| Advertisement |
KICKOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Lincoln Financial Field. TV: FOX, Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, Pam Oliver. SERIES HISTORY: 116th meeting, including postseason. Dallas leads, 65-50. In 112 regular-season meetings, Cowboys lead, 62-49. Dallas has won six of the last nine and won this season, 29-23 in overtime. Dallas won last year's game in Philadelphia, 20-10.
Dallas Cowboys (13-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (6-9)
Advertisement
KEYS TO THE GAME:
The Cowboys won the NFC East and secured home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The Eagles will miss the postseason for the third consecutive season and are trying to avoid their second double-digit loss campaign in the past 12 seasons.
Quarterback Tony Romo, who missed the entire season after suffering a back injury in the preseason and then was demoted in favor of rookie sensation Dak Prescott, is expected to play in Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Prescott will start, then Romo and Mark Sanchez are expected to play but it has not been determined how long they will do so, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The rotation appears to be a change in plans for the Cowboys, who previously indicated they would not risk an injury to Romo in a meaningless Week 17 game on the road to end the regular season..
RB Ezekiel Elliott's 1,631 rushing yards rank third in NFL history for a rookie behind George Rogers (1,674 in 1981) and Eric Dickerson (1,808 in 1983). Elliott needs 178 yards to pass Dickerson, an output that seems unlikely for two reasons: Elliott's season high is 159 and, like it or not, his workload is expected to be diminished to give veteran Darren McFadden more carries.
"No game is meaningless," said Prescott, who has passed for 3,640 yards and 23 touchdowns against four interceptions. "There's quality reps against a quality opponent that's in our division that we'll play for years to come, that I'll face off against. So any reps that I can get against a good team to make myself better to get some momentum going into the playoffs, I'll take it."
Philadelphia's season began to slide when it faced off with Dallas for the first time on Oct. 30. The Eagles were 4-2 and held a 10-point fourth-quarter lead before collapsing, and the Cowboys rallied for a 29-23 overtime victory.
Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz has been learning lessons all season while passing for 3,537 yards and 14 touchdowns. Yet he also has been intercepted 14 times and his 78.2 quarterback rating ranks 25th in the NFL.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
--Eagles RB Darren Sproles vs. Cowboys LB Sean Lee. The Eagles like to get the ball to Sproles as a runner and a pass receiver. It will be Lee's job to stop him. Lee never comes off the field. He leads the Cowboys with a career-high 173 tackles. He has 12 tackles for loss and two pass deflections. He will be called on to diagnose screens and passes to Sproles.
--Eagles DE Brandon Graham vs. Cowboys RT Doug Free. With Fletcher Cox dealing with nonstop double-teams, Graham has been the Eagles' most consistent pass rusher. Free is a nine-year veteran with 113 starts.
FRIDAY INJURY REPORT
DALLAS COWBOYS
--Out: CB Morris Claiborne (groin), DT Tyrone Crawford (shoulder, hamstring), LB Justin Durant (elbow), DE Demarcus Lawrence (back), DT Terrell McClain (ankle), T Tyron Smith (knee), DT Cedric Thornton (ankle)
--Questionable: CB Anthony Brown (concussion), DE Jack Crawford (foot), DE Randy Gregory (abdomen), G Ronald Leary (back), LB Sean Lee (knee), RB Darren McFadden (illness)
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
--Doubtful: G Allen Barbre (hamstring)
--Questionable: LB Jordan Hicks (ankle), LB Mychal Kendricks (quadricep), WR Jordan Matthews (ankle), G Isaac Seumalo (ankle).
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT:
Eagles RB Byron Marshall. With Ryan Mathews placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, the Eagles have just two healthy RBs -- Darren Sproles and Marshall, an undrafted rookie who was signed off the practice squad two weeks ago. He had a pair of double-digit-yard runs in his NFL debut against Baltimore.
FAST FACTS:
-- Cowboys QB Dak Prescott leads NFL rookies in yards passing (3,630), TDs (23) and rating (105.6). He has 13 wins, tied for most by rookie QB in NFL history.
-- RB Ezekiel Elliott leads NFL with 1,631 yards rushing and ranks 3rd with 15 TDs on the ground.
-- WR Dez Bryant had 3 TDs (2 rec., 1 pass) last week and has 67 career TD catches, 2nd most in franchise history. LB Sean Lee has 145 tackles, his 3rd season with 100-plus.
-- Eagles rookie QB Carson Wentz' 352 completions are the most in season in franchise history. He ranks 2nd among NFL rookies in yards passing (3,537) and TD passes (14).
-- RB Darren Sproles is only player in NFL history with 30-plus TD catches (30), 20-plus TDs rushing (22), PR-TD (7) and KR-TD (2. DT Fletcher Cox has 8.5 sacks & FF in past 10 home games.
-- S Malcolm Jenkins had 2 INTs, including 34-yard INT-TD in Week 16. He has 4 INT-TDs since 2014, tied for 2nd most in NFL.
PREDICTION:
The Cowboys are playing only for pride and they have a lot of it. Dallas has won four straight games at Philadelphia, a streak that dates back to 2012. One more win would tie the Cowboys' longest road winning streak over the Eagles, set in 1968-72 and 1975-79.
OUR PICK: Cowboys, 32-24.
