NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

After a 24-0 loss last week to the Cowboys which cost them a home playoff game and forced another trip to Dallas this week, the Eagles promised Saturday’s playoff game would be different. They were right – it was a whole lot worse. The Eagles were pounded by the Cowboys defense and a second quarter when Dallas set a franchise playoff record with 27 points in losing 34-14.

For the Eagles, it’s another painful way to end a season in which many NFL experts had them going to, and some even saying they would finally get over the hump and win the Super Bowl. For Dallas, they finally do get over the hump, as it’s their first playoff win since 1996, and the first for Tony Romo, who at least for one night gets the monkey off his back.

The Cowboys will move on to the divisional round next week, where they will meet Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. The two teams did not meet in the regular season. The matchup with the Vikings will be at 1pm next Sunday on FOX as the Cowboys and their second ranked offense will try their best to find victory in the Metrodome.

As for Saturday, the game started rather slowly, as the teams traded body blows in a scoreless first quarter. Then things opened up quickly in the second quarter, as the Cowboys scored first on a Romo 1-yard pass to John Phillips to make it 7-0. The Eagles showed their big play ability as Mike Vick came back less than a minute later and threw a perfect strike to Jeremy Maclin where he broke free for a 76-yard score to tie the game at 7.

Dallas dominated from there. Tashard Choice scored on a 1-yard run to give Dallas a 14-7 lead at the 9:14 mark of the second quarter. Then Shaun Suisham kicked a 25-yard field goal to give Dallas a 17-7 lead about six minutes later. They went for the kill and got it right before half as Bobby Carpenter recovered a Mike Vick fumble to set them up at the Philly 18. Three plays later Romo threw to Miles Austin for a 6-yard score to put Dallas up 24-7 at the half.

The Cowboys defense didn’t let up on Donovan McNabb in the second half, pressuring him all night with their D-line making sure that Philly was not able to hit many of their big play strikes that made them dangerous in the regular season. McNabb was hled to 19-for-37 passing for 230 yards with a TD and a pick. He was also sacked four times, and pressured and hurried a whole lot more.

Philadelphia had the ball for just 20:26, and they ran the ball for just 56 yards on the night. Dallas put up 426 yards of offense against the Eagles D, and were able to rush for 198 yards on 35 carries, setting the tempo all night as they wore out the Eagles by the third quarter.

Felix Jones had a 73-yard TD run in the third quarter, and McNabb hit DeSean Jackson for a 4-yard score early in the fourth quarter to end the scoring at 34-14.

Dallas will now start to prepare for what should be a great showdown with Minnesota, while the Eagles once again enter an offseason of ‘what ifs’.

For most of the season, the Vikings and the New Orleans Saints were the elite teams in the NFC. And that was the matchup that seemed most intriguing looking ahead to the playoffs.

But the way December unfolded, with the Vikings and Saints slumping, suddenly the NFC playoffs look wide open. All six NFC teams in the playoffs have at least 10 wins, and that means there isn’t an obvious favorite.

There are clearly four "Elite " teams this season in New Orleans, Minnesota, Indianapolis and San Diego. Beyond those four, the NFC is clearly stronger then the AFC.

The hottest team, Dallas, is the No. 3 seed and could have a tough time reaching the Super Bowl. If the Cowboys beat Philadelphia on Saturday night, they would play at Minnesota in the divisional round. The Vikings are one of only 2 undefeated teams at home ( New England is the other).

When asked, Vikings coach Brad Childress replied “I think it is always wide open,” , who knows his team will play host to either Dallas, Green Bay or Arizona next week.

“All you have to do is look at the number of different division winners this year. We did talk about it at the beginning of the year. We put down the evolution, if you will, of the last four years. How many different playoff teams were there in the last years? How many different champions? How many champions didn’t make it back? We’re mindful of that.”

Childress knows that anything can happen. This season, six teams qualified for the playoffs that didn’t play in the postseason last year. And five of the eight divisions had new champions, with only Minnesota, San Diego and Arizona repeating.

For the New York Jets, they felt that they were being overlooked heading into the 2009 NFL Playoffs. Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati, they put the other four AFC teams left on notice. Led by a great outing by rookie QB Mark Sanchez and a defense that held Carson Palmer in check, the Jets will move on to round two after a 24-14 win.

Sanchez was on his game, not making any real mistakes in going 12-for-15 for 182 yards and a touchdown, putting up a QB rating of 139.4. He totally outplayed his fellow former USC QB in Palmer, who was just a bit off all day, throwing high and never getting into a groove with the likes of Chad Ochocinco. Palmer was 18-for-36 for 146 yards with a pick and a TD.

The Jets will no move on to round two, as they will play either the Colts or the Chargers. If the Pats beat the Ravens Sunday, the Jets move to Indy to take on the Colts. If the Ravens score the upset on the road, the Jets fly to the west coast to play San Diego.

Things started good for the Bengals, as they were able to get an early lead after gaining some good field position early in the first quarter. Cincy got a good return by Rico Murray, as it set them up at the Jets 45-yard line. From there, the cats put together a solid 7-play, 45-yard drive that saw Cedric Benson go for 19 yards, and then six yards two plays later. From the Jets 11 on 3rd-and-6 Palmer found Laveranues Coles on an out for the 11-yard score to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead at the 7:07 mark of the first quarter.

It took awhile for the Jets to finally get going on offense, but they were able to get going with a quick drive that started after a 3-and-out by the Bengals from their own 15-yard line. They got the ball at the 12:41 mark of the second quarter, and on first down got 8 yards from Thomas Jones, then on second down on a pitch to the weak side, Shon Greene raced 39 yards for a score that tied the game at 7 with 11:52 left in the first half.

Cincy put a drive together as Palmer drove them to the Jets 41, but Palmer went for Ochocinco, and it was picked off by Darrelle Revis, who took it back 20 yards. The Jets went right to work, as Jones ran twice for 6 yards, and then Sanchez hit Jerricho Cotchery for 15 yards to set them up at the Bengals 45. Then Sanchez rolled to his left, and threw deep to an open tight end Dustin Keller, who hauled it in and went the last 20 plus yards as he was being tackled for the touchdown to give the Jets a 14-7 lead.

The Jets D shut down the Bengals for the rest of the first half, and then after Shayne Graham missed a field goal for the Bengals in the third quarter, the Jets offense went to work. Starting on their own 25, Sanchez hit Cotchery for 18 yards, then Greene went for 15 yards to the Bengals 42. They picked their way down the field from there, as they hit a huge third down play as Braylon Edwards pulled in a 16-yard catch to the Bengals 9. The next play Jones went in from 9 yards out to give the Jets a 21-7 lead.

New York held that lead till early in the fourth quarter, as the Bengals struck on a quick drive to get back into the game. After a poor Jay Feely punt that set up the Bengals at their own 44, Palmer hit Ochocinco for 9 yards, then on the following play Benson broke right and found a hole, going 47 yards down the sideline for a score to close the deficit to 21-14 with plenty of time left.

Sanchez and the Jets would not wilt, as two plays after the kickoff, the rookie QB went play action, and found a wide open Keller for a short grab which he turned into a long gain, cutting into the middle of the field and going 43 yards to the Bengals 23-yard line. They were able to kill another four minutes off the clock, and finally from the Bengals two, Feely kicked a 20-yard field goal to make it 24-14.

The Bengals had a shot to close it to a one score game, as they went from their 37 to the Jets 11, but on a critical kick, Graham pushed the 28-yard field goal attempt wide right, ending what could have been a huge three points that the Bengals needed badly to make it a seven point game.

How big that would be, as the Bengals got the ball back, but a couple sacks ended any threat left in the worn out Bengals, who bow out and keep their streak of not having a playoff win in the last 19 years alive.

For the Jets, they move on, and anyone who overlooks them now, could be in for a rude awaking.

As promised by Mike Holmgren he is setting up the Cleveland Browns front office in rapid fashion. It is expected that current Philadelphia GM Tom Heckert could be named the Browns GM as early as Monday. This all depends on how the Eagles fair in the opening playoff match up with the Dallas Cowboys.

Heckert is no stranger to Cleveland. His father Tom Sr. was a scout for the Browns back in the early 80’s when Sam Rutigliano was the head coach. The younger Heckert has never worked with Holmgren but has worked with Andy Reid who tutored under Holmgren in Green Bay.

The Borowns did interview Will Lewis on friday to comply with the Rooney Rule. Lewis is the current Pro Personnel Director in Seattle but that coild change with rumored hiring of Pete Carroll in Seattle as their new head coach.

There’s been plenty of talk since the season ended 6 days ago about the future of Raiders head coach Tom Cable. The Raiders were a five-win team, and they beat a couple playoff teams at home in the Bengals and Eagles. Even with that, there’s no doubt there’s talk about Cable being let go by Al Davis, and today Pro Football Weekly says that it’s a given that Davis is thinking about making a change:

We’re awaiting word from Al Davis as to whether the Raiders will be searching for their sixth head coach since 2002, but it’s clear the team’s managing partner is seriously considering making yet another change. After pulling off surprise wins over the Bengals, Steelers and Broncos in the second half of the season, it appeared Tom Cable was making a strong case to be back as the Raiders’ head coach in 2010. There is talk, however, that Davis is leaning toward firing Cable, who replaced Lane Kiffin four weeks into the ‘08 season.

Observers say the team’s players are genuine in their support of Cable and would like to see him return, if for no other reason than to maintain continuity. Oakland hasn’t had the same head coach for more than two seasons since Jon Gruden left after holding the post from 1998-2001. Cable seriously hurt his chances of returning when he indicated JaMarcus Russell had prevented the Raiders from making the playoffs.

The Indy Star reports that QB Peyton Manning has added another historic award to his mantle, a fourth AP MVP Award:

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning added to his growing and historic resume today by claiming a record-setting fourth NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Only one other player, Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre, has been honored three times by the Associated Press’ 50-member panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The face and foundation of the franchise since being selected with the first overall pick in the 1998 draft, Manning has helped direct the Colts to a league-best 14-2 record, the No. 1 seed in the AFC and an eighth consecutive playoff berth.

Less than two hours ago Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported that University of Southern California head coach Pete Carroll has agreed to leave the Trojans and become the next head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

According to the report, Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke denies the news, but it appears that the denial is lip service in order to bring in a minority candidate for an interview without making the candidate feel as if they are a mere formality in the hiring process of Carroll.

It is believed that Leslie Frazier, the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator is scheduled to interview with the Seahawks' management for the head coaching position today.  If Frazier does this, it will put Seattle in compliance with the National Football League's Rooney Rule and would clear Carroll to officially sign with Seattle.

Schefter also writes that Chris Mortensen, his fellow N.F.L. insider at ESPN, received news Friday that Carroll is attempting to bring his offensive coordinator from USC, Jeremy Bates, to the Pacific Northwest to take over the Seahawks' offensive coordinator duties.  Bates' name has also come up for the same position for the Chicago Bears.