ARLINGTON, Tx. -- Joselio Hanson heard the critics all week long say that the Eagles couldn't stop any receivers without Asante Samuel in the lineup.
Well, the Eagles cornerbacks' actions spoke loud and clear on Sunday night in the Eagles' 30-27 win over the Cowboys. Pro Bowl receivers Miles Austin and Roy Williams combined for just four catches for 45 yards. In fact, the team's top wide receiver was Kevin Ogletree who had three catches for 34 yards.
"We wanted to come out here and do our job and make a statement," Hanson said.
"I think we wanted to come out here and show that we are a good team. In our mind, we're a playoff, Super Bowl-caliber team," said right cornerback Dimitri Patterson. "We felt like we had something to prove, especially me and Joselio with Asante being out. We wanted to show people that we can come out here and play at a high level for four quarters."
Hanson, a sixth-year veteran, started at left cornerback for the third-straight game as Samuel has been sidelined with a knee injury. In the nickel package, Hanson went inside and rookie Trevard Lindley played on the outside.
Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna was 24 of 35 for 242 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. The longest pass completion Kitna had was a screen to running back Felix Jones for 35 yards.
The three cornerbacks finished with nine tackles. Lindley forced an errant pass attempt to Austin late in the third quarter. He also recognized when Ogletree was trying to get set up for a bubble screen and raced up to help force the incomplete pass. Hanson came in on a delayed blitz and held up Kitna while Darryl Tapp brought him down to get a sack.
But the biggest play by the cornerbacks came when Patterson intercepted a pass intended for Williams in the fourth quarter. It came off the heels of DeSean Jackson's go-ahead 91-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
"When we're on the field, we're trying to make plays. We're not coming over only to try and tackle receivers. We want to catch the ball. That's the mindset that we play with. We have a turnover-type mindset," Patterson said. "If the ball is in the air, we can get the ball as much as the receiver can. We lead the league in interceptions. That's the mindset that we have right now. That's how we try to play every time the ball is in the air."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 2:20 a.m., December 13
