Vin+ 3,121 Posted December 28, 2013 http://hosted.stats.com/fb/preview.asp?g=20131229006&home=6&vis=21 (AP) -- As brutal a blow as it may be to lose Tony Romo just before an NFC East-deciding season finale, the Dallas Cowboys can't do any worse than the ones in which he's played. Now it's the Philadelphia Eagles' turn as the team trying to extend that misery. The Cowboys' other two NFC East foes beat them in a division-title-or-bust showdown to close the past two regular seasons, and their hopes of avoiding the same fate Sunday night against the visiting Eagles will depend heavily on Kyle Orton instead of Romo. "The more times you put yourself in these situations, you have to keep getting better," said Romo, 1-6 in elimination games. "You have to have a stronger belief in yourself than the doubt of other people." Now there's no doubt Romo will be on the bench for this one. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Romo underwent back surgery Friday after getting hurt in last Sunday's 24-23 comeback win over Washington. That leaves Orton starting Sunday's matchup with the winner claiming the East title and the loser failing to qualify for the playoffs. The Eagles would take the crown if there's a tie. "We've been operating as if Kyle Orton is going to be our starting quarterback," Garrett said. "At the same time we were trying to do whatever we could to see if we could help Tony and get him back as quickly as possible. We just felt like this was the best course of action." Romo is 0-3 in regular-season finales with the division title at stake. The first of those defeats came in Philadelphia, 44-6 in 2008. Romo had three interceptions in last year's 28-18 loss at Washington following a 31-14 defeat to the New York Giants to close the 2011 season. That's also the last day Orton started a regular-season game - with Kansas City - and he would sign with Dallas (8-7) a few months later. He's never led a team to the postseason and hasn't started a late-season game with playoff implications since going 0-4 to close 2009 as Denver was eliminated. "I don't think the offense changes too much with one or the other," Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis said. "I think we're prepared for both of them, and we're prepared to give the Dallas Cowboys the absolute best no matter who is the quarterback." While Orton has plenty of experience - he's 35-34 in nine NFL seasons - a game of this magnitude is new territory for counterpart Nick Foles. His worst performance of the season came against Dallas on Oct. 20 in his second game as Philadelphia's starter. Foles went 11 of 29 for 80 yards and left with a concussion at the end of the third quarter in a 17-3 loss. "I know everybody is going to dwell on last time, but this game isn't the last game," said Foles, now the league's top-rated passer. "If I look into every little thing that I did and try to break it down, I'll drive myself crazy as well. ... We did not play well, but from that game we've grown together as a team." Foles would return after sitting out one game to win six of seven, and he's at 22 touchdown passes in nine starts (25 overall) with just two interceptions. The one loss was a shocker, 48-30 to a last-place Minnesota team, but it may have come with a good lesson leading into this game - at least for the defense. Backup quarterback Matt Cassel threw for 382 yards as the Vikings became the first team in 10 games to score more than 21 points against Philadelphia despite missing injured MVP Adrian Peterson. The Eagles (9-6) will see another veteran backup this week in Orton. Romo went 28 of 47 for 317 yards against them in Week 7. "There are still 10 other guys out there that are going to be the same and we have to prepare for," linebacker Connor Barwin said. "Obviously, we'll watch the tape we have on Kyle Orton. He does some things differently that we'll try to prepare for, but it's still the same offense that Dallas will run. They're not going to change everything because of the quarterback the last week of the season." Dez Bryant had eight receptions for 110 yards in the first meeting and enters this one having caught a touchdown pass in four straight games. The absence of Romo could mean an increased workload for DeMarco Murray, who has run for 614 yards and six touchdowns over the last six games while averaging 5.8 per carry. The Eagles have held their last four opponents under 100 yards rushing. Murray missed the first matchup with a knee injury while Dallas held LeSean McCoy to 55 yards on 18 carries. The Cowboys, though, have since given up an average of 150.6 rushing yards. McCoy pushed his league-leading total to 1,476 rushing yards with 133 last Sunday in a 54-11 win over Chicago. He ran for two TDs and Foles threw for a pair while going 21 of 25 for 230 yards. That game was virtually meaningless after Dallas won at Washington earlier in the day on Romo's 10-yard touchdown pass to Murray on fourth down with 1:08 to go. Romo finished 17 of 27 for 226 yards. Orton has completed 12 of 15 passes for 129 yards in two years with Dallas. "I think the guys have got a lot of confidence in me. I've got a lot of confidence in myself," Orton said. "I can fall back on my experience. I've played a lot of games in this league. I don't feel I have to do too much with the ball, just get it to 29 (Murray), 82 (Jason Witten) and 88 (Bryant)." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradyFan81 404 Posted December 28, 2013 I think the Eagles win by 14+ points. They're only favored by 7, they should win by way more than that. The Cowboys defense sucks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted December 28, 2013 I think the Eagles win by 14+ points. They're only favored by 7, they should win by way more than that. The Cowboys defense sucks. Our defense can be pretty awful at times, though, due to our secondary. This has shootout potential. It's a de facto playoff game, so it'll come down to turnovers and red zone performance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted December 30, 2013 Dez Bryant (back) is active for Sunday night's Week 17 game against the Eagles. Bryant has been dealing with back issues all season, but his status was never in doubt. The Cowboys inactives are QB Tony Romo, OT Darrion Weems, LB Sean Lee, CB B.W. Webb, LB Ernie Sims, S Jakar Hamilton, and DE Martez Wilson. Eagles S Earl Wolff (knee) is inactive for Sunday night's Week 17 game against the Cowboys. Wolff suffered a setback with his knee last week and was listed as questionable on the injury report. Nate Allen and Patrick Chung will start at safety in his absence. The rest of the Eagles inactives are QB Matt Barkley, S Colt Anderson, CB Curtis Marsh, RB Matthew Tucker, OL Julian Vandervelde and OT Dennis Kelly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FartWaffles 1,857 Posted December 30, 2013 Orton is Romo... Romo is Orton!!! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBen07 285 Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) And Romo's spirit lives on. Edited December 30, 2013 by BigBen07 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted December 30, 2013 What happens when you double 9? You get an even worse game ending pick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted December 30, 2013 I can't think of a more cruel way for Dallas to be eliminated... Just when you thought you didn't have to worry about game clinching INTs -- Orton goes out there and gets Romo'd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted December 30, 2013 Un-fucking-believable. This team was a total mess a year ago, and now we're in the playoffs. Crazy. What happens from here is gravy. New Orleans can beat us 60-0 and I'll be all In all seriousness, Dallas played a great football game tonight. I was frustrated as hell with our defense's inability to get any pass rush on Orton, but they held Dallas to field goals instead of touchdowns, and that ended up being the difference. Onto the playoffs. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted December 30, 2013 The Cowboys are cursed. The ghost of Troy Aikman will forever haunt this franchise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanbrock 1,684 Posted December 30, 2013 Anyone still think Murray is on McCoy's level...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted December 30, 2013 Anyone still think Murray is on McCoy's level...? Hopefully no one thinks that, but he certainly is a special talent. I'd like to see him in an offense where he'd be unleashed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maverick 791 Posted December 30, 2013 Anyone still think Murray is on McCoy's level...? He's not on McCoy's level, but he's right behind him. Like Steven said, we just don't unleash him because we're dumbasses. Any idiot that watches this guy run knows he's a top back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanbrock 1,684 Posted January 1, 2014 Anyone still think Murray is on McCoy's level...? Hopefully no one thinks that, but he certainly is a special talent. I'd like to see him in an offense where he'd be unleashed. Actually I'm pleased with results as they are Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
