The Eagles have signed 26-year old running back Dwayne Wright to a 2-year deal.  He only played one year with the Bills (2007) and he appeared in 15 games in which he carried the ball 29 times for 94 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 17 yards (5.7 avg).  Wright also returned 1 kickoff for 0 yards and he made 3 tackles.  I’m not so sure what the Eagles see in Wright but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

The Philadelphia Eagles looked completely over-matched in their NFC Wild Card loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday.  The Eagles were dominated in the second quarter and they pretty much deserted their running game because of that.  They rushed the ball only 13 times for 56 yards.  Donovan McNabb threw the ball 37 times, completing 19/37 for 230 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception for  QB rating of just 68.5.  If not for a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin, which was thrown by Michael Vick and not McNabb, the Eagles would have been outscored 27-0 in the second quarter.  The Eagles gave the Cowboys a lot of help by turning the ball over 4 times, including 3 fumbles lost by McNabb, Vick, and Leonard Weaver.  The Eagles only had the ball for 20:26 minutes, with the Cowboys having a possession time of 39:34, so the Eagles were dominated in almost every offensive category.

The Eagles defense didn’t do their part either, with the Cowboys laying a beat down on them in the second quarter with 27 points.  Tony Romo, who had never won a postseason game coming into this matchup, looked very comfortable despite the Cowboys sacking him 4 times.  Romo finished with 244 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23/35 passes for a QB rating of 104.9.  All of the turnovers by the offense obviously put the defense into some tough situations, but they barely challenged the Cowboys’ offense.  They let them run all over them with Felix Jones rushing for 148 yards and 1 touchdown on just 16 carries.  The Cowboys finished with 198 rushing yards as a team and had 10 more first downs than the Eagles.  The Cowboys were the better team in this game and this was a very disappointing end to the Eagles’ season.

The Eagles have three QBs on the roster all with starting experience and they are all pretty good.  It all starts with 33-year old Donovan McNabb.  McNabb played in 14 games this season for the Eagles and he has completed 267 of 443 passes (60.3%) for 3,553 yards with 22 TD passes and 10 INTs (92.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 37 times for 140 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD carries this year.  McNabb has now played in 148 games in his career with the Eagles and he has completed 2,801 of 4,746 (59%) passes for 32,873 yards with 216 TD passes and 100 INTs (86.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 573 times for 3,249 yards (5.7 ypc) with 28 TD runs.  A couple more really solid seasons for McNabb would really give him a solid case for making the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

25-year old Kevin Kolb really stepped up this season when McNabb was out due to injury.  He played in 5 games this season for the Eagles and he completed 62 of 96 passes (64.6%) for 741 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (88.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for -1 yard (-0.2 ypc) this year.  Kolb has now played in 12 games in his career with the Eagles and he has completed 79 of 130 passes (60.8%) for 885 yards with 4 TD passes and 7 INTs (68.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 21 times for -1 yard (-0.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Eagles might put Kolb on the trading block around draft day in April but if not he should be a solid back-up to McNabb again in 2010.

29-year old Michael Vick fresh out of jail helped out the Eagles a little bit in 2009.  Vick played in 12 games for the Eagles this season and he completed 6 of 13 passes (46.2%) for 86 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (93.7 QB Rating).  Vick also carried the ball 24 times for 95 yards (4.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs this year.  Vick has now played in 86 games in his NFL career and he has completed 936 of 1,743 passes (53.7%) for 11,591 yards with 72 TD passes and 52 INTs (75.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 553 times for 3,954 yards (7.2 ypc) with 23 TD runs.  I doubt that the Eagles will pick up Vick’s option for 2010 unless they trade Kevin Kolb which I don’t think would be too smart of a move.

The Philadelphia Eagles need to forget about last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys and try to continue their recent postseason dominance over the Cowboys.  It’s hard to forget last week’s 24-0 beat down the Cowboys gave the Eagles, which gave them the NFC East and home-field advantage in this game.  Donovan McNabb will need a much better performance than the 223 yards, zero touchdowns, and a fumble loss he had last week.  He was sacked 4 times too, so the offensive line needs to step it up and protect McNabb.  If not, McNabb needs to use his legs and allusiveness to buy some time and look down field.  The Eagles were one of the best teams at making big plays, so if McNabb and wide-receiver DeSean Jackson can hook up for some deep plays it will be huge for the Eagles.  The Eagles averaged 102 rushing yards per game this season, so if they can get some good production from their running backs, it will make the Cowboys’ pass rush less effective.

The Cowboys offense has been peaking lately, and quarterback Tony Romo is making some great plays for them.  Romo has not had much success in the postseason though, and the pressure has been building each year on him.  So, if the Eagles can get to Romo early and force a turnover it may rattle him.  Romo threw for 4,483 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions while completing 63% of his passes, so he is a very good quarterback.  Romo gets a lot of support from his running game though, with the Cowboys averaging 131 rushing yards per game.  If the Eagles can keep the Cowboys running duo of Marion Barber and Felix Jones in check, it will make a world of difference on how they can attack Romo.  I expect this game to be closer than their matchup last week, but with the Cowboys peaking along with their dominance over the Eagles just a few days ago, I am going to go with the Cowboys in this NFC Wild Card game.

PREDICTION:  Philadelphia Eagles 17, Dallas Cowboys 27

This was a disappointing game for the Philadelphia Eagles (11-5), who were dominated by the Dallas Cowboys (11-5) and lost the NFC East because of it.  They managed to get only 10 first downs and 228 total yards on offense, compared to the Cowboys 474 total yards and 21 first downs.  If the Eagles would have won this game, they would have been NFC East champs with a first round bye as the number two seed in the NFC playoffs.  Instead, the Cowboys are the NFC champions and are the number two seed, while the Eagles dropped to the number six seed.

The Eagles offense just could not get it going in this one, especially their running game.  Brian Westbrook had 5 carries for 17 yards and the Eagles racked up only 37 rushing yards as a team.  They found themselves down early though, with Tony Romo leading the Cowboys to a 17-0 halftime lead.  The Eagles basically quit on the running game and ran it only 10 times throughout.  Donovan McNabb and the passing game were not able to do much either, with McNabb failing to find the endzone.  McNabb finished with 223 yards on 20/36 passes.  The Eagles are going to need to bring a much better effort come playoff time or they will be out quick.