Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory has been playing inspired football since returning from his most recent lengthy suspension. Last night, he was instrumental in helping the Cowboys earn a huge victory over their hated division rival the Philadelphia Eagles. Randy Gregory finished the game with 1.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and multiple tackles and pressures to keep nimble Eagles rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts contained for the most part.
Once again, the Dallas Cowboys defense gave up a ton of yards but were fortuitous with turning the ball over resulting in a third straight victory. The miraculous comeback of Randy Gregory from his numerous suspensions and struggles with mental illness can perhaps be paralleled by the Dallas Cowboys rise from the bottom of the NFC East division. If Randy Gregory and the Cowboys can manage to pull off the seemingly impossible division title, it would be a perfect storybook ending to the talented defensive end’s 2020 season. Thanks to the victory over the Eagles coupled with the Washington Football Team losing to the Carolina Panthers, that feat is quite possible now.
The Dallas Cowboys still need some help in the final week of the regular season. They need those very same Eagles to beat Washington next Sunday even though the Eagles may be less inspired having now been eliminated from playoff contention. Of course, none of that will matter if the Cowboys don’t handle their own business against the New York Giants. Still, to imagine the Cowboys having an NFC East title within their grasp just 4 weeks removed from discussing the possibility of the team being awarded the 3rd overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft is an accomplishment in of itself.
The Dallas Cowboys probably don’t deserve a division title this year. They have been ravaged by injuries, have not beaten a single team with a winning record, and defensively they have been historically bad. But, none of the other NFC East teams deserve the title either so…Why not us? The battered offensive line has improved their play substantially. Andy Dalton has not been perfect but he has played pretty well the past few games. Ezekiel Elliott, who many have written off, ran exceptionally well against the Eagles. Special teams, which had struggled to begin the year has been rock solid of late. Then there is the defense. Their overall play still leaves much to be desired but they have shown improvement. They have started to force turnovers where they could not earlier in the year. They have taken injuries in stride where they were completely devastated by them the first half of the season. Finally, they have a secret weapon in a healthy, mentally strong, and inspired monster named Randy Gregory.
*Digital artwork by Jack Kurzenknabe https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/