An Eagles-Cowboys moment with relevance today, Kyle Neptune’s toasty seat, and other thoughts

First and final thoughts …

The play was remarkable. The play didn’t seem possible. The play was authored by one of the Eagles’ best players, arguably their best player, and it left everyone who witnessed it — fans, broadcasters, the coaches and athletes on the field — stunned.

The play had nothing to do with Saquon Barkley.

The play is almost 20 years old, and even over those two decades, there still are similarities and parallels that can be drawn from it to the present day — to Sunday’s Eagles-Cowboys game, specifically. From its beginning at the line of scrimmage until its conclusion, the play covered 60 yards. The play lasted a length of time that has remained fixed in people’s minds ever since: 14.1 seconds.

The play happened on Nov. 15, 2004, in a 49-21 Eagles victory over the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. You know the play if you know anything about the Eagles: Donovan McNabb getting a face full of Dallas defensive tackle Leonardo Carson, pushing Carson away with his left hand, rolling right, freezing in front of defensive end Greg Ellis, sprinting back to his left, picking up blocks from his offensive linemen, rotating his hips, launching the football across his body downfield into the arms of Freddie Mitchell.

» READ MORE: Eagles vs. Cowboys predictions: Our writers make their picks for Week 10

After the game, McNabb didn’t sound much different from the way Barkley spoke last Sunday after his go-go-gadget shake and spin and backward leap against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“It was like a video game out there,” McNabb told reporters. “Everybody was moving around. I got great blocks from the offensive line. I just saw Freddie, and I had a chance to make a play.

“The object is to get the ball out of your hands. There were a couple of guys coming back to the ball, but I looked down and saw Freddie with a lot of green.”

The entire game — a Monday nighter, with Al Michaels and John Madden on the call for ABC — is available on YouTube. It’s a fascinating watch for the memories and reminders it conjures. Those ’04 Eagles really were fearsome on offense: McNabb, Terrell Owens, Brian Westbrook, that O-line, Andy Reid orchestrating an innovative system. They moved the ball at will pretty much all night. (Also, anyone who still believes McNabb was in any way overrated ought to review that game. Some of the throws and plays he made … mercy.)

But that Dallas team, which finished 6-10, is just as interesting, especially in light of the Cowboys’ 3-5 record and myriad problems this season. At the time, the Cowboys were coming up on 10 years since their last Super Bowl appearance/victory. Their head coach was Bill Parcells, who lasted just two more years under Jerry Jones before retiring from coaching for good. Their quarterback was Vinny Testaverde, who had just turned 41. Their No. 1 wide receiver was Keyshawn Johnson, who was 32. Their No. 1 running back was Eddie George, who was 31.

Big names. Older guys. Short-term thinking. Yeah, not much has changed in Jerry’s World.

If the result Wednesday night at Finneran Pavilion — Columbia 90, Villanova 80 — turns out to be more than just a one-off, if it really is a sign of things to come for the Wildcats, a lot of people connected to the program are going to be doing a whole lot of box-score monitoring this season.

Hmmm, that coach’s team sure seems to be playing good ball …

Hmmm, that coach seems to know how to build a roster in the NIL era with fewer resources than we have …

Hmmm, that coach has ties to ’Nova …

Is this heat fair to Kyle Neptune, now in his third post-Jay Wright season? There’s a case to be made that it isn’t. He replaced a legend. He had one year of head-coaching experience. He took over as the sport was undergoing a seismic shift. But fair doesn’t apply to college basketball anymore, if it ever did. The Villanova men’s basketball program is a professional sports franchise now, and its alumni and boosters don’t seem inclined to pay for grace periods.

Congratulations to recently retired Inquirer scribe Mike Jensen, who will be inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame next month. There is no better friend on the planet and no better combination of person and professional in our business.

» READ MORE: From the Eagles to the Phillies, the Sixers to the Flyers, we’ll find out how much coaching matters.