Eagles aren't getting any help from their special teams

Dwayne Harris' 78-yard punt return for a TD last Sunday is just one of several examples of poor play by the Eagles special teams this seaon. (US Presswire)

It's been a bad year for the Eagles so far and a very bad year for their special teams. And those special teams were at their worst last Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, when the Eagles allowed a long punt return for a touchdown and didn't come close to breaking a long one themselves. Heck, they even missed an extra point.

So, the Eagles haven't had many positive plays on special teams while giving up a few over the course of this season, and that failure to make a positive impact is what bothers special teams coordinator Bobby April the most.

“The season has been very disappointing because -- and I've seen it from experience -- if you have a dominating special teams, and I mean a dominating special teams, many of the games that we lost we could have won,'' April said Thursday. “I believe that. If the games are close, the special teams and turnovers are going to decide the game.''

It couldn't have been any closer than it was when the Cowboys' Dwayne Harris returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown Sunday. The game was tied 17-17 early in the fourth quarter and that play, more than any other, broke the Eagles' backs.

When asked what broke down in the Eagles' coverage, April shook his head sadly.

“A couple things broke down,'' he said. “It takes a lot guys to execute that [coverage], and takes a lot of guys to not get it executed.”

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow@CBSEagles.