The Eagles have clinched the NFC East and the #3 seed in the NFC playoffs which means they don’t have anything to play for.  Look for them to rest a lot of key players this weekend.  They have solid backup players so don’t expect the Eagles to lay down.  The Cowboys are 4-3 under Jason Garrett as the head coach and I expect them to have a big effort this Sunday.  The Eagles won the first game between these teams in Dallas just three weeks ago by the score of 30-27.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Eagles are going to likely give Michael Vick, Lesean McCoy and DeSean Jackson the week off.  That means that Kevin Kolb and Jerome Harrison are likely to draw starts at QB and RB this weekend.  The Eagles will likely still throw the ball a lot in this game as the Cowboys are giving up 251.4 yards passing per game.  Jerome Harrison will also likely get a heavy workload and I have a feeling that he’s going to have a big game.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Eagles better be ready to stop the run with Stephen McGee starting at QB for the Cowboys this weekend.  Felix Jones, Marion Barber and Tashard Choice are likely going to share the load so the front seven of the Eagles will have to be up for the challenge if they are going to win this game.  They must also keep McGee contained in the pocket because he’s really dangerous when rolling out to throw the ball.  Miles Austin, Jason Witten and Roy Williams give McGee nice options in the passing game so the Eagles need to get a lot of pressure on him.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 27, COWBOYS 23

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed 29-year old DE Bobby McCray and they have cut 32-year old DE Derrick Burgess.  McCray played in 16 games for the Saints last season and he had 12 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1.5 sacks.  He has now played in 93 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 134 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 29.5 sacks and 8 forced fumbles.  Burgess didn’t get into any games for the Eagles in his short time with the team.

The Eagles have placed 24-year old DT Jeff Owens on Injured Reserve ending his season due to a ruptured patellar tendon.  Owens played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Eagles this year and he didn’t make any tackles.  He was a 7th round pick out of Georgia (#243 overall) last April.  The Eagles have signed 27-year old DT Jeremy Clark to replace Owens on the roster.  Clark played in 2 games earlier this year for the Cowboys and he made 3 tackles.  Clark has now played in 6 games in his first two years and he has 7 tackles.  Don’t expect much out of him.

30-year old safety Quintin Mikell is playing some of the best football of his NFL career this year.  Mikell has played in 15 games so far this year for the Eagles and he has 88 tackles, 1 sack, 5 tackles for a loss, 15 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 3 fumble recoveries.  Mikell has now played in 123 games in his first 8 years with the Eagles and he has 446 tackles, 46 passes defensed, 4 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 10 interceptions.  Mikell bided his time early in his career with the Eagles and he learned well from the veterans on the team as he is playing outstanding football right now.

The Vikings took it to the Eagles tonight in Philly.  This means the Eagles won’t be playing for seeding this weekend so they might decide to rest some players as they await finding out if they will play the Giants, Packers or Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs.  Back to tonight, the Vikings really brought the fight to the Eagles tonight.  Michael Vick completed 25 of 43 passes for 263 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 8 times for 63 yards (7.9 ypc) with a TD run tonight.  But, he also lost two fumbles, one of which was returned 45 yards for a TD by Vikings’ CB Antoine Winfield.  Lesean McCoy also had a tough night with 44 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.4 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 41 yards (10.3 avg).  TE Brent Celek (10 rec, 97 yards), WR Jeremy Maclin (6 rec, 74 yards) and rookie TE Clay Harbor (1 rec, 3 yards, TD) led the way for the Eagles in ths passing game tonight.  The Eagles finished up with 107 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 43 passes for 224 yards.

Safety Quintin Mikell (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 fumble recovery), rookie safety Kurt Coleman (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and rookie LB Jamar Chaney (7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Eagles’ D in this game.  The Vikings finished up with 161 yards rushing on 31 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 26 passes for 176 yards.  The Eagles are now 10-5 on the year.

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed 25-year old CB/KR Gerard Lawson.  Lawson last played with the Cleveland Browns in 2009.  He has played in 20 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 1 punt return for 4 yards and 8 kickoff returns for 115 yards (14.4 avg).  Lawson also has 3 tackles in his NFL career to date.  He will help the Eagles on special teams the rest of the year.

The Philadelphia Eagles have placed 23-year old CB/KR Jorrick Calvin on I.R. due to a back injury.  Calvin played in 12 games for the Eagles as a rookie this year and he made 1 tackle.  He earned his money on special teams this year.  Calvin returned 32 kickoffs for 692 yards (21.6 avg) and he also returned 12 punts for 125 yards (10.4 avg) this season.  He was originally drafted in the sixth round by the Cardinals who dealt him to the Eagles.  He looks like a keeper.

22-year old RB Lesean McCoy has been really outstanding this season for the Eagles.  McCoy has played in 14 games for the Eagles already this year and he has carried the ball 194 times for 1,036 yards (5.3 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also caught 74 passes for 551 yards (7.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  McCoy has rushed for over 100 yards three times this season and he has also had 100+ yards receiving in a game once this year.  He has more than replaced Brian Westbrook.  McCoy has played in 30 games in his first two years for the Eagles and he has carried the ball 349 times for 1,673 yards (4.8 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He has also caught 114 passes for 859 yards (7.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Michael Vick and the passing game get all the pub, but the Eagles wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as they are on offense without Lesean McCoy.

The only way this is going to be a close game is if the Eagles suffer a letdown after last weekend’s rousing victory over the Giants.  The Eagles are sitting atop the NFC East with a 10-4 record and they swept the Giants so if they win this game they will win the division.  The Eagles have won three games in a row and six of their last seven games.  The Vikings are on a two game losing streak as they have been punished by a combined score of 61-17 by the Bears & Giants.  The Vikings are only 1-5 on the road this season and it’s looking like rookie QB Joe Webb will be making his first NFL start of his career.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Vikings are allowing 206.6 yards passing per game so far this year and they have problems covering receivers deep.  That is a recipe for disaster in this game as Michael Vick loves throwing deep to Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson.  The Eagles won’t just throw though as Lesean McCoy and Michael Vick will try to take on the Vikings’ run D that is allowing 101.5 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Eagles need to stop Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart as the Vikings are averaging 121.9 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  If the Eagles stop the running game then the Vikings are done.  Rookie QB Joe Webb isn’t going to have much luck against a Eagles’ D that has 35 sacks and 23 interceptions so far this year.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 34, VIKINGS 3

The Philadelphia Eagles have lost 23-year old rookie safety Nate Allen for the rest of the season due to a torn patellar tendon.  Allen played in 13 games as a rookie for the Eagles and he had 48 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 8 passes defensed, 3 interceptions and 1 forced fumble.  This is a HUGE loss for the Eagles as Allen really played well for them this season.  22-year old rookie Kurt Coleman will replace Allen in the starting lineup.  Coleman was a 7th round pick out of Ohio State last April.  He has played in all 14 games for the Eagles this year and he has 29 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The Eagles really need Coleman to step up.