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It’s as much as football fans could hope for: a first-place matchup on Sunday night between the top two teams in the NFC.
The Philadelphia Eagles hold the best record in the NFL at 10-2, with the Dallas Cowboys on their tail at 9-3, winners of four straight.
Given the stakes and the fact the previous meeting between the two went down to the wire, this game has a lot to live up to.
Dallas is the hottest team at home, winning 14 in a row, including their last five at AT&T Stadium versus Philly.
The Eagles now know what it’s like to get destroyed by the San Francisco 49ers, as the Niners beat Philly 42-19 last Sunday.
Cowboys Aerial Assault
The Cowboys’ offensive unit is coming in hot, led by one of the MVP frontrunners, Dak Prescott and a receiving corp holding its own.
CeeDee Lamb is second in the NFL for receiving yards (1,182), Brandin Cooks has a touchdown in three of his last four games, and Jake Ferguson is fresh off a six-catch, 77-yard receiving day with a score against Seattle.
Prescott has thrown 20 touchdowns and just two interceptions in his last six games, putting up a 115.8 rating in his previous encounter.
If Mike McCarthy is looking for a way to expose the Eagles’ defense it should be a case of sticking with what’s working.
Philly’s secondary is like a wounded animal, giving up four touchdown passes to Brock Purdy, who had a 148.8 rating.
Dallas’ stud cornerback was a mere mortal on Thursday, with DaRon Bland beaten for three touchdowns, while the defense allowed a 97.0 rating to the Seahawks.
Neither team’s been sparkling on the ground lately, with the Cowboys’ Tony Pollard averaging just 4.1 yards per carry, while Philly’s DeAndre Swift had 2.2 yards per carry versus San Fran.
A.J. Brown and Lamb are in the top four regarding receiving yards for their respective teams, and each secondary will have a massive job to contain them.
Whoever wins the secondary battle this weekend will likely take command of the NFC East after Sunday night.
Jalen Hurts is coming off a sub-90 QB rating against the Niners but has still tossed four touchdowns in his last two games.
A Must-Win for Dallas
If the Cowboys are to have any hope of claiming the NFC East, winning Sunday’s game against the Eagles is pivotal.
Yes, there are still four games to play after this weekend, but the schedules of each down the stretch are like night and day.
A Dallas win puts both teams in dead heat down the season’s stretch, giving America’s Team a fighting chance at the division.
It would prove they could beat good teams and set a strong precedent for what’s to come, with Dallas battling Buffalo, the Dolphins, Detroit and Washington to end the campaign.
A Philly win and the Eagles could probably capture the NFC East with their hands behind their backs.
After Sunday, Philly faces the New York Giants twice, along with Arizona and the slumping Seattle Seahawks, about as straightforward an end to the season as Nick Siriani could hope for.