled off a miracle to stun the Buffalo Bills in the rain.
Unfortunately, the win against the Bills proved to be the last highlight of the season for the Eagles. The next 2 games provided a preview for how the season was going to end. Against another NFC heavyweight in the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia was exposed. Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel and co. stormed into Lincoln Financial Field and knocked the Eagles back in a huge way. The final score was 42-19, one of the worst games in the Hurt’s era. The following week against Dallas was more of the same, a 33-13 thrashing.
Head Coach Nick Sirianni tried to right the ship against an average Seattle Seahawks squad, but backup quarterback Drew Lock had other plans, as he led a game-winning drive in the final minute. With multiple losses in a row, the NFL media could tell something was not right. Philadelphia’s run game vanished and Hurts was tasked with too much. The defense wasn’t playing together anymore. Instead of being a cohesive unit, they turned into a bunch of individuals trying to make a play.
The downward spiral continued all the way into the playoffs. After blowing a lead to the lowly Cardinals and getting destroyed by the Giants, the Eagles entered the postseason having lost 5 out of 6 games. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winners of a weak NFC South division, took it to Philadelphia with ease in the Wild Card round. The Eagles looked like a shell of their former selves with many questioning the future of the team, their quarterback, and their coach. Their end of season breakdown proved to be historic. Philadelphia became the first team to start 10-1 and not win 12 games. The only comfort for the team is that their playoff loss was expected, considering the way the regular season ended. For Dallas, this was not the case.
The Cowboy’s failure, though different from the Eagles’ disaster, is equally as disappointing. Dallas started hot and stayed that way for the whole regular season, making their wild card exit even more shocking. Quarterback Dak Prescott had his team rolling on all cylinders, especially when playing at home. Dallas had been unbeaten at AT&T Stadium since the first game of the 2022 season. In 2023, not only had they gone undefeated in Dallas, but they averaged 37 ppg and were outright crushing opponents. They won with the following scores: 30-10, 38-3, 43-20, 49-17, 45-10, and 33-13.
Prescott and star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb were unstoppable, as they became arguably the league’s best and most productive duo. Prescott finished 1st with 36 TD passes and 3rd with 4,516 passing yards. Lamb hauled in an NFL best 135 catches and finished 2nd with 1,749 yards. On the defense, cornerback Daron Bland became an All-Pro after setting an NFL record with 5 interceptions returned for touchdowns. Defensive end Micah Parsons continued to terrorize opposing quarterbacks all while Head Coach Mike McCarthy seemed to have full control of this Super Bowl contending team. However, when it comes to the playoffs, Dallas always finds a way to mess everything up.
Against the visiting Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys fell flat. Jordan Love and Aaron Jones had their way, as Dallas came out playing way too conservative. Prescott resorted to his former pick-throwing ways, and before anyone could blink, America’s Team was in a 27-0 hole. The game was a blowout that no one saw coming, even with the Cowboy’s history of playoff failure. Dallas had a 16-home game win streak going and had completely wrecked many inferior teams. However, against the 7th seeded Packers, the Cowboys looked like a deer in the headlights, unable to counter anything Green Bay did.
The Cowboys felt different for much of the year, which makes the loss sting even more to their fans. While the people of Philadelphia were at least warned of their team’s inevitable collapse, the fans in Dallas were not. Both teams and fan bases now must endure the criticism of the media as they each begin long off seasons with serious changes incoming. While both teams have had their recent regular season successes, it is clear neither is currently built to win when it matters.
