There are a couple of things still sticking in my craw after yesterday Debacle in Dallas.
I'm only going to get to one of them today.
But make sure you tune in tomorrow.
Because something the Eagles did yesterday drove me absolutely over the edge.
But first things first.
It didn't take long to see this was going to be a long afternoon for Doug Pederson and the gang.
As in on the opening kickoff.
Replays showed the Cowboys' return man clearly coughed up the ball, which was pounced upon by a gang of Eagles, led by Kamu Grugier-Hill. Yes, that Kamu Grugier-Hill, the guy who made headlines this week by saying the Cowboys "always choke."
And here was Dallas, on the very first play of the game, making his words seem prophetic. The turnover would have put the Birds in business at the Dallas 18-yard line.
Uh, not so fast.
The refs decided to review the play.
Replay ruled it was in fact a fumble.
That's when things went a bit haywire.v
The replay officials somehow contorted the rules to come up with something I have never heard before in a lifetime of watching Eagles and NFL games. They ruled that since there was no definitive recovery, the ball would remain with Dallas.
Huh? This ball didn't bound out of bounds. That means it was recovered by someone. Since the only jerseys around the ball were about five green uniforms, I think we can safely assume the Eagles recovered.
As bad as that call was - and it's about as bad as I've ever seen - it did not cost the Birds points.
A call made by the refs in the second half did.
Carson Wentz hit a streaking tight end not named Zach Ertz (that would Dallas Goedert) on a seam route and he sprinted into the end zone for what looked like an Eagles touchdown.
But the refs decided Goedert was guilty of offensive pass interference. Replay proved this was some kind of hallucination on the part of the refs. There was minor contact, and it wasn't initiated by Goedert.
There are lots of other problems with the Eagles.
Their offense, which kicked into gear in the second half, sputtered again in the second half.
Carson Wentz still does not resemble the guy who was All-World last year before his knee injury.
Doug Pederson, who made every right call last year, including going for it on 4th down and 2-point conversions, is now reticent.
The game eventually wobbled into overtime.
The Eagles lost the coin toss - after calling "tails" - and never saw the ball. Dallas marched down the field and scored a touchdown on a ball that was actually deflected by Rasul Douglas, who by the way had a great game.
The loss drops the Eagles to 6-7 and puts their playoff hopes - and the possibility of defending their Super Bowl championship - in serious jeopardy.
But someone today in the NFL offices has to explain exactly what happened on that call on the opening kickoff.
Because I have never heard of such a thing.
And I don't think I'm the only one.
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