Jonathan Jansen
Most times a week like this could salvage bad seasons or continue to lift a successful one. The week when, “Go Birds!” becomes a little more frequent and general happiness fills the Philadelphia air. This time around though it’s hard to build any excitement. Partly because the Philadelphia Eagles are facing something called a DiNucci, but it’s more than that. This week just feels like it can only end in one way: dread and disappointment.
In December of last season, the Eagles’ match-up against the Dallas Cowboys symbolized hope for the 2019 season. It finally thrust an Eagles team into first place and was the third win in what ended up being a four-game winning streak. Early in the 2020 season, the same scenario applies. The Eagles can fend off the Cowboys and remain the top team in the NFC East. However, this time around provides a different context in which both franchises will be in the spotlight only to show their ugly truths. That truth being, they’re both just downright terrible.
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This dawned on me as I was forced to watch a game that became a 25-3 win for the Washington Football Team. Due to restrictions of cutting the cord, NFL RedZone was forced to stay on the laptop and was at the mercy of FOX to decide what game I would watch on the big TV. That, unfortunately, was Dallas vs. Washington, and it was awful. There were bad penalties, offensive (in more ways than one) inefficiency, poor defense, and some of the worst quarterback play so far in 2020. Somebody had to win, but in reality, everyone lost. The NFC East lost. The Cowboys lost. Even Washington, who won, looked like an absolute loser. Eventually at 3:15 p.m., I found out there was an English Premier League match, so I switched channels in hopes of never having to see something that terrible again.
‘A win is a win’ some would say. For Washington, sure, they now notch another W into the record books. And for the Eagles on Sunday night, they can, and likely will, do the same. Whether it’s Dalton or DiNucci (which sounds like a shitty name for a sitcom show), the Eagles are somehow a better team than whatever the hell Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys are at the moment. The win is the easy part. But like that awful game I watched on Sunday, there will likely be a constant cloud of dread draped over me as I watch this upcoming game. Why? Because no win against the Cowboys can sweep under the rug all of the constant issues that have plagued this team so far.
There’s no hiding that. The Eagles are a bad football team and it’s not going to change anytime soon. This week only ends with disappointment when Eagles fans – well, maybe some of them, at least – realize, again, just how bad the team is. Even against the Cowboys.
That’s really the only way this can end. It will be disappointing if the Eagles were to somehow lose this game, or it will be disappointing to watch the Eagles win while constantly being reminded why they won’t amount to anything this season.
Yup, unfortunately, it’s Dallas Week.
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You can listen to The Line Change with Jon Jansen every weekday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. exclusively on Fox Sports The Gambler! You can listen on 102.5 FM, 1480 AM, 104.5 HD2, but more importantly, on the iHeartRadio app!
Jansen also cohosts The Daily Ticket with Sean Brace every Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., LIVE from the Hard Rock in Atlantic City!
You can follow Jon Jansen on Twitter (@jjansen34) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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