Philadelphia Eagles 20, Dallas Cowboys 7
I got my Christmas wish one night early. The Dallas Cowboys will be traveling to New York to play the Giants for the NFC East championship. The loser of that game will go home while the winner will prepare to host a playoff game. While it’s currently scheduled for 1:00 PM next Sunday, it seems likely that it would be flexed into the Sunday Night time slot.
This game was never much of a contest. While Dallas hung around for much of the game, the early injury to Tony Romo’s hand handicapped the Cowboys. Shortly after that injury, the Cowboys found out that the Giants had won, eliminating the Eagles from playoff contention and essentially making this game meaningless in the post-season sense.
Still, we have to mention that the Eagles played a great game. The Cowboys were playing their starters, except at quarterback, and their offense couldn’t manage anything of value. By the same token, I have to wonder how much effort was given by the Cowboys once they found out that the Giants had beaten the Jets.
San Francisco 49ers 19, Seattle Seahawks 17
The Seahawks led the 49ers 10-3 at halftime, but they weren’t able to hold on in one of the days most entertaining games. Special teams set the Seahawks up for a go-ahead touchdown late off of a blocked punt, but a late Tarvaris Jackson fumble ended any chance the Seahawks had of knocking off their division rival.
The 49ers, unlike the Seahawks, had a big stake in this game. The Seahawks needed help to stay in the playoff race, but they didn’t get it. The 49ers needed to win to maintain the 2 seed in the NFC playoff race. It wasn’t pretty, but they were able to get it done late.
A notable facet of the game was that the 49ers’ defense gave up its first rushing touchdown to an opponent all season when Marshawn Lynch scampered in from 4 yards out. He was also the first 100 yard rusher against the 49ers’ defense. The fact that it took this long for those two very routine things to happen against the 49ers is amazing.
The 49ers’ offense was its usual efficient self. Alex Smith turned in very pedestrian numbers, and Frank Gore only managed 83 yards, but they didn’t commit stupid penalties, and they didn’t give away points. That being said, they’ll need bigger performances in the playoffs from both of those guys to turn their very good season into a great season.
Other Game:
San Diego Chargers 10, Detroit Lions 38