Cowboys 38, Eagles 33: Dallas Tenderly Conquered the Terrible Eagles Last Night

The Tony Romo Excellence Award: Tony Romo. With a quarterback rating of 150.5, Romo scorched a terrible Eagles defense with aplomb. After the offense produced little on the scoreboard in the first half, Tony came out during the second half and put on a clinic. Displaying excellent poise behind a continually bad offensive line, Romo chucked darts to Witten and Dez with equal efficiency. Apparently NBC was prepared for such a performance, as they cut to his wife, Candice, after nearly every completion, making it only the second most awkward use of airtime on the night.

Awkward Political Shoehorn Award: Bob Costas. In a game between two certifiably terrible teams, there's one thing most people will take away from the game presentation. Just prior to the start of the second half, Bob Costas took about a minute to lecture the audience about the need for stricter gun control as it relates to the recent tragic murder/suicide involving former Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. While taking a firm stance on an incredibly divisive political issue, Costas went on to tell America that if they need an event like that to gain perspective on life, they probably won't ever find true perspective on anything.

Costas' diatribe went swiftly across the face of a far more tasteful oration by Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn that aired not 10 seconds before. Quinn pointed out the horrible irony that exists in a world where social media has actually caused people to ignore their fellow humans' true emotional states in favor of easy-to-digest digital interaction. While gun violence is an issue that deserves a forum, its place is not during a football game, especially when Costas goes on to conclude that if guns didn't exist, Belcher and his girlfriend would still be alive. There were likely equal amounts of approving nods as there were slumped headshakes during Costas' speech, but for a major network to drop anchor on an issue so decisively felt odd and out of place.

The Felix Jones DFA Candidate Of The Week: Doug Free. If he hadn't already secured his release in the upcoming offseason, Free certainly made sure to leave little doubt with his meh-job against the Eagles. As has been said for years and years, the Cowboys must make offensive line a priority in the draft and free agency this year. Not a priority in the sense of drafting a seventh rounder and signing a couple scrap heap guys, but serious attention. Of course, this won't happen, but it's nice to dream of a world where the GM understands the correlation between a good offensive line and a good offense.

The Pokes head out to the Tri-City this coming Sunday to face a 7-5 (and likely favored) Bengals squad. Andy "Red Rocket" Dalton and company have won four straight, so look for them to show up ready to roll, something the Cowboys have struggled mightily to emulate this season. The statistical flicker of hope remains for a Dallas playoff berth, but one misstep would quickly snuff it out.