'Inside The NFL's' Brandon Marshall: Cowboys 'Too Strong' For Eagles To Win NFC East
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Sunday night's 37-10 loss to the rival Dallas Cowboys may be the worst loss of the Doug Pederson era. Pederson himself said that it was "one of two" in terms of the worst losses he has suffered since becoming the team's head coach.
But, despite the loss and the feeling of general despair about the team at the moment, they are still just one game back in the division at 3-4. That leaves the question open of whether winning the division is still a possibility. For Inside The NFL analyst Brandon Marshall, the Eagles certainly still have a shot at bringing home the division title, but he is too impressed by what the Cowboys have done to consider the team true contenders.
"This division is known to beat up on each other. It's a tough division. But I just think the Cowboys are too strong," said Marshall. "I like the Eagles, I like their grit. Over the years, they've been a team that's able to bounce back from losses or tough times. A lot of teams fold. So if anybody can do it, the Eagles can. But I'm too high on the Cowboys to even consider the Eagles winning."
Not exactly the ray of hope that Philly fans were looking for, to say the least. It is dark times around the Eagles right now with the team being outscored by a combined 75-30.
Coming into the Cowboys game, it appeared that the main problem lay on the defensive side of the ball, particularly in the secondary. That sore spot flared up again Sunday, as Dak Prescott shredded the Birds to the tune of 239 yards and a touchdown. But Sunday night, the run defense struggled as well, allowing Ezekiel Elliott 111 yards on 22 carries. Further complicating matters was the play of the offense, which turned the ball over on each of its first two drives and twice more later in the game.
One further piece of bad news comes when looking at the upcoming schedule as the Eagles have to hit the road to face the Buffalo Bills before returning home to face the Chicago Bears, New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. On a positive note, the team has played better at home thus far (2-1) than they have on the road (1-3).
If looking for reasons to be positive, the Eagles rebounded from a similarly bad performance last year in a stunning way. After dropping their Week 11 matchup with the Saints 48-7 and falling to 4-6 on the year, Pederson and company responded by winning five of their last six games to make the playoffs. The hope remains that as the team gets players back from injury (Ronald Darby and DeSean Jackson in particular), their performance will revert to expectation. Whether or not that will be enough to overcome the Cowboys, count Marshall among those who don't believe.
You can catch Brandon Marshall along with Ray Lewis, Phil Simms and host James Brown when Inside The NFL airs tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Showtime.