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The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night by a final score of 33 to 27. The Eagles are now 4-4 on the 2015 NFL season.
The Eagles started out on offense first after Dallas won the coin toss but deferred. The first play of the game was that swing pass to DeMarco Murray that goes nowhere. What a surprise. The Eagles proceeded to go three and out before the Cowboys bailed out Philadelphia out by running into Donnie Jones on the punt. Sam Bradford threw short of the sticks on third down on the Eagles' second chance and the Birds went three and out again.
The Cowboys took over on offense and got going with a big play by the always-dangerous Dez Bryant. Nolan Carroll struggled to cover the star receiver. Dallas moved into the red zone and Matt Cassel threw a short pass to Cole Beasley for the first score of the game. The Eagles' pass rush couldn't generate any pressure.
The Eagles shocked everyone by actually managing to get a first down on their second drive. Miles Austin made an impressive catch. But it was all for nothing because Bradford threw short of the sticks on third down again and the Eagles had to punt. Questionable strategy.
Murray helped the Eagles offense get going against his former team early in the second quarter. Philadelphia used the combination of him and Ryan Mathews on the ground to move the ball down the field. Jordan Matthews even made a contested catch -- and didn't drop it! -- on the drive. While in goal territory, Darren Sproles got stopped just short of the goal line on second down. It looked like he might have been in, but the Eagles didn't challenge. Then Bradford threw a pass that was deflected. Chip Kelly decided to go for it on 4th-and-goal and his risk paid off. Murray fought his way through the pile for a score to tie the game.
After Jordan Hicks failed to wrap up Cassel on a sure sack, the Cowboys quarterback connected with Terrance Williams in the end zone for a touchdown. Unfortunately for Dallas, the play was wiped out due to an push off from Williams on Byron Maxwell. The call looked tacky, so the Eagles got lucky the flag was thrown. Brandon Graham came up with a big strip sack on third down. The Cowboys recovered the ball but fell out of field goal range and were forced to punt.
A strange sequence for the Eagles ended the first half. The team had two timeouts to work with but opted to let the clock run down. Then the Eagles tried to attempt a deep pass with Bradford but he got hit and it fell incomplete down the field. It seems like Kelly didn't have much confidence in his offense.
Dallas failed to convert on 3rd-and-1 early in the second half but Graham extended the Cowboys' drive by being penalized for taunting. It appeared Graham yelled at McFadden after the defensive stop. Luckily for Graham, the Eagles managed to get another stop when Mychal Kendricks sacked Cassel on third down.
Bradford hit Murray with a surprisingly gorgeous and accurate throw on the wheel route for a big gain. Austin dropped a pass on third down, but Dallas bailed the Eagles out by committing a holding penalty. Bradford hit Matthews to set up the Eagles in goal position, and then Mathews ran it in for the lead. Strong drive by Philadelphia to go 95 yards. It was one of the best offensive drives the Eagles have had all season, which is saying something.
Graham beat Tyron Smith again to record another strip sack. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the Cowboys recovered yet again. Dallas went on to drive into scoring territory after Malcolm Jenkins gave up several big plays to Beasley, including a touchdown to tie the game.
Bradford got sacked by Greg Hardy on 3rd-and-2. The crowd cheered loudly and the Eagles were forced to punt. The Cowboys went right back to Beasley on offense and it worked. The Eagles tried using E.J. Biggers to cover him this time, but it didn't work. Fortunately for the Eagles, Jordan Hicks saved the day. The rookie jumped a route and picked off Cassel to take the ball to the house for six. What a big play.
And then because things are never easy for the Eagles, Philadelphia allowed a huge return to Lucky Whitehead on the ensuing kickoff. As if things couldn't get any crazier, Cassel scrambled and lobbed a ball into the end zone Hail Mary style that was caught by Bryant for the touchdown. It looked like there may have been holding, but no call. Chaos!
The Eagles responded by feeding the ball to Mathews, and it worked. Bradford hit Zach Ertz along the sideline for a crucial conversion. It was perfect placement by the quarterback and a great catch by the tight end to hold on. The Eagles faced 3rd-and-5 in the red zone but couldn't convert and had to settle for a kick. Caleb Sturgis nailed the 31-yard chip shot to give the Eagles the lead.
Dallas answered back with a field goal of their own. Credit Biggers for deflecting a pass intended for Beasley on 3rd-and-6 to force the kick. Huge play.
Philadelphia got the ball back and moved into long field goal range. From 4th-and-8, the Eagles attempted a 53-yard field goal. And Caleb Sturgis actually made it. Wow.
The Cowboys faced 4th-and-5 in their own territory and converted. Byron Maxwell was called for pass interference on Bryant to give Dallas even more yards. Maxwell was flagged again, and it was another debatable call (at best). Both players were battling each other. A holding penalty from Jenkins, which was actually legit, set the Cowboys up for 44-yard field goal. Dan Bailey's attempt went off the left upright and bounced in to force overtime.
The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball first in overtime. The Birds rode Murray hard to get to the middle of the field before Mathews converted a 4th-and-1 to keep Philly's hope alive. The officials originally ruled that Mathews fumbled, but he was clearly down on review. And then, the final play of the game: Bradford connected with Matthews over the middle for the walk off touchdown. GAME.
HUGE win for the Birds.
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Stay tuned for much more Eagles-Cowboys post-game coverage.