Chip Kelly gets the game ball on Thanksgiving as the Philadelphia Eagles feasted on the Dallas Cowboys.Playing in Dallas, on a holiday where quarterback Tony Romo has been superblosing only once in his previous seven Thanksgiving Day gamesthe Eagles dared Romo to beat them, and he came up far short. The Eagles won, 33-10, and held the Dallas "triplets" to 199 yards passing with two interceptions (Romo), 73 yards rushing (running back DeMarco Murray) and 73 yards receiving (wide receiver Dez Bryant).Kelly is not exactly known for his defensive acumen, so certainly some of that credit also needs to go to defensive coordinator Bill Davis. Yet, it was Chip Kelly's offense that also did a fantastic job leveling the playing field, as it usually does.With the win, the Eagles take sole possession of the NFC East, but the game might have even bigger implications than that.On paper, it's arguable that the Cowboys have the better team as these two match up. In a "tale of the tape"-style breakdown, the Cowboys would win just about everywhere on the offensive side of the ball and many places over on defense as well.Statistically, it's also a viable argument since the Cowboys offense is ranked slightly lower (sixth to the Eagles' fourth), while their defense check in 10 spots higher. It's obviously a much more evenhanded look in that respect, but that offensive ranking (especially with Mark Sanchez at quarterback) can probably be attributed to Kelly as well.We're in the strange ether of Kelly starting to receive enough credit for his offense's impact on the Eagles that one could arguably call it overstated but also underrated as people clamor to credit Sanchez, running back LeSean McCoy and many of the other very talented Eagles offensive players. This praise of Kelly isn't necessarily disrespect to them, but Kelly's system is an awfully friendly environment for those elements to exist.Kelly's trust in Davis has allowed the Eagles defense to flourish.In a fantastic October columnon Davis from Zach Berman of Philly.com, Davis breaks down how he aims to always get his players in position to succeed over and above their commitment to his scheme:I think as we go forward . . . you've got to make sure you're putting your players in positions to do things they do best the most amount of times," Davis said."Now that we have a year and a half under our belt, we understand them a lot better. They understand the scheme a lot better. So we've got a lot of flexibility in the scheme.The column, which I encourage you all to readI'll wait...goes on to note just how many different styles of defensive coaches and schemes Davis has worked under, giving him a wide base of knowledge into which he can delve when needed.Against the Cowboys, Davis dropped as many men into the box as possible and didn't take a lot of chances with blitzes on run-heavy downs and against run-heavy personnel groupings because he did not want Murray to get rolling.Coming into this game, the Eagles had been allowing over 100 rushing yards per game and had allowed at least 100 yards on the ground in three of their last four games. From the outset, one could tell this was a focus for the Eagles as they both stopped Murray and took lots of pride doing itnot an easy task for a defense that didn't match up well with a very talented Cowboys offensive line.The Eagles also didn't want the Romo-to-Bryant connection to get anywhere, and it didn't.Often, the Eagles would not only shade coverage toward Bryant's side, but also bracket him. This would result in looks where it seemed as if Bryant was one-on-one with a lesser corner or even a linebacker, but one or two other players would be well within range to provide help if Romo went that way.That tough coverageplus solid pressure from an increasingly blitz-happy Eagles defense which hit Romo five times in addition to its four sackshelped keep Romo from comfortably finding a rhythm all day, and it made it difficult for him to hit home-run balls to one of the best home-run targets in the league.It also seems important to note, at least to remind those who may not remember, Kelly has personnel control over this team. Last season, Davis suffered from a lack of creativity imposed upon him by subpar talent. The addition of players like safety Malcolm Jenkins, among others, has compounded Davis' ability to get more out of players already there.Let's not overstate the case. This is still an Eagles defense with some question marks, but it seems to be improving a bit on the fly. Other than a beatdown by a very potent Green Bay Packers team at Lambeau Field, the Eagles haven't allowed a team more than 24 points since their Week 7 bye.On offense against the Cowboys, the Eagles faced a bigger challenge than common wisdom might suggest.The Dallas defense has not been nearly the same pushover it was last season nor nearly as bad as many critics thought it might be this season. The Cowboys' improved defense has helped level the playing field in lots of games, allowing Dallas more comfort running the ball for an entire game and putting a lot less pressure on Romo in late-game situations.The Eagles offense put that kind of pressure on the Cowboys defense early on in this matchup. Though the Cowboys defense has overachieved this season, it was clearly not ready for the Eagles' brand of the hurry-up offense.That exposed personnel deficiencies for the Cowboys but was really about the coaches failing to prepare their players.The Eagles excelled at mixing read-option looks and pass-action play into a run-heavy attack, which afforded Sanchez more time with the ball. This allowed the Eagles to find wide-open holes in the Cowboys defense and take shots down the field. Part of that, too, was predicated on the many Cover 2 beaters that the New York Giants ran last week, which almost seemed copied onto this field by the Eagles.That's not a coincidence.That's one team being entirely ready to beat an opponent and the other opponent simply having no answer for it.Looking ahead, the Eagles and Cowboys both have two more tough games left on their schedule, and one of those games pits them against one another. (Thank you, new NFL schedule practices!) The Cowboys do have a bunch of games on the road, including the matchup in Philadelphia, but they've gone undefeated on the road this season.It is entirely conceivable that these two meet in two weeks either with the same record orat mostone game apart with an opportunity for the Cowboys to either pull even or ahead. Both of these teams have the ability to run the table for the rest of the season and be an awfully tough matchup in the playoffs, whether they're the NFC East champion or a wild card.For the Eagles, their MVP this season isn't a "player" at all; it's Kelly. Again, no disrespect intended for the many talented players on the Eagles, but only a coach like Kelly can oversee a bunch of overhaul on offense (including a quarterback injury) while seemingly improving all the way. The same can be said on the defensive side of the ball, as the buck on any team ultimately stops with the head coach in charge.Without Kelly, the Eagles are not in first in the NFC East, and on Thanksgiving, Eagles fans should be thankful they clearly have one of the best coaches in the division, if not in the entire league.MichaelSchotteyis an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on hisarchive pageand follow himon Twitter.
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