Eagles-Cowboys preview

Philadelphia, Pa. - There can only be one first-place position in the NFC East, and only one team will be thankful for it when they leave the field in Arlington, Texas on Thanksgiving.

Philadelphia (8-3) holds that position currently, with Dallas (8-3) sitting at second, both of whom will enter the game off a victory, the Eagles defeating the Titans 43-24, and the Cowboys rallying from behind against the Giants 31-28 on Sunday night.

"We want to win our division," Eagles corner Cary Williams said this week. "They are a great opponent. They have a great team and are playing at a high level right now."

That high level has come against teams with a combined record of 29-58 and their last two against the 1-win Jaguars in London and needing a comeback at the 5-win Giants. 

They have also lost their last two games at AT&T Stadium, an overtime defeat to the Redskins and a 28-17 decision to the Cardinals. But they lead their annual Thanksgiving series 29-16-1.

Dallas features the 2nd-best rush offense in football (150.1 ypg) and the league's best back, DeMarco Murray, who has rushed for 1,154 yards overall and 7 touchdowns. His yardage mark is good for 9th-best in Cowboys history, and is on pace for 1,970, which, if achieved, would be their best mark all-time. 

His 121 yards Sunday at the Meadowlands aided their comeback, not that the performance was a surprise for Murray, who has rushed for at least 100 yards in 10-of-11 games this season.

"I definitely felt a bit rusty," Murray said this week. "I may have missed a few things here and there, but we'll watch the film and get it corrected and see where we go." 

He will face the Eagles' 17th-ranked rush defense Thursday.

"I think our run defense has been good," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said this week. "I think it's been a strength. And that's obviously one of their strengths, so it should be a good matchup."

Tony Romo heads the league's 14th-best passing game (237.2 ypg) against the Eagles' 30th-ranked pass defense (266.3 ypg). He threw 4 touchdowns in Sunday night's victory as the Cowboys enjoy a two-game winning streak, though he didn't offer himself any time to enjoy the occasion.

"We have another challenge coming up real quick," Romo said Sunday. "Philly is playing great football so we're going to have to play better than we did tonight to win that game."

Romo has thrown 7 touchdowns to no interceptions in his last two appearances for Dallas. He threw for at least 300 yards with 8 touchdowns in the last three home games in which he appeared. 

Dez Bryant is Romo's first option through the air with 10 touchdowns and 879 yards receiving, on pace for his third-straight 1,000 yard season.

His 13 yard go-ahead scoring catch with 1:01 remaining Sunday night came on his 7th catch in 9 targets, and his 50th score in 70 games. But like his quarterback, the victory in his eyes was little cherished in sight of the task to come.

"Everybody knows that we won," Bryant said, "but when we land in Dallas, that game no longer matters."

Any passing game against the Eagles will likely come over on the game film of their 33-point defeat to the Packers at Lambeau Field two weeks ago, a game in which Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns, and in which corner Bradley Fletcher surrendered two touchdowns and over 100 yards, including a 64 yard catch to Jordy Nelson on the game's third play.

Getting past the Eagles' front-seven may be another matter, a unit that has recorded 38 sacks, second in the league behind the Buffalo Bills.

Philadelphia secured five sacks on Zach Mettenberger last Sunday, two each from Trent Cole and Connor Barwin. Barwin is second in football with 12 1/2 sacks, his career-high, and has his sights set on powering through the Cowboys' stout offensive line to their quarterback.

"He [Romo] has one of the best offensive lines in the league in front of him," Barwin said. "And he's one of the best at eluding the rush. He's a huge challenge to us up front."

Though Eagles end Bennie Logan doesn't share his colleague's respect for the Dallas front-line.

"I don't really know what's so great about them," he told CSNPhilly.com. "The running back's having a good year running, but I don't see anything spectacular about them. Same offensive line we faced last year and they have one new guy. We faced them. They're OK linemen."

Chip Kelly said his staff started working on their game plan while the Cowboys were still involved in their Sunday night game against New York.

"We've looked at them a lot," Kelly said of Dallas. "We've got a pretty good understanding of where they are right now. They play extremely hard on the defensive side of the ball; and then, obviously, they are running the ball at a very, very high rate."

Mark Sanchez has thrown for an average of 328 yards in four-games' relief of starter Nick Foles. He tossed 5 touchdowns in those games, but in the last two threw four interceptions, and is responsible for 8 turnovers overall. 

That could spell bad news for the Eagles as Dallas has secured an interception in their last four outings.

Philadelphia's victories have come against teams with a 28-59-1 record and they are 2-3 on the road this season. They and Dallas have both lost to the Cardinals and 49ers this season, the Eagles both on the road and the Cowboys both at home.

Darren Sproles may feature against the Cowboys' punt-coverage unit, a group that allows almost 11 yards per return. Sproles averages almost 15 yards per return and has two touchdowns on the year. 

Thursday will feature the 111th meeting between the Eagles and Cowboys, with Dallas leading the all-time series 62-48. 

"If you can't get excited about this game, you shouldn't be playing football," Trent Cole said.