The Philadelphia Eagles (11-4) are on the road going up against the Dallas Cowboys (10-5) on Sunday.  Although the Eagles have secured a spot in the playoffs, they need to bring it on Sunday if they want to capture the NFC East title.  If they win the NFC East they could likely end up with a first round bye.  It could be a tough game for the Eagles offense though, especially since the Cowboys’ defense is playing the best it has all season.  That means Donovan McNabb needs to have a good day for the Eagles and hopefully he can find DeSean Jackson on some deep routes.  Jackson has had an outstanding year at receiver for the Eagles, with 1120 yards and 9 touchdowns on 60 receptions.  Also, Michael Vick should get a few more snaps to keep the Cowboys’ strong defense off balance.

The Eagles defense is going to need to have a strong game too, since the Cowboys offense has been hot ever since they took down the formerly undefeated Saints two weeks ago.  If the Eagles can rattle Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo, he is very likely to turn the ball over.  He uses his legs well to give himself more time though, so it will be a challenge.  The Cowboys also average 128 rushing yards per contest, so the Eagles need a good all-around game to keep the Cowboys offense in check.  I expect this to be a close playoff-type game, but I am giving the Cowboys a slight edge with the home-field advantage.

PREDICTION:  Philadelphia Eagles 27, Dallas Cowboys 28

The Eagles are sending players from all three phases of the game to the Pro Bowl.  23-year old WR/PR Desean Jackson has made the Pro Bowl for both roles which is the first time in NFL history that it has ever happened.  Jackson has played in 14 games for the Eagles so far this season and he has caught 60 passes for 1,120 yards (18.7 avg) with 9 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 10 times for 131 yards (13.1 avg) with 1 TD run.  Jackson has also returned 27 punts for 432 yards (16.0 avg) with 2 TD returns this season.  He is quite simply the most electrifying player in the NFL right now.  27-year old fullback Leonard Weaver will be making the trip to Miami.  He has played in 15 games for the Eagles this season and he has carried the ball 69 times for 321 yards (4.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Weaver also has caught 15 passes for 140 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs this year.  27-year old OT Jason Peters has been a rock on the Eagles’ offensive line this season as he has played in 14 games (all starts) so far this season.  Getting him from Buffalo was one of the best moves the Eagles made last off-season.  28-year old CB Asante Samuel has really been awesome for the Eagles this season.  He has played in 15 games for the Eagles this season and he has made 40 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, forced 1 fumble, defensed 15 passes and he has 9 interceptions (117 return yards).  27-year old DE Trent Cole has been outstanding this season spending a lot of time in opposing backfields.  He has played in 15 games for the Eagles this season and he has 54 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, forced 2 fumbles, defensed 2 passes and he has 12.5 sacks.  35-year old kicker David Akers has been outstanding this season for the Eagles.  He has played in 15 games this season for the Eagles and he has connected on 32 of 36 field goals (88.9%) and he has made 43 of 45 extra points with 139 total points.  The Eagles hope these six guys have to cancel playing in the Pro Bowl which means that they will be getting ready for the Super Bowl.