The Dallas Cowboys (6-1) already have a three-game lead on the Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) in the NFC East, so if they boys from Philly have any shot at a division title, they must upset Dallas on Sunday night; the Cowboys are -3.5 betting favorite on WagerWeb.com.
The Eagles will have to beat Dallas by shutting out some of the big off-field news in the NFL this week,
when a judge criticized Andy Reid while sentencing Reid's two sons to prison for various crimes.
Reid has said he won't step down nor let this get in the way of his preparation, while Philly players say their focus is solely on the field.
The players have done their own yapping already.
Eagles QB Donovan McNabb said earlier this week that the NFC East title will have to go through Philly - despite the Eagles currently residing in last place.
Cowboys safety Roy Williams answered that with: "Right now, they are in no position to talk about everything going through Philly. Some teams went to Philly and beat them. No one is worried about 'You have to go through Philly.' You have to go through Dallas, you have to go through Washington and you have to go through New York, too. Everybody feels they are the best."While going 3-4, the Eagles' defense has produced only eight turnovers: five interceptions and three fumble recoveries, with the latter resulting from six fumbles. By comparison, the Cowboys have produced 13 turnovers: nine interceptions and four fumble recoveries, the latter from 13 fumbles.
'It's not like we're not trying,' Eagles linebacker Takeo Spikes said.
One thing Philly will have to do on defense is slow Tony Romo. The new $67.5 million man has thrown an
NFC-leading 16 touchdowns. Romo, who was not the starter for last year's loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia, has directed a Dallas offense that ranks second in the NFL in both total yards (402.0 ypg) and scoring (32.4 ppg) in 2007. The Cowboys have gone 12-5 since the 27-year-old took over signal-calling duties midway through last season.
This will actually be the first time that Romo and McNabb will have faced each other. McNabb, by the way,
is 6-1 as a starter at home against Dallas and is coming off arguably his best game of the season in a win over Minnesota.
Of course, this also marks Terrell Owens' return to Philly. In his first game back last year, he only had three catches for 45 yards and no TDs.
Romo and Owens will have to face a defense that is on the rise. The Eagles limited NFL leading rusher Adrian Peterson to just 70 yards on 20 carries in last week's win. The pass rush is led by defensive end Trent Cole, who has a league-high nine sacks.
"Their whole defense can rush the passer," Dallas coach Wade Phillips said. "Of course, (Eagles defensive coordinator) Jim Johnson does a great job with the blitz package too, so they can give you all kinds of problems."
The Eagles should get back one of their key defensive players in safety Brian Dawkins, who hasn't played
since suffering a neck injury in a loss to Washington on Sept. 17. While Dawkins may be back, cornerback
Lito Sheppard has missed some practice time this week with a knee sprain. Sheppard missed four games earlier this season with the same problem.
The Eagles' most consistent threat in the pass game has been do-everything back Brian Westbrook (536
rushing yards, 5 total TD), who leads the club with 35 catches and enters the contest second in the NFC with 881 yards from scrimmage.
The lowdown: Philadelphia has won nine of the last 12 meetings with Dallas, including both last season. And despite missing Dawkins and Sheppard much of the year, Philly ranks 15th in the NFL in pass defense, which is bound to improve. The Cowboys rank fifth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed (87.0 ypg) and have yet to allow an opposing back to eclipse the 100-yard mark this year. The Eagles know they need to win to save their season, and McNabb is starting to look healthy. I look for a Philly victory.
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