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This is the team the Eagles dreamed about – if you’ll pardon the expression – when they went “all in” during the offseason.

The Eagles offense scored at will. The defensive line pressured the quarterbacks. The high-priced secondary shut down the receivers.

All of those factors contributed to the Eagles’ 34-7 romp over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night before a national television audience and a deliriously happy crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles improved to 13-0 following the bye week during Andy Reid’s tenure as head coach as this NFC showdown quickly developed into a blowout.

The victory lifted the Eagles back into the playoff picture in the mediocre NFC East. They are tied with the Cowboys and Redskins at 3-4, two games behind the first-place Giants. The Giants face a treacherous stretch of games that includes the Packers, Saints, Eagles and Cowboys. It’s not inconceivable that the Eagles could be in first place by Thanksgiving.

That assumes, of course, that the Birds continue to play as they did Sunday night against the Cowboys. Fans tuning in to the national broadcast must have wondered how this Eagles team could have lost four games in a row.

Eagles fans might be wondering the same thing after watching the Birds dominate the Cowboys. How dominant were the Eagles?

• They scored on their first six possessions (four touchdowns, two field goals).
• They had 20 first downs in the first half; the Cowboys had four.
• Cowboys receivers Dez Bryant and Miles Austin did not have a catch during the first half.
• Reid was successful on both of his official challenges.
• Chaz Henry didn’t punt until 9:12 remained in the game.

The Eagles dominated the Cowboys in all facets of the game. Everything they tried seemed to go right.

Let’s start with the offense. LeSean McCoy carried a career-high 30 times for 185 yards and two touchdowns against a Cowboys defense that entered the game ranked No. 1 in the NFL in rushing yards and hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rushing game all season. The Cowboys entered the game giving up 69.7 rushing yards per game. The Eagles exceeded that total during the first quarter.

“Right now (McCoy) is playing as well as any running back,” Reid said. “He’s tough to bring down one-on-one. He’s got tremendous quickness and lateral agility.”

Michael Vick was accurate from start to finish, completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

“I thought Michael was sharp on his decision-making,” Reid said.

An example of Vick’s decision-making abilities came during the game’s first possession. With the ball on the Dallas 12-yard line, Vick recognized a blitz and called for a quick pass to Jeremy Maclin on the left side, where the blitz originated. Maclin caught the pass and followed left tackle Jason Peters and left guard Even Mathis, reaching the end zone untouched to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead just 4:19 into the game.

The offensive line was integral to the success of McCoy and Vick. With Peters returning from injury, Todd Herremans moved back to right tackle, allowing the offensive line to have its original lineup intact.

The offensive line excelled at both run blocking and pass protection. McCoy had huge holes to run through. Vick had plenty of time to set up and find an open receiver.

“The offensive line needs to be complimented,” Reid said, “along with the defensive line for the pressure they put on Tony (Romo).”

Romo completed just four of eight passes during the first half as the Eagles built a 24-0 lead. The Cowboys crossed the 50-yard line just once during the first half.

On the rare occasions when Romo found time to throw, he usually found his receivers blanketed by the Eagles’ secondary. Nnamdi Asomugha made a diving interception of a deflected pass with 1:13 remaining in the first half. Asomugha’s interception, which came two plays after McCoy scored on a 2-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead, led to a third straight touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

Tight end Brent Celek continued to assume a larger role in the passing offense. He caught seven passes for 94 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown to conclude the drive following Asomugha’s interception.

The Eagles’ lead reached 34-0 before the Cowboys got on the scoreboard. The dominance, of course, won’t mean as much if the Eagles don’t beat the Chicago Bears next Monday night.

“We’ve got plenty of room to improve,” Reid said.

The Eagles should expect to hear that message repeated over and over again during the next week. One dominant victory does not mean this is the “dream team.” Yes, this team crushed the Cowboys. But it’s the same team that also lost four straight games.

Which Eagles team will show up next Monday against the Bears? That’s the million dollar question for the next seven days.

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(The Fish ‘n Chips column is sponsored by Legal Sea Foods – Gourmet Gift Division … so much more than Fish ‘n Chips … “If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t Legal!”)

I know this is difficult to do, but it needs to be done: Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals.

As much as we might hate to admit it, the Cardinals deserved to win the World Series. They displayed tremendous guts and determination and received contributions from everyone on their roster. They truly were the best team.

Even mentioning the Cardinals causes Phillies fans to wince in pain. That 1-0 loss in Game 5 of the National League Divisional Series will stick with us for a long, long time. For that matter, so will the Game 2 loss after holding a 4-0 lead. The Game 4 loss doesn’t sit so well in our stomachs, either.

But, just as the Cardinals did against the Phillies in the NLDS, they won the final two games of their series with Texas, denying the Rangers their first World Series title.

The Cardinals’ come-from-behind series victory in the World Series was even more improbable and dramatic than their NLDS comeback. The Cardinals were down to their last strike in Game 6 – twice! Both times the Cardinals produced big two-out, two-strike hits, one by hometown hero David Freese and the other by Lance Berkman, to tie the game. They won Game 6, 10-9, on Freese’s homer in the 11^th inning. What else would you expect from a team that seemed down to its last out more than a few times in late August and September?

Remember, the Cardinals were 10½ games behind the Atlanta Braves in the wild card race. But they never quit. They never said die. They qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, thanks to the Phillies’ sweep of the Braves. The rest is history.

Freese was incredible during the playoffs, setting a Major League Baseball postseason record with 21 RBI. Pitcher Chris Carpenter established a reputation as a big-game pitcher, winning the series-clinching games in the NLDS and World Series.

Albert Pujols reminded people why he is the best player in baseball. He destroyed the Brewers in the NLCS, bombarded the Rangers with three homers and six RBI in a 16-7 victory, then came up with clutch hits during the Cardinals’ improbable Game 6 triumph. It’s difficult to imagine Pujols leaving St. Louis, but if this was his final year as a Cardinal, he went out with a bang.

Finally, we must give credit to Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. Is he annoying? Yes. Is he a terrific manager? Absolutely.

Not every move La Russa made during the postseason turned to gold, but many of them did. In particular, his use of his bullpen throughout the postseason was brilliant. Pedestrian pitchers were given specific roles. More often than not, they flourished in those roles. Three players started at second base during the NLDS. All three came through with important production. The players deserve much of the credit, but there’s no denying that La Russa put them in favorable positions for them to succeed.

All right. That’s enough good will. Now we can root for the Cardinals to suffer the same fate next season as the Giants did this season after they beat the Phillies and went on to win the World Series.

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BIG STAGE: I am writing this edition of Fish ‘n Chips a few hours prior to the Eagles-Cowboys showdown. There’s nothing like the hype leading up to an Eagles-Cowboy game. When that game is on Sunday night, it’s even better.

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UNION TOWN: Starting the MLS playoffs on the same evening as the Eagles are hosting the Cowboys isn’t the best timing for the Philadelphia Union. The Eagles-Cowboys game is obviously the biggest show in town and will overshadow the MLS game in terms of fan interest and media coverage, but don’t think for a second that the Union will
be ignored. The Union have carved out a nice niche in Philly’s sports tapestry, and I sense that interest in the Union is growing.

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HONEST ILYA: You have to love Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov’s honesty. After horrid games against the Canadiens and Jets, Bryzgalov took responsibility for the losses and admitted he had no confidence in his own ability to stop the puck.

Having an athlete as honest as Bryzgalov is terrific for the media and fans. The Flyers, however, might suggest to him that discretion is sometimes of greater value than telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

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MILESTONE MAN: It seems as if Joe Paterno reaches a new milestone every week. His most recent accomplishment, achieved with Saturday’s 10-7 triumph over Illinois, is becoming the all-time career victory leader among Division I and I-AA programs. The victory was Paterno’s 409^th, moving him ahead of Grambling legend Eddie Robinson and into first place all by himself.

Penn State’s victory was secured when Illinois’ last-second field goal attempt hit the goal post and bounced away. A loyal Penn State fan suggested to me that perhaps the hand of God reached down and deflected that field-goal attempt away so that Paterno would take sole possession of first place on the career victories list.

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ADVICE FOR A LEGEND: I’m reluctant to give advice to a coach who has won more games than anyone else in Division I history, but Paterno should stick with Matt McGloin at quarterback and keep Rob Bolden off the field. Whatever ability and confidence Bolden displayed as a freshman has disappeared. When he’s on the field these days, the Nittany Lions seem relieved to go three-and-out without turning the ball over.

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TRIBUTE TO A LEGEND: A statue honoring Chuck Bednarik will be unveiled at Franklin Field before Penn’s Nov. 19 game against Cornell. Bednarik starred for Penn and the Eagles, who played at Franklin Field from 1958-70. Having a statue at Franklin Field is a fitting honor for “Concrete Charlie,” who, arguably, had the greatest career of any player in that stadium. Actually, I don’t even think there’s much room for debate in deciding who is the greatest football player in Franklin Field history.

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POISON IVY: A 6-0 loss to Brown, played in the midst of Saturday’s Nor’easter, ended Penn’s Ivy League winning streak at 18 games.

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NO-VEMBER: The NBA canceled all its games in November due to the failure to reach agreement with the players’ union. If the NBA isn’t careful, many fans may find they can live
without the NBA and will be slow to return.

At the same time, if the NBA truly wants to change the financial structure of the game so that it’s easier for teams to rise from mediocrity to championship contenders, it might be worth sacrificing an entire season to achieve that goal.

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HOWARD SIGHTING: Ryan Howard and his wife had dinner at Bertucci’s in Plymouth Meeting on Friday night. What was nice to see is that other diners respected Howard’s privacy.

It wasn’t as if Howard had a private room or ate in a secluded area. His booth was in the center of the restaurant. And it was difficult to miss his lengthy crutches propped up beside the table. But nobody bothered Howard while he was eating, and those who spoke to him on his way out seemed to be respectful and encouraging.

It’s hard enough to make the last out in the playoffs two years in a row. It’s worse when you suffer a serious injury while making the final out. It would even worse, however, if Howard couldn’t go out to eat without being hassled and heckled. It seems as if the diners at Bertucci’s remembered that athletes are humans, too.

Eric Fisher, who has been covering sports for 23 years, also was not bothered by fans while having dinner at Bertucci’s on Friday night.

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