QUICK SLANTS
How ’bout them Cowboys? It’s all coming up Dallas after bad start ... With Rams and Texans on the way, it’s not looking good for Eagles ... Browns going places next year
It’s now all but certain the NFL will crown a new champion this year.
And don’t laugh, but it could be the Dallas Cowboys.
After a 3-5 start, the Cowboys won their fifth straight on Sunday, dramatically edging the Philadelphia Eagles 29-23 in overtime.
At 6-7, Philadelphia is in real danger of missing the playoffs 10 months after winning the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, have everything going their way. The lucky bounce they received on the game winning touchdown is an example of that.
Dak Prescott’s throw went off the hand of Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas and popped up in the air. Amari
Cooper reached over, grabbed it, said thank you very much and strolled into the end zone.
It was Cooper’s third TD in a day that saw him catch 10 passes for a career high 217 yards.
You’ll have to excuse him if he’s a little excited about no longer being an Oakland Raider.
“I’ve been running a lot of slants .. the guy knew I was running a slant,” Cooper told sideline reporter Erin
Andrews of the winning score. “I just stayed with the ball, and thank God ... thank God.”
Asked what it’s been like being a Cowboy, since acquired on Oct. 22 from the Raiders, Cooper replied: “It’s been a dream come true ... it’s exciting.”
At 8-5, the Cowboys are going to win the NFC East. They’re probably going to host a wild card game (they’re 6-1 at home) and if they get past that the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints and yeah, maybe even the Chicago Bears will be waiting for them.
And yes, the powerhouse teams in the AFC might even be stronger.
It won’t be easy, but everything is coming up Cowboys these days, so who’s to say it can’t continue?
Who really believed the Eagles would win last year?
SIDELINE TO SIDELINE
The Eagles need to win out. They are in Los Angeles to play the Rams next week, then host the Texans in Philly after that. By the time they end their season in Washington, they’ll be done ... Tom Brady’s record collection remains the same size after he broke one NFL mark and had one of his own erased. In the second quarter against Miami, the 41-year old Patriots quarterback connected with Julian
Edelman on a two-yard toss that was the 580th TD pass of his illustrious career. That’s the most in NFL history, one more than Peyton Manning
... Meanwhile, in Green Bay,
Aaron Rodgers broke Brady’s record early in the second half against Atlanta when he threw his 359th consecutive pass without an interception. Six throws earlier, Falcons linebacker Deion James dropped a Rodgers pass that was right in his hands ... Liked the graphic showing that, entering the day, Pat Mahomes’ 41 TD passes this season equalled the number thrown by Rodgers and Brady combined. The updated score: Rookie MVP 43, Legends 46 .... That the Colts stayed alive by ending the Texans winning streak with a victory in Houston is simply shocking — only because the same Colts were shut out by the Jags last week. How could you win that bet?
SPLITTING THE UPRIGHTS
Former Ottawa Redblacks kicker Brett Maher set a Cowboys franchise record with a 62-yard field goal ... So Robert
Griffin III had thrown just four passes all season — after none last year — when the Ravens decided to put the ball in his hands against the Chiefs. On third and 22 in overtime and with any real hope of first in the AFC North on the line, they replaced Lamar Jackson with RG III. It seemed like an unfair move, bordering on stupid, by John Harbaugh ...Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray will be the first Heisman winner not to play pro football since 2003, when former Sooners QB Jason
White, who simply wasn’t good enough for the NFL. Murray told reporters last week that he’d like to play both football and baseball, but agent Scott Boras reminded him of a contract he has with the Oakland A’s that allowed him to finish his Sooners career but calls for him to report to A’s for spring training. Probably not a bad call. Murray, who was selected ninth overall in the 2018 MLB draft, is only 5-foot-9 ... The 49ers played spoilers to the Broncos with a crushing 20-14 victory ... Why they play the games - the Raiders beat the Steelers 24-21 for their third win of the season .. The Lions went into Arizona and best the Cardinals 17-3? Did you catch the game on DAZN? If so, why?
EXTRA POINTS
For some reason, the commercial with the Cowboys fan and Eagles fan in the elevator really makes me laugh ... On most lists of best tight ends ever, Tony Gonzalez sits about the rest — and on many of them, the rest does not include Travis Kelce. It’s time to re-write some lists. On Sunday, Kelce became the first tight end in NFL history to have three straight seasons of at least 80 catches and 1,000 yards. Not say that makes him the best ever, but Gonzalez only eclipsed the 1,000 mark four times in his 17 seasons ...
Tony Romo, after Patrick Mahomes fumbled in OT: “What is going on in this game?”Jim Nantz: “Around the league what is going on?” ... Mahomes expects the Ravens to still make the playoffs and possibly meet K.C. again ... Tyreek Hill is the most exciting player in the league. Against the Ravens he had eight catches for 139 yards while playing on bad heel. “Him on one foot is faster than a lot of guys,” said Mahomes. “I’ll take that any day.” ... Two teams that looked like contenders continued their deep dives when Carolina lost in Cleveland (2620) and the Falcons fell 34-20 to the Packers at Lambeau. Cleveland is 5-7-1 and still has a mathematical chance of winning the division. If it’s not this year (and it won’t be), watch for Baker Mayfield to bring the Brownies to the playoffs next.