Cowboys Win NFC East, Capture #1 Seed & Home-Field Throughout Playoffs

[CalvinH]

Giants D obviously was the difference...but also the Giants punt team kept the Cowboys having to play from deep in their own territory.

[polychronopolous]

The Dallas Cowboys just got a huge Christmas gift when the Philadelphia Eagles upset the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. With the loss by the Giants, Dallas has captured the NFC East crown. In addition, they are now the #1 seed for the NFC playoffs meaning that they will have a first-round bye and they will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC will go through Dallas.

The Giants were a red-hot team until tonight, when Eli Manning became ‘Bad Eli’ and threw three interceptions to a struggling Eagles squad. Crucial penalties hurt the Giants cause and the Eagles took advantage.

Last year the Cowboys were an abysmal 4-12 and finished last in the NFC East. This year, they are 12-2 at this point of the season and newly-crowned champs. They now have to decide how to play the final two games of the season. They don’t want to take their foot completely off the gas pedal, but they also want to be smart about who they play and how much they play. There are plenty of injured guys who could use a couple weeks rest before they play again.

[Grape Ape]

Giants were awful - defense looked in slow motion the first few sets, Eli was awful.

A couple really bad calls (Apple's 15 yarder, non PI call on Shepard) were crucial, but the Giants should have never been in a spot where that mattered.

NFC road to the SB is so much more difficult than the AFC - Dallas / Atl / GB / Seattle / NYG all tough opponents.

[polychronopolous]

Giants were awful - defense looked in slow motion the first few sets, Eli was awful.

A couple really bad calls (Apple's 15 yarder, non PI call on Shepard) were crucial, but the Giants should have never been in a spot where that mattered.

NFC road to the SB is so much more difficult than the AFC - Dallas / Atl / GB / Seattle / NYG all tough opponents.

They had a bad game but The Giants are still a dangerous team with that defense.

I would favor them over The Falcons or Lions. I don't know about the Packers though...they are looking pretty solid right now. That one is closer to a coin flip.

Carson Wentz is going to be the real deal though. You can see all the tools. Even showed some decent scrambling ability last night.

[polychronopolous]

Agreed. Could potentially get Defensive MVP votes and still not make Pro Bowl roster.

Cowboys' Tony Romo: 'Sean Lee is best linebacker in NFL'



FRISCO, Texas -- Considering the season Sean Lee has had for the Dallas Cowboys, it’s hard to imagine him not being named to the Pro Bowl.

By the Cowboys’ coaches’ count, Lee has a team-high 168 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three quarterback pressures, two pass deflections and a fumble recovery. The game before votes from across the league were tallied, Lee had 22 tackles, a franchise record, in a prime-time game against the New York Giants.

Tackles, however, are an unofficial NFL stat because the numbers can vary from team to team. Using the press box stats, Lee is second in the NFL to Bobby Wagner of the Seattle Seahawks, 140 to 145.

Wagner and Luke Kuechly were named the inside or middle linebackers. Kuechly has missed four games because of a concussion for the Carolina Panthers.

At outside linebacker, Vic Beasley Jr., Ryan Kerrigan and Thomas Davis were selected. Beasley and Kerrigan are outside linebackers in 3-4 defenses, essentially defensive ends. Davis, like Lee, plays weakside linebacker for the Panthers.

Teammates, present and past, stated their case for Lee’s candidacy.

“Sean not being voted into the Pro Bowl is a huge mistake,” Tony Romo said via text message. “I think Sean Lee is the best linebacker in the NFL. I see him every day and should know his weaknesses. I still can’t find any.”

Lee was added to the Pro Bowl last season as an injury replacement. He will likely be added again, although he should have earned the honor from the outset.

But if the Cowboys’ season goes the way they want it to go, then Lee and the five Cowboys picked -- Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin -- won’t play in the all-star game. They will be getting ready for Super Bowl LI in Houston.

Lee would much prefer that to a spot in the Pro Bowl.

[polychronopolous]

Merry Zekemas! Ezekiel Elliott gives O-linemen UTVs

If you're a human with friends and/or family this holiday season, you're obligated to exchange gifts of any and all sizes. A small tchotchke means just as much as a luxury car fully equipped with a stupid-big bow and an attractive, well-dressed family.

If you're a record-setting rookie running back on football's most popular team heading to the postseason with home-field advantage, well, your holiday gesture has to be big. Texas big.

Ezekiel Elliott delivered the goods on Friday, when he surprised his offensive line, one that paved the way for his league-leading 1,511 rushing yards and is regarded as the best in football, with a slew of Utility Task Vehicles (UTV).

We already knew that Elliott was a giving chap -- he jumped in a red bucket and suddenly Salvation Army donations increased by 41 percent. But this, this is something else. You don't often see a rookie give back to the big heavies with such a display.

Elliott made less than $500K in base salary this season, according to Spotrac. Of course, his signing bonus was over $4 million (there's way more where that came from) and he's likely got 97 endorsement deals coming his way in the offseason. But still, five UTVs is a hefty bill for a 21-year-old.

But now that Travis Frederick and Co. have their John Deere off-roading vehicles, the only question left is whether the O-line can mow down their postseason competition.

[polychronopolous]

'Boys Blast Lions 42-21 To Tie Franchise Record; Send Message To Rest of NFL

The Dallas Cowboys improved to 13-2 with last night's win over the Detroit Lions, equaling the franchise record for most wins in a season.





The Dallas Cowboys, already assured of home field advantage throughout the playoffs, didn't let up in a 42-21 rout of Detroit that prevented the Lions from clinching their own NFL post-season berth.

Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott on Monday passed for 212 yards and three touchdowns, wide receiver Dez Bryant caught two TD passes and threw one more and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliot rushed for 80 yards and two scores as Dallas improved to 13-2 with one game left in the regular season.

It's just the third time in Cowboys history that they have won 13 games. It happened in 1992, in the run-up to a Super Bowl title. They also won 13 in 2007, but fell to the New York Giants in the playoffs.

Prescott's 13th win of the season matched Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger for the most in NFL history by a rookie QB.

It was a sign of just how comfortable the Cowboys were feeling that Bryant threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jason Witten as part of Dallas's third-quarter offensive explosion.

On first-and-goal from the Detroit 10 yard line, Bryant took a pitch going to his left. Just before he reached the line of scrimmage Bryant tossed the ball to a wide-open Witten in the end zone.

Bryant became the first Cowboy since Danny White in 1985 to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the same game.

The unexpected play put an exclamation point on a dominant third quarter.

Tied 21-21 at halftime, Dallas outscored the Lions 14-0 in the third.

Cowboys safety J.J. Wilcox ended Detroit's first possession of the second half with an interception of Matthew Stafford.

Dallas stopped the Lions' second series of the third quarter at the Lions 36, and Detroit kicker Matt Prater missed a 47-yard field goal on the Lions' third and final offensive drive of the quarter.

The Cowboys answered Prater's miss with a 63-yard, seven-play drive capped by Prescott's 19-yard scoring pass to Bryant that put the Cowboys up 42-21 with 12:12 remaining.

Stafford finished 26 of 46 for 260 yards and one interception. Detroit running back Zach Zenner ran for two touchdowns.

Bryant's one-handed touchdown catch with Lions cornerback Johnson Bademosi all over him tied the game at 21-21 going into halftime.

The Lions had scored on their first three possessions to take a 21-14 lead with 7:40 remaining in the opening half.

The Cowboys had been first on the board thanks to Prescott's 21-yard touchdown pass to Brice Butler and Elliot's 55-yard touchdown run had put them up 14-7 in the second quarter.

While the 9-6 Lions missed a chance to secure a playoff berth, they can still do so next Sunday when they play the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North division crown.

[polychronopolous]

[polychronopolous]

[Grape Ape]

My ideal scenario is the Lions win the division, then the Giants have the path of Detroit then Dallas to the NFC championship game.

Not that I think Dallas is weak, quite the opposite.  It's just that the Giants match up well with them, and I think a rookie QB can get frazzled in the playoffs, and I've seen him also get rattled by the Giants pash rush.

[polychronopolous]

My ideal scenario is the Lions win the division, then the Giants have the path of Detroit then Dallas to the NFC championship game.

Not that I think Dallas is weak, quite the opposite.  It's just that the Giants match up well with them, and I think a rookie QB can get frazzled in the playoffs, and I've seen him also get rattled by the Giants pash rush.

Giants vs. Packers = Game of The Week

[Grape Ape]

Giants vs. Packers = Game of The Week

Hoping the Giants exploit the decimated Packers secondary and win.

But yeah, that's the game of the week.

[polychronopolous]

Hoping the Giants exploit the decimated Packers secondary and win.

But yeah, that's the game of the week.

I just checked the betting line.

Packers favored by 7.5!  

No respect for the G-Men.

EDIT: Must have checked the wrong site. I'm now seeing 4.5.

Still a tough row to hoe for the Giants. Rodgers has been on fire here lately.

[Grape Ape]

I just checked the betting line.

Packers favored by 7.5!  

No respect for the G-Men.

EDIT: Must have checked the wrong site. I'm now seeing 4.5.

Still a tough row to hoe for the Giants. Rodgers has been on fire here lately.

Yeah, it opened up at 6.5-7, so if it's at 4.5, a lot of "smart money" went to the Giants.   I like that.

I'm not taking anything for granted.  Rodgers has been beastly. 

[Grape Ape]

Hail Mary, dropped pass, Rainey play.

14 point swing between that.

Poor play calling and poor play.

Good luck Poly and Earl.

[Earl1972]

dallas kardashians down 21 -3 in the 2nd quarter

E

[NickEdge779]

Holy shit... this comeback is real... I hope cowboys can pull off the win. 28-28 with 4 minutes to go! Cant believe they got the 2 point conversion. That spin move by Zeke on Clay Mathews was golden that led to the touchdown.

[polychronopolous]

All in all a tough loss for the Cowboys.

I like what I seen from Dak though...that guy showed a lot of poise and is going to be the real deal.

But Aaron Rodgers? Wow, just incredible.