Dallas Cowboys Favored In Rematch With Philadelphia Eagles

NFL News - January 4th, 2010 - Written by John

A year ago, the Dallas Cowboys were in desperate need of a win at the end of the year to make the postseason, but fell flat in a 44-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

This year: Payback.

The same kind of dismal performance was seen last week in the finale, except in the reverse as the Cowboys used a flurry of quick passes to tear up the Eagles in a 24-0 win on Sunday, which earned them a spot in the 2009 NFL Playoffs. It was the kind of win that goes a long way in restoring the pride of the organization that was recently dubbed hapless at the end of the year. Instead of crumbling with the season on the line, Dallas won three-straight to steal the NFC East crown from Philadelphia, and will be rewarded with home-field advantage in the rematch in the NFC's Wild Card Weekend.

Thus, the Cowboys are favored by four, according to NFL Playoff Betting Lines, with an over/under of 45.

It's the first time the Cowboys have made the playoffs since '07, when Tony Romo's infamous fumble during a field goal attempt gave the Seattle Seahawks the first round win.

Romo has been impeccable at the end of the year, finishing with a career-high 4,483 yards and has a score in 12-straight. Against the Eagles, he tossed for 311 yards and a score, and benefited from a running game that ate up 179 yards.

Clearly, Dallas currently holds the momentum, but Philadelphia was one of the hottest clubs before the loss. Before the Sunday debacle, the Eagles were riding a six-game winning streak, getting blowout wins over the Giants and Falcons along the way.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Eagles are a very smart team and are rarely stupefied for an entire game, which was the case on Sunday. They were shut out for the first time this season in a game that decided home-field advantage in the first round. Donovan McNabb was feeling the pressure early, and his errant throws late in the game seemed to be the byproduct. He never really seemed comfortable in the pocket, even when he had time, missing a relatively ordinary deep ball to DeSean Jackson.

Those passes have been a staple in the Philadelphia offense to break games open this year, and it will be interesting to see if Andy Reid can draw up some better protection. The Cowboys used a series of stunts and pure blitzes early in the game, which has earned Wade Phillips praise, but the team knows to prepare for a completely different team next week. Even Dallas receiver Patrick Crayton told ESPN that the team is going to visualize a brand-new Eagles team in the playoffs.

STATS AND STREAKS

- The Cowboys appear to be the team to beat in the NFC right now, winning three-straight to close out the schedule. A big part of that has been Romo's re-emergence on the media's good side due to 250 yards passing in six consecutive games. He has at least one touchdown pass in each of the last 12.

- A different Dallas receiver has led the team in yards in each of the last four games. Last week it was Crayton's 99 that paced the team, and before that it was Jason Witten, Miles Austin, and Roy Williams.

- Philadelphia has yet to have a 100-yard rusher this season. Part of that has to do with it's reliance on rookie LeSean McCoy and lifetime reserve Leonard Weaver for most of the season, but Brian Westbrook has only gained 49 total yards in the last two games. The Cowboys have had only one 100-yard game on the ground in '09, but both Felix Jones and Marion Barber had 91 apiece last week.

-McNabb has thrown fewer than 200 yards twice this entire year, but hasn't been short of that since Week Seven. He had a 10-game touchdown streak, but that was snapped last week against the Cowboys. His completion percentage has been below 60 in each of the last three games.

- Philadelphia has typically sputtered in the regular season, only to make a deep run in the playoffs. Last year, it went 9-6-1 but made it to the conference championship game. The success can be attributed to the fact that it has kept seven of it's last 10 playoff games under.

- The underdog is 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings in this series.