A season that once carried so much promise for the Philadelphia Eagles came to an end Saturday night, with a 34-14 dismantling in Dallas.

The Cowboys earned their third victory of the season over the Eagles, who lost out on a first-round bye with a 24-0 loss in Dallas in Week 17 and then booked tickets to the offseason with Saturday’s defeat.

While many felt that the third time would be the charm for Philadelphia, the Cowboys proved to be too strong for the Eagles again. Tony Romo was 23-35 for 244 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions on the day, passing with ease against an overmatched Eagles’ defense.

Philadelphia was also unable to stop the Dallas rushing attack, which amounted 198 yards on Saturday. Felix Jones led the charge, carrying 16 times for 148 yards and a touchdown.

Offensively, the Eagles were unable to move the ball consistently. Donovan McNabb finished with 230 yards, but only completed 19 passes out of 37 attempts.

In fact, Philadelphia’s biggest play of the day came in the second quarter, right after Dallas had taken a 7-0 lead. Mike Vick entered the game at quarterback, and threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin, who tiptoed his way down the sideline for the score.

The Eagles’ primary big-play target, DeSean Jackson, was held in check by Dallas’ defense. Jackson only had 3 catches for 14 yards, and caught his 4-yard touchdown from McNabb in the fourth quarter, when the game was basically out of hand.

As I predicted, Dallas’ defense was able to generate pressure on McNabb the entire game. Jason Peters, a big acquisition for the Eagles in the offseason, was no match for DeMarcus Ware, who finished with two sacks. McNabb actually looked a bit like his younger self, scrambling around and making plays. But he was forced to scramble too often, causing Philadelphia’s offensive play to be sporadic throughout the contest.

The Cowboys appeared to be far too fast on defense for the Eagles. Although Philadelphia’s wide receiving corps is very fast, the Dallas front seven was too quick for the Eagles offensive line. The defensive backs also had a perfect gameplan for shutting down Jackson.

Dallas is a team to be reckoned with in the NFC playoffs. Many have picked the Cowboys to make the Super Bowl, which would only rub salt in the wound for dejected Eagles fans.

Philadelphia became a popular pick to win the NFC midseason after the team took a lead in the NFC East. But the Cowboys’ stellar play in December, capped off with a win over the Eagles in Week 17, allowed Dallas to host Philly in the first round. An Eagles victory over the Cowboys would have given Philadelphia the number two seed in the NFC, and a bye week during the wild-card round.

In the offseason, the Eagles will likely try to address their defense, which struggled greatly during parts of this season. The rush defense was pretty good during the regular season, ranked 9th in the league allowing 104.7 yards per game. But the Cowboys were able to run the ball at will, so linebacker might be a target in the draft or free agency.

The loss of Brian Dawkins hurt the defense too, as he was the emotional leader of this unit. Jim Johnson’s death was also a very tragic and unfortunate loss for Philadelphia, both on and off the field.

The Cowboys advance to the next round of the playoffs, while the Eagles are sent home. And while the other two losses to Dallas were tough for Philadelphia, this drubbing in Dallas will sting for the longest. The Eagles will enter the offseason with the pain of a third loss to the Cowboys, and the thoughts of a season that could have been so much more.

---STANLEY KAY.