Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
This is the one that counts.
The Eagles routed Dallas on Thanksgiving to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC East. But a loss to the defending Super Bowl champions a week ago tabled with a Cowboys victory has again vaulted both teams into a first-place tie at 9-4.
The Cowboys have been road warriors all season long, moving to 6-0 on the road last week with a convincing defeat of the Bears at Soldier Field, while Tony Romo moved to 10-7 on the road in the month of December for his career. The Cowboys have already taken a step forward in avoiding yet another December swoon, and for the first time in four years they won’t finish the season with a .500 record.
The Eagles offense is coming off a low in terms of total yardage in the Chip Kelly era, as the Mark Sanchez-led unit again was questioned after the Legion of Boom limited them to 139 net yards. Obviously, Dallas’ defense is more vulnerable than Seattle’s, and two weeks ago at Thanksgiving allowed Philadelphia to rack up 256 yards on the ground. The Cowboys defense has forced 12 turnovers while playing on the road, while the Eagles have nine offensive turnovers since Mark Sanchez took over under center.
Bold prediction: The Eagles are probably the better team, but they tend to get exposed when they line up against superior NFC clubs. That was the case a week ago when the Seahawks rolled through town and smacked Philadelphia at the Linc. On Thanksgiving, the Eagles easily handled the Cowboys, who for some reason play better away from Jerry’s World. Given the fact that Dallas has had 10 days to prepare for their second go-round with their divisional rival, we’re leaning on the road warriors to even the season series and make it interesting down the stretch. DeMarco Murray is the difference.
