SI:AM | The NFC East’s Playoff Catastrophe
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I caught two excellent sporting events in Nashville over the long weekend (the Predators’ dramatic win over the Islanders and Missouri women’s basketball’s comeback victory against Vanderbilt), but I missed most of the Los Angeles Rams–Detroit Lions thriller because my plane sat on the runway forever waiting to get deiced.
In today’s SI:AM:
🦅 The Eagles complete their collapse
🤠 Why firing Mike McCarthy would be unwise
🏈 Bill Belichick’s first job interview
Will either coach get fired?
After being considered top Super Bowl contenders for much of the season, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles aren’t just going home early—they got sent packing in embarrassing fashion.
The Cowboys suffered a humiliating home loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, 48–32. The final margin may have just been two scores, but Dallas got thoroughly worked. It was 48–16 before the Cowboys scored two meaningless touchdowns in the final six minutes. The Eagles also fell completely flat in their blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, losing 32–9 as they put up their fewest points since Week 12 of the 2021 season.
Philadelphia’s defeat was far from shocking. It marked the culmination of an utter late-season collapse that saw the team lose five of its last six regular-season games. Last year’s NFC champions got off to a 10–1 start that included wins over six teams that went on to make the playoffs, but then the wheels fell off. In Week 15, after three straight games in which the Eagles’ defense got torched, Matt Patricia replaced Sean Desai as the team’s defensive play-caller. It didn’t fix anything. Philadelphia finished the season ranked 30th in the league in points allowed.
The Cowboys’ loss was much more surprising. Sure, sure, it’s no shock to see Dallas prematurely crash out of the playoffs yet again, but this year’s team was legitimately among the best. The Cowboys led the league in points per game and were fifth in points allowed. They were fully deserving of the NFC’s No. 2 seed, but the Packers sent them sobbing with a ruthlessly efficient offensive performance. Green Bay scored touchdowns on six of its first seven possessions. Jordan Love was brilliant in his playoff debut, completing 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Aaron Jones had 118 yards on 21 carries and three scores.
Both losses raise inevitable questions about the future of coaches Nick Sirianni and Mike McCarthy. Sirianni should be feeling very nervous this morning, having overseen a total meltdown over the past two months. The Eagles are a team at a crossroads. Longtime center Jason Kelce, who was visibly emotional on the sidelines as the clock ran down, told teammates after the game that he plans to retire. Defensive veterans Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham are no longer under contract and could choose to retire. Two starting linebackers (Nicholas Morrow and Zach Cunningham) will be free agents, along with 1,000-yard rusher D’Andre Swift. It might make sense for the team to start fresh.
Firing McCarthy, though, would be a rash decision based on the result of one game. There were questions before the season about how the Dallas offense would look after the departure of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who had coached a top-five offense in each of the previous two seasons. But with McCarthy calling the plays this year, the offense kept humming. We’ve come to expect snap decisions from Jerry Jones, but it would be foolish for him to cast McCarthy aside after one lousy game.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- The Eagles’ loss puts them in the familiar position of having to decide whether a previously successful coach can be the one to pull them out of a skid, Conor Orr writes.
- Orr also wrote about why the Cowboys should stand by Mike McCarthy.
- Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will interview for four head coach jobs, Albert Breer reports.
- Breer also wrote about how young quarterbacks Jordan Love and C.J. Stroud excelled in their playoff debuts.
- The Falcons announced that they interviewed Bill Belichick for their head coaching job.
- Steelers coach Mike Tomlin walked out of his press conference when asked about his future with the team.
- If you haven’t seen it already, you have to watch Josh Allen’s 52-yard touchdown run against Pittsburgh.
The top five...
… snow scenes from yesterday afternoon in Buffalo:
5. The fans carrying blocks of snow out of the stands in their arms.
4. The guys lying on top of the snow-covered bleachers with their beers.
3. These Steelers fans trudging through thigh-high snow to their seats.
2. The determined fans trying to dig out their seats with their hands.
1. Three guys jumping off a massive snowbank through a burning table.
SIQ
Mickey Mantle was elected to the Hall of Fame on this day in 1974. Which of Mantle’s teammates was also elected that year?
- Whitey Ford
- Roger Maris
- Elston Howard
- Phil Rizzuto
Friday’s SIQ: Who holds the NBA record for most free throw attempts in a single game? (Jan. 12 is the anniversary of when he broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record.)
- Shaquille O’Neal
- Dwight Howard
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Andre Drummond
Answer: Dwight Howard. He had 39 attempts from the line in a game against the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 12, 2012. He later tied his own record on March 12, 2013. Chamberlain’s record had been 34 attempts, set in 1962.
The only other player to surpass Chamberlain’s initial mark was Andre Drummond, who was hacked by the Houston Rockets in a game in 2016 to the tune of 36 free throw attempts. Drummond, who shot a dismal .355 from the line that season, made just 13 of them.