Kickin' It

Before we move on to week 3, I wanted to raise an issue/ask a question that has not gotten any attention in the wake of the Eagles loss to the Cowboys (and is a personal crusade of mine).

To wit, why did the Eagles punt with 3:22 left to go in the game from their own 24 yard line facing 4th and 8 down by 4?

Andy Reid's classic conventional wisdom decision has gone unnoticed. And yet, the question remains.

The bottom line is that at that point in the game, the Eagles needed to do two things to win: they had to stop the Cowboys on their next possession and the Eagles had to score a touchdown (being down by 4).

What the Eagles did do was to punt to the Cowboys 21 yard line where they stuffed Marion Barber twice and forced an incomplete to Barber on third down, resulting in a Cowboys punt back to the Eagles where they started on their own 22 (after a Quinton Demps holding penalty) with 2:36 to go.

At that point,they had lost 2 yards in field postion, :46 seconds, and the rest of their timeouts. They still needed a touchdown to win.

But why did they punt initially? Had they gone for it on 4th and 8 and not converted they would have given the Cowboys the ball at, worst, on their own 24 yard line.

The Eagles would still have needed to force a 3 and out on the Cowboys. Though on 4th down from that field position, the Cowboys would have gone for the FG. Assuming the Cowboys got the figgie, they would have kicked off. And based on the 22.7 yards per kickoff return the Eagles had that game, they would have returned the ball to just about where they started with it on the last Cowboys punt.

Most importantly, the Eagles would still have needed to score a touchdown. Yes, the touchdown would not have won the game outright at that point - only tied it, but they would still have needed to score a touchdown to NOT LOSE.

All things considered, the Eagles probably should have gone for it on 4th and 8 from their own 24 yard line with 3:22 to play down by 4. If they convert, they keep the possession, build momentum, and preserve their timeouts. If they don't make the first, they are in the same boat as if they punted - they have to stop the Cowboys, burn their timeouts and still need the ball back and score a touchdown to stay alive. But they forfeited the chance to make a first down. Indeed, their 3rd down play (which was a short incomplete pass to Westbrook) should have reflected the "2 down territory" nature of the game situation/field position. (Perhaps a basic running play, draw, or a surprise long pass on that down).

The risk reward is very clear and once again Andy Reid's play calling and game managment are called into question even if he has escaped scrutiny from the mainstream/conventional wisdom media.