The weekly Jake report

I'll try my hardest not to recount all the statistics from today's SHELLACKING of the Philadelphia Eagles (oh, how sweet it is). Suffice it to say, Dallas played well in just about every aspect of the game, and took an absolute pounding to what was, before today, the hottest team in the NFC. Back-to-back shutouts from the Dallas D? Perhaps Wade Philips DOES have a clue?

It's going to be a difficult task to try and beat the Eagles for the third time this season when they square off on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium in the wildcard round of the playoffs, but if there's been a Cowboys team in the last decade that appeared poised to do it, it's this year's team. The defense has been absolutely stellar in recent games. The offense is as good as it's been all season. Miles Austin is, in a word, amazing. Tony Romo has been on fire since Thanksgiving. He's thrown two interceptions (one in each of his last two games), and neither of them were turned into points by the other team.

[Sidenote: In the end, an interception is an interception that rightfully goes against the quarterback, even when it's not his fault. Although that's true, often the nature of the interceptions can tell you a lot about the state of your team/offense/quarterback. The two that Romo has thrown since December began were both fluky, and not really his fault. The first one bounced off the hands of receiver Roy Williams (when a quarterback hits his receiver in the hands and suffers an INT as a result, how do you fault him?). The second, in todays' game against the Eagles, came when Eagles' defensive back Asante Samuel batted a thrown ball and then came down with it. Again, these shouldn't be minimized too much. BUT, the nature of these interceptions illustrate that the poor decision-making of Romo's past is (at least temporarily) long gone. These weren't INTs of immaturity, forced throws, or bad decisions. They were flukes. K, all done with my sidenote.]

In other FUN news, the Giants looked terrible and got absolutely spanked.

So, if Dallas beats Philadelphia for the third time this season and makes it through the wildcard round, they will then head to Minnesota to take on Brett Favre and the Vikings. I hope my family still likes each other after that (potential) matchup is over (those in my family who aren't primarily Cowboys fans are primarily Vikings fans). It'd be fun.