Eagles Fall out of First Place with a 20-16 Loss to the Cowboys

Last night's loss to the Cowboys came down to two simple factors that have plagued the Eagles in recent history; the ability to convert third and short yardage opportunities on offense, and the ability to shut down opposing team's tight ends on defense. Against Dallas they failed miserably in both categories and it cost them the game. Not only couldn't the Birds convert some short yardage plays when they needed them the most, they wasted two timeouts in the second half challenging the spot of the ball that would have given them the first down. While I admit, from the replays it appears that both of these spots did cheat the Eagles out two much needed first downs, getting the refs to actually change the spot is much easier said than done. The decision to challenge both these plays proved to be costly as it left the Birds without any time outs at the end of the game when they needed them the most. As far as stopping the TE, Jason Whitten once again broke the backs of the E...