Both the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are in a free fall, each sitting at 3-3 atop a suddenly struggling NFC East that is now separated by just two games.
With media and fan pressure beginning to crack down, Sunday’s Week 7 matchup could be do-or-die for both the Eagles and Cowboys. And at least in Dallas, a head coaching job is potentially on the line.
Hoping to stop the bleeding before it gets worse, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson looked to motivate his team on Monday by going out on a limb and all but guaranteeing a road victory over the Cowboys.
“We’re going down to Dallas, and our guys are gonna be ready to play. And we’re gonna win that football game, and when we do, we’re in first place in the NFC East,” Pederson told 94.1 WIP on Monday. “We control our own destiny. We’re right where we need to be.”
There’s a fine line between optimism and ego, and Pederson’s bold comments are just as capable of coming back to bite him in the you-know-what as they are capable of motivating his team. At the very least, they should help to motivate the Cowboys, who will undoubtedly plaster these comments all over their building this week.
Understanding that, Pederson softened his tone a bit toward the end of his Monday interview, but didn’t entirely walk back his comments.
“I never said ‘guarantee a win,'” Pederson said. “I’d never do that.
“[But I don’t regret my comments] because it shows confidence in our football team. I promise you [Cowboys coach] Jason Garrett is going to say the same thing with his team, that they are going to win the football game as well. I’m not going to stand up here and go on record and say, ‘We’re going to go there and try and win a game. Man, hopefully we can go win this one.’ It just doesn’t show confidence. And I want to show confidence in our players. We got a ton of confidence in them.”
Okay then. Pederson says the Eagles will go into Dallas, will win and will be in first place in the NFC East, but he’s not guaranteeing it. Got it.
