Eagles. Cowboys. Winner takes NFC East crown and a potential first round bye in the playoffs. The loser is on the road next week to start the playoffs. The Dallas-Philly rivalry has provided some big games throughout the years, but only the 1980 NFC title game was bigger than this. Here’s how the game breaks down.
DeSean Jackson and the Eagles look to secure the NFC East title and first round bye today.
Quarterback — Edge: Push. Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb are both consistently inconsistent. You just don’t know which signal callers will show up in Jerry Jones’ $1 billion palace today. When McNabb is on his game, he’s better than Romo. Let’s hope the Pro Bowl McNabb arrives in Dallas.
Running back — Edge: Push. Marion Barber and Felix Jones provide a nice 1-2 punch for the Cowboys. The same goes for the Eagles LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver. The X-factor here is Brian Westbrook. He looked solid in his return from concussions last week, but only got a handful of touches. If he is included in the game more, especially on screen passes, then the Eagles get the edge.
Wide receiver — Edge: Eagles. Miles Austin has had a solid year for the Cowboys. The receiver from Monmouth — yes, Monmouth — is headed to the Pro Bowl. After that, it’s a crapshoot. The golden child, Roy Williams, has been a bust to say the least. Patrick Crayton is a solid possession type wideout. The Eagles are better and deeper with DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant. Throw in Reggie Brown and possibly Kevin Curtis and there’s no comparison. One through five, we take the Eagles wideout over the Cowboys every time.
Tight end — Edge: Push. Jason Witten and Brent Celek have both had Pro Bowl caliber seasons with Witten getting the trip to Miami and Celek being overlooked. Celek has more TDs, but Witten has had to block more this year. This is a case where these two guys could be traded for each other today, and neither offense would take a hit.
Offensive line — Edge: Cowboys. The injury to Jamaal Jackson could disrupt a line that has gelled very well this year. How that disrupts the eagles remains to be seen. Until we see how Nick Cole and Max Jean-Gilles play today, we can’t give the Birds the edge.
The Eagles look to sack Tony Romo and the Cowboys today.
Defensive line — Slight Edge: Eagles. Pro Bowler Trent Cole and the Birds get a slight nod here over the Cowboys because they can get after the quarterback a bit better. While the Cowboys employ a 3-4 scheme and the line opens things up for DeMarcus Ware to terrorize opposing signal callers, Ware is technically listed as a linebacker.
Linebackers — Edge: Cowboys. Ware and his 11 sacks give the Cowboys the edge, especially against an Eagles corps that looks nothing like it did on opening day. While the Birds linebackers have played better as a unit recently, we still give Dallas the edge.
Secondary — Edge: Eagles. Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown. Enough said.
Special teams — Edge: Eagles. DeSean Jackson. David Akers. Nearly enough said. Quintin Demps also returns for the Eagles which should keep Macho Harris away from kick return duties.
THE PICK: Eagles 27, Cowboys 24 (OT). You may see this game replayed tomorrow on ESPN as an instant classic. OK, due to TV rights that won’t happen. But, the game will be replayed on NFL Network all week. (Sorry Time Warner subscribers.) Both teams are very evenly matched and really, it’s going to come down to which squads show up today and who wants it more. The Eagles have more to gain — a guaranteed first round bye — with a win. Dallas could get the two seed as well, but need help. Plus, this is going to be a playoff game and Tony Romo and the Cowboys have not fared so well in games of this magnitude. Just remember the last game of the season a year ago. McNabb and the Eagles have experienced games like this and won. We see that helping them today, but it won’t be easy.
