"I saw us slip as a football team the last two weeks, not as a defense, not as an offense and not as coaches," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.
It was the Cowboys' first playoff victory since 1996 and it was the first time the Eagles lost an opening playoff game during Reid's eight trips to the postseason. Dallas (12-5) swept three games from the Eagles for the time in the history of the rivalry.
DeSean Jackson, the Eagles' second-year receiver who made the most bold declarations in the days leading up to the game, was once again a nonfactor unless you count his fourth-quarter touchdown catch that came with his team trailing by 34-7. In the first half, he didn't have a catch.
The Eagles finished the season 11-6 and will have all sorts of issues to sort through in the coming months with the future of quarterback Donovan McNabb at the very top of the list.
Questions about the Eagles' bend-and-break defense must be addressed before the team reconvenes at Lehigh University for the start of training camp this summer.
How much time McNabb has left in Philadelphia can now be debated. How much time McNabb had to throw the football against the Cowboys last night cannot. The Dallas defenders, especially in the first half, were constantly in McNabb's face and the results were disastrous for the offense.
The Eagles finished the opening half with 140 total yards, but that number was deceiving.
Seventy-six of those yards came on one play that gave the Eagles and their fans a brief glimmer of hope against a superior opponent.
