Cowboys Run over Eagles, Take 1st in Nfc East with 37-10 Win

Ezekiel Elliott powered into the Philadelphia secondary and simply ran over safety Malcolm Jenkins.

The apparent 14-yard touchdown run by the star Dallas running back was overturned on review because his knee was down at the 1 but the message had been sent early in a game with the division lead on the line.

The Cowboys (4-3) are back in control of the NFC East after ending a three-game losing streak that clouded the high expectations for the defending division champions following a 3-0 start.

Elliott got his touchdown the play after overpowering Jenkins on his way to 111 yards, Dak Prescott threw an easy scoring pass on a great fake to his backfield mate before a late TD run and the Cowboys rolled to a 37-10 victory over the Eagles on Sunday night.

“That’s how I play every week,” Elliott said.
“I like to think of the defense as a shield.
In the first quarter, you hit them a couple of times, you dent the shield a little bit.
You keep on hitting it.”

Prescott’s 8-yard scoring run for the final points broke Roger Staubach’s club record of 20 rushing TDs by a quarterback and sent the Cowboys into their open week feeling good after a week of talk that coach Jason Garrett’s job might be on the line.

Next time out, they’ll be going for a season sweep of the New York Giants and possibly a firmer hold on first in the NFC East.

“No doubt in my mind about how we were going to come out and perform tonight,” Prescott said.
“We didn’t panic.
We didn’t have to say everything hit the fan, let’s start over.
We doubled down on who we are and just got better.”

Carson Wentz threw an interception and had two of Philadelphia’s three lost fumbles.
The Eagles (3-4) dropped their second straight game after a two-game winning streak that looked like it might get their season going.

“A little embarrassed,” Wentz said.
“We didn’t show up.”

Brett Maher finished the highest-scoring half against Doug Pederson since he became coach of the Eagles in 2016, kicking a 63-yarder on the final play before halftime for a 27-7 lead.

Maher is the first kicker in NFL history with three field goals of at least 60 yards and all three have been at least 62.
He kicked a 62-yarder last week against the New York Jets.
Maher’s other from 62 was against the Eagles last season, his first in the league.

Pederson had to clarify during the week that he wasn’t guaranteeing a win after saying on his radio show that his team would go down to Dallas, win the game and fly home in the first place.

And the coach tried to reverse Philadelphia’s trend of slow starts by taking the ball after winning the coin flip, just the second time in 33 winning flips that Pederson hasn’t deferred in order to start the second half on offense.

It backfired when the Eagles fumbled on their first two possessions, leading to a pair of touchdowns after the Cowboys got the ball on the opponent’s side of the 50 for the first two times this season.

Before that, Dallas was the only team in the NFL that hadn’t started a drive on the favorable side of midfield.

“I feel like he got a statement today, and so we’re going to let him go sleep on it,” said defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, whose sack of Wentz created the second turnover.

Dallas Goedert fumbled on a hit from Jaylon Smith at the end of an 8-yard catch on the opening possession, and Maliek Collins recovered at the Philadelphia 45.
Five plays later, receiver Tavon Austin took an option pitch 20 yards for the score.

After Wentz fumbled on the sack by Lawrence, and Antwaun Woods recovered, Elliott ran over Jenkins on the next play, then scored from the 1 after this initial TD was overturned.

“It starts with me,” Pederson said.
“This is one of those games that I take personal from that standpoint.
I’ve got to get that fixed.”

The Cowboys answered the only touchdown from Eagles Wentz’s 28-yard pass to Goedert when Prescott faked a handoff to Elliott from the 1 and threw to a wide-open Blake Jarwin in the end zone for a 21-7 lead.

Prescott was 21 of 27 for 239 yards with a touchdown and an interception and had another 30 yards rushing.
Amari Cooper caught five passes for 106 yards after missing most of a loss to the previously winless Jets with a thigh injury.

Wentz was 16 of 26 for 191 yards and the Cowboys held the Eagles to 283 yards after letting second-year Jets quarterback Sam Darnold have one of his best games as a pro last week.

GROUND CONTROL

Dallas finished with 189 yards rushing, 116 more than the average that the league’s No. 2 run defense was allowing.

Elliott, the last back to get 100 yards against the Eagles, did it again on 22 carries.
The two-time NFL rushing champion is averaging 115 yards in five games against his division rival.
It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season.

NFL INJURIES

Dallas linebacker Leighton Vander Esch didn’t return after injuring his neck in the first half.
He walked off the field after staying down for a few minutes.
Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn had a sack in the first half before leaving with a rib injury.


UP NEXT

Eagles: At Buffalo next Sunday.

Cowboys: At the Giants on Monday, Nov. 4.

source: usa.inquirer.net

Justin Timberlake salutes Prince in Super Bowl halftime dance party

Justin Timberlake danced his way through a club-inspired Super Bowl halftime show Sunday as he paid tribute to Prince in the late singer’s hometown with a towering yet tasteful projection.

After fevered speculation on whether or how Timberlake would salute the icon as the Super Bowl came to Minneapolis, the pop star obliged midway through his performance.

“Minneapolis, this is for you,” Timberlake told the crowd as he sat down to a piano, the field bathed in purple light.

As Timberlake slowed down the tempo for a soulful cover of “I Would Die 4 U,” footage of “Purple Rain”-era Prince shot up toward the roof of the new US Bank Stadium in a smoky haze, closing with a silhouette of The Purple One with his guitar.

But Prince, who died in April 2016 of an accidental overdose, did not “perform” in a hologram — as some fans had feared — and the segment, while memorable, amounted to a fleeting moment of the up-tempo show.

There was also no naked “wardrobe malfunction” of the type that marred Timberlake’s last appearance 14 years ago, when he joined Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl — by far the most watched US television event of the year.

While many Super Bowl performers go heavy on pyrotechnics, Timberlake instead showed off his dancing skills, opening the show in a nightclub-like maze of lasers as he sang his recent single “Filthy.”

Timberlake then strutted into the stadium with his mic in hand, leading a squad of dancers — and matching them step for step — as he sang a medley of his best-known songs including “SexyBack.”

He rose to center stage and sang “Suit and Tie” with back-up from the appropriately attired University of Minnesota marching band, who moved to the music with their instruments doubling as props.

How to honor Prince?  

Timberlake has described Prince as a “huge influence” on him, but his Super Bowl tribute had generated controversy even before it happened.

The celebrity gossip site TMZ earlier said that Timberlake was considering a Prince hologram, horrifying many fans.

Sheila E., one of Prince’s closest collaborators, said late Saturday that she had spoken to Timberlake who voiced “heartfelt words of respect” for The Purple One — and assured no hologram.

Prince had a famously complicated relationship with technology, with the artist among the first stars to embrace the possibilities of online music but eventually becoming disgruntled over the internet’s cultural effects.

In a 1998 interview with Guitar World, Prince said he would never want to “perform” with a dead artist such as Duke Ellington through digital effects, calling such lack of artistic control for a late musician “the most demonic thing imaginable.”

In Timberlake’s last Super Bowl appearance in 2004, he entered as the surprise guest of headliner Jackson and swiped his hand across her chest — exposing one of her breasts.

A scandalized TV-watching nation saw Jackson’s nipple — well, covered with a metal nipple shield — and broadcaster CBS was fined $550,000 for indecency.

Jackson took to social media ahead of the latest Super Bowl to make clear she was not coming back for a do-over.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Foles, Eagles outshoot Patriots for 1st Super Bowl

MINNEAPOLIS — The Philadelphia Eagles’ flight from last to first ended up with a Lombardi Trophy.

In a record-setting shootout between Nick Foles and Tom Brady of the favored New England Patriots, the backup quarterback led a pressure-packed 75-yard drive to the winning touchdown, 11 yards to Zach Ertz with 2:21 to go Sunday night. Then a defense that had been shredded throughout the second half made two final stands to win 41-33.

Brandon Graham strip-sacked Brady and Derek Barnett recovered, setting up rookie Jake Elliot’s 46-yard field goal for an 8-point lead.

Brady got his team to midfield, but his desperation pass fell to the ground in the end zone.

The underdog Eagles (16-3), even injured starting quarterback Carson Wentz, came bolting off the sideline in ecstasy while Brady sat on the ground, disconsolate.

“For us, it was all about one stop we had to make. We went out here and made that one stop,” Graham said.

It was the first Super Bowl title for Philadelphia (16-3), which went from 7-9 last season to the franchise’s first NFL title since 1960.

“If there’s a word (it’s) called everything,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said. “That’s what it means to Eagles fans everywhere. And for Eagles fans everywhere, this is for them.”

Super Bowl MVP Foles orchestrated the victory with the kind of drive NFL MVP Brady, a five-time champion, is known for. The drive covered 14 plays, including a fourth-down conversion.

“I felt calm. I mean, we have such a great group of guys, such a great coaching staff,” Foles said. “We felt confident coming in, and we just went out there and played football.”

The Eagles had to survive a video replay because ball pop into the air as Ertz crossed the goal line.

“If they would have overturned that, I don’t know what would have happened to the city of Philadelphia,” Ertz said. “But I’m so glad they didn’t overturn it.”

The touchdown stood — and so did thousands of green-clad Eagles fans who weren’t going to mind the frigid conditions outside US Bank Stadium once they headed out to celebrate. But not before a rousing rendition of “Fly Eagles Fly” reverberated throughout the stands once the trophy was presented to Lurie. Later, fans danced along with the “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from “Rocky,” the city’s best-known fictional underdog.

The Patriots (15-4) seemed ready to take their sixth championship with Brady and coach Bill Belichick in eight Super Bowls. Brady threw for a game-record 505 yards and three TDs, hitting Rob Gronkowski for 4 yards before Stephen Gostkowski’s extra point gave New England its first lead, 33-32.

Then Foles made them forget Wentz — and least for now — with the gutsiest drive of his life, including a fourth-down conversion to Ertz at midfield.

Foles has been something of a journeyman in his six pro seasons, but he has been spectacular in four career playoff games. He finished 28 of 43 for 373 yards and three TDs.

The combined 1,151 yards were the most in any modern NFL game, and Brady’s 505 were the most in any playoff contest. The 40-year-old master finished 28 of 48 and picked apart the Eagles until the final two series.

It was such a wild game that Foles caught a touchdown pass, and Brady was on the opposite end of a Danny Amendola throw that went off his fingertips.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson brought home the championship in his second year in charge. Belichick is 5-3 in Super Bowls and his teams have only a plus-4 overall margin in those games.

So this one was in keeping with that trend: breathtaking and even a bit bizarre.

Brady and the Patriots looked more like five-time champions by opening the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive. Gronkowski was unstoppable, grabbing four passes for 69 yards, including the 5-yard score.

Philly didn’t flinch, answering with a precise 75-yard march and three more third-down conversions; the Eagles were 10 for 16. The last was on Foles’ perfect pass to Clement over double coverage. The rookie’s reception was upheld by review, and the Eagles were back on top by 10.

Brady shrugged and, getting steadfast protection, went over 400 yards passing on the next TD drive. Chris Hogan scored from the 26 as he turned around safety Rodney McLeod.

When all the Eagles could manage was Elliott’s 42-yarder for a 32-26 lead, it seemed inevitable the Patriots would go in front, then become the first repeat Super Bowl winner since they did it in the 2004 and ’05 games.

Foles, Ertz, and — at last — a revitalized defense said otherwise.

The weird image of Brady ambling downfield on a pass pattern came three plays after New England lost receiver Brandin Cooks to a concussion on a vicious but clean hit by Malcolm Jenkins in the second quarter. Amendola’s pass required an over-the-shoulder grab and the ball fell off Brady’s outstretched hands.

When he got back to what he has done better than anyone in Super Bowls, Brady led a 90-yard drive following an equally strange play. Alshon Jeffery nearly made a spectacular attempt near the Patriots’ goal line, only to juggle the ball into the air while off-balance. Duron Harmon picked it off at the 10. Moments later, Brady was connecting with Chris Hogan for 42 yards.

James White broke several tackles with a brilliant 26-yard run and it was 15-12. That gave White seven touchdowns in his past three postseason games, including the overtime winner last year.

But the Eagles still had 2:04 left in the half — and some more magic in their bag.

A short third-down throw to rookie Corey Clement on a circle route turned into a 55-yard explosion down to the Patriots 8. Philly got to the 1 and on fourth down, it was Foles’ turn to morph into a receiver.

He did better than Brady. On fourth down, Clement took a direct snap, pitched to tight end Trey Burton, and the former Florida QB hit an uncovered Foles. The Eagles were up 22-12 at halftime, the most points New England has allowed in the opening half of a Super Bowl under Belichick.

Each team started with 67-yard drives to field goals — New England had never scored a first-quarter point with Brady in a Super Bowl.

Each kicker later faltered, with Elliott missing the extra point, his fifth failed PAT this season, after Jeffery’s 34-yard touchdown. Then Gostkowski hit the left upright with a 26-yard field goal after holder Ryan Allen mishandled the snap. Gostkowski also missed an extra point.

When LeGarrette Blount, who won the title last season with the Patriots, scored on a 21-yard burst, Pederson went for 2, but the pass failed, making it 15-3.

The Eagles and Pederson brushed it off and stayed with their usual aggressive approach. Breathtakingly, it eventually paid off.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NFL: Eagles prevent Giants from clinching playoff spot

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia beat the contending New York Giants 24-19 on Thursday to hand Dallas the AFC East title and put the Giants’ playoff ambitions in jeopardy.

Malcolm Jenkins had the second two-interception game of his eight-year career, returning one for a touchdown, and the Eagles snapped a five-game slide.

It put the Giants (10-5) in a more difficult spot to end a four-season playoff drought. They still hold the top wild-card position heading into their last regular-season game at Washington.

New York can still clinch a playoff spot this weekend if Detroit, Green Bay, Tampa Bay or Atlanta loses.

New York quarterback Eli Manning was inconsistent with his throws all night. On Jenkins’ second interception, the throw was woefully short.

The Giants came up short because they fell behind early and didn’t catch up.

The return of Philadelphia (5-9) right tackle Lane Johnson from a 10-game suspension paid dividends immediately. Twice Johnson wiped out the left side of New York’s defensive line, with his block helping spring Darren Sproles for a 25-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

It was 14-0 1:28 later when Manning’s short pass to Will Tye was way too soft. Jenkins cut in front of the tight end to intercept and then romped down the right side for a 34-yard score.

Two field goals by Giants kicker Robbie Gould trimmed the deficit but Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz found the seldom-used Nelson Agholor wide open for a 40-yard touchdown and a 21-6 edge.

Manning finally found his touch on the last drive of the first half, with a 29-yard connection to Victor Cruz keying an 84-yard mark. Shepard slipped past Jenkins’ bump at the line to score from 13 yards for a 21-13 deficit.

It was all field goals in the second half — and some more imprecise throws by Manning.

The Giants had a late chance to snatch victory when they got the ball back with 1:31 left but Terrence Brooks made an interception with 5 seconds to go to seal the result.

source: sports.inquirer.net