Eagles And Cowboys Battle For First Place Once More
By Kevin McGuire
Two weeks after the Philadelphia Eagles gave fans plenty of reason to be thankful, everyone will be looking for seconds against the Dallas Cowboys. For the second time in three weeks, the Eagles and Cowboys do battle in the NFC East with first place on the line. The Eagles lost their one-game edge this past week with a home loss to the Seattle Seahawks and the Cowboys winning Thursday night on the road against the Chicago Bears. Will momentum be the key this week as the Eagles prepare to host the rival Cowboys for a Sunday night game at Lincoln Financial Field?
At this point in the NFL season it would be fair to suggest the Eagles are a good team, but not a great team. There may still be a chance to string together some sort of playoff run in the NFC, but the evidence suggests the Eagles have a little more work to do before placing too much fear into the Green Bay Packers or defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. The Eagles have piled up wins against everyone outside of the NFC West and the Packers. This weekend, once again, they can create some breathing room ahead of the Cowboys and take control of first place in the NFC East. Doing so would make the path to a second straight NFC East title that much clearer with two games to play, and it may be required to reach the postseason.
It is at this juncture when we can ask just what are the realistic expectations for this Eagles team? Is this truly a team capable of putting together a run to the Super Bowl? It does not appear so. Is Mark Sanchez going to be the starting quarterback for the Eagles whenever Nick Foles is deemed ready to play? This weekend may provide an answer to that question. Sanchez played well against Dallas two weeks ago. Another solid start and a win may keep his job as the starting quarterback safe, but if he struggles then the odds Foles will be inserted back in the starting line-up as soon as possible will start to increase. The biggest realization that may be sinking in with more fans now is the Eagles are still in need of a franchise quarterback. It is not going to be Sanchez, nor will it be Foles. It is also not likely to be Marcus Mariota out of Oregon either, so forget about that possibility. Jameis Winston?
Robert Griffin III? Colin Kaepernick? Colin Kaepernick’s successor at Nevada?
Let’s get back on track though.
The Eagles need to win this weekend to keep a playoff spot within sight. A loss this weekend could prove to be costly, even with wins against the Giants and Washington in the final weeks of the season. The good news is Chip Kelly’s team tends to respond well following a loss. That should be the case again, especially after having so much success against Dallas on Thanksgiving two short weeks ago. Dallas may be getting a few extra days to prepare for this game, and they may need it. On Thanksgiving there was no doubt which team was the class of the NFC East. A loss to the Seahawks has not changed that outlook. Now the Eagles need to prove it once more.
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Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.