How are the Dallas Cowboys so good in Philadelphia?
The Dallas Cowboys are looking to earn a playoff birth against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, a location they have won their six of their last seven games. How have they been so good at beating the Eagles at their house?
There’s nothing quite like a division rivalry game to decide who makes the playoffs. For Philly fans, beating their big brother in “The City of Brotherly Love” would give them instant gratification. For Cowboys fans, its…. the expectation.
Since 2012, the Cowboys have a 10-5 record against the Eagles and are 7-2 the last four seasons. Considering they have won six games in Philadelphia, that leaves an average 4-4 record at home. Not only are the Cowboys good on the road, but also the Eagles are able to match especially in important games.
Why?
It might just be an anomaly.
In six of the last eight seasons, the Cowboys have been .500 or above at home. This is including their dreadful 2015 season. Here are their season home records.
2019: 4-3
2018: 7-1
2017: 3-5
2016: 7-1
2015: 1-7
2014: 4-4
2013: 5-3
2012: 4-4
With the exception of 2014 and 2017, the Cowboys road record was worse than .500. Yet somehow, in only one of these seasons did they lose to Philadelphia in Philadelphia. Is there a possibility the Cowboys have just taken over the NFC East?
2019: 4-0
2018: 5-1
2017: 5-1
2016: 3-3
2015: 3-3
2014: 4-2
2013: 5-1
2012: 3-3
Clearly over the last three seasons, the Cowboys have taken over the NFC East, but the same could not be said before that. However, what happens if you break the division record into games they have played on the road?
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2019: 2-0
2018: 2-1
2017: 3-0
2016: 1-2
2015: 2-1
2014: 3-0
2013: 3-0
2012: 2-1
The Cowboys have won 18 of 23 division road games in the last 8 seasons. That’s… kind of impressive. How have they been this consistent?
I don’t know…
There is no set statistic that makes this easy to figure out.
The Cowboys have won games where they’ve passed for fewer than 200 yards. They’ve won games they rushed for fewer than 100 yards. They’ve lost games where they forced 3 turnovers and the defense had an EPA (Expected Points Added) of over 15. They’ve lost a game where they ran for over 200 yards.
It’s unfortunate that the only analysis I can provide is “they win games where they score more points than the other team.” Unfortunately, there is so much variability between each win and loss that it is difficult to pinpoint how the Cowboys have won so many road games against NFC East opponents.
SO I tried to narrow it down to the Eagles. What did I find?
In the games the Cowboys won, they won the turnover battle. In the last seven road games in Philadelphia, the Cowboys are leading the Eagles in turnover margin by +6. (The exact ratio is 8-14) The only road game they lost in 2016, a game where the Cowboys turned the ball over twice compared to none from the Eagles.
A general rule of thumb is if you don’t turnover the ball, you put yourself in a better situation to win. Those words could not hold more true for this matchup in Philadelphia. Obviously this isn’t the end-all-be-all for both teams. If the Cowboys offense elects to not show up on Sunday, that should make things for the Eagles no matter how many times they turn the ball over.
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All we know, is that the Cowboys gameplan against the Eagles, specifically in Philadelphia has worked really well six of the last seven years. With an Eagles team dealing with way too many injuries, it is easy to expect a demolition similar to one we saw earlier in the season. Of course, now that I bring that up, the opposite is set to occur.
For all we know, the Eagles fan just bring bad juju whenever they come to see America’s Team play. So much for being “The city of Brotherly Love.”
- Published on 12/21/2019 at 12:01 PM
- Last updated at 12/21/2019 at 07:37 AM