The Cowboys would probably prefer to talk about recent games rather than history as it pertains to their defense.
They looked more stable last week against the Redskins, but defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin didn’t have much luck against Eagles coach Chip Kelly when they were both coaching in college recently.
In three games as Southern Cal’s defensive coordinator, Kiffin’s defense allowed an average of 601 yards and 50 points per game to Kelly’s Oregon team.
“They did a good job,” Kiffin said, via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Hopefully, we come out and play better. That’s for sure. The 10-2 year that we had at SC, we were a big underdog [at Oregon] that year, and they had a home streak going. We beat them up there. We got him. But he got us two out of three.”
Kelly, as you might imagine, downplayed the significance.
“Football is a player’s game,” the Eagles coach said. “I was fortunate when I was at Oregon to have just some outstanding players that were really, really good football players whether it was LaMichael James or Marcus Mariota or Anthony Thomas or Kenjon Barner or Josh Huff or Jeff Maehl, . . . The list goes on and on. We just had some really good players at Oregon.”
Of course, Kelly’s not the only one who has baffled Kiffin lately. Asked if last year’s 65-21 blowout was the only time he’s felt overwhelmed by an opponent, Kiffin disagreed.
“I kind of felt that way with Peyton Manning,” Kiffin said, of the guy who led a 51-48 win two weeks ago.