The Philadelphia Eagles need to forget about last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys and try to continue their recent postseason dominance over the Cowboys.  It’s hard to forget last week’s 24-0 beat down the Cowboys gave the Eagles, which gave them the NFC East and home-field advantage in this game.  Donovan McNabb will need a much better performance than the 223 yards, zero touchdowns, and a fumble loss he had last week.  He was sacked 4 times too, so the offensive line needs to step it up and protect McNabb.  If not, McNabb needs to use his legs and allusiveness to buy some time and look down field.  The Eagles were one of the best teams at making big plays, so if McNabb and wide-receiver DeSean Jackson can hook up for some deep plays it will be huge for the Eagles.  The Eagles averaged 102 rushing yards per game this season, so if they can get some good production from their running backs, it will make the Cowboys’ pass rush less effective.

The Cowboys offense has been peaking lately, and quarterback Tony Romo is making some great plays for them.  Romo has not had much success in the postseason though, and the pressure has been building each year on him.  So, if the Eagles can get to Romo early and force a turnover it may rattle him.  Romo threw for 4,483 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions while completing 63% of his passes, so he is a very good quarterback.  Romo gets a lot of support from his running game though, with the Cowboys averaging 131 rushing yards per game.  If the Eagles can keep the Cowboys running duo of Marion Barber and Felix Jones in check, it will make a world of difference on how they can attack Romo.  I expect this game to be closer than their matchup last week, but with the Cowboys peaking along with their dominance over the Eagles just a few days ago, I am going to go with the Cowboys in this NFC Wild Card game.

PREDICTION:  Philadelphia Eagles 17, Dallas Cowboys 27

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 Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) are on the road against one of their rivals, the New York Giants (7-5).  The Giants got a big win last week against the Cowboys, but their quarterback Eli Manning has not been playing very well and is battling a foot injury.  This is good news for the Eagles, as their pass defense is not as strong as their run defense.  Brandon Jacobs will likely be getting a lot of carries, with Ahmad Bradshaw filling it at times.  The Giants will be looking for a big day out of their running backs, so if the Eagles can keep them in check they will be in great shape.

The Eagles offense looked great last week, and Michael Vick proved he can still be a viable option in their offense.  The Giants have solid defense all-around, but the Eagles passing game has been great lately so they may be dropping some more defenders back into coverage.  They are also giving up over 100 rushing yards per game, so LeSean McCoy should get more than six carries this week and he could be a difference maker.  The Eagles have been playing better than the Giants lately, so I am going with them in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Philadelphia Eagles 27, New York Giants 20

The Philadelphia Eagles (7-4) are on the road Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons (6-5) and both teams will be missing some key players.  The Eagles will be without DeSean Jackson, who suffered a concussion last week in which he said he “blacked out.”  That is never a good sign with a head injury, so it is smart that Jackson is sitting this one out.  Donovan McNabb will probably go to his TE Brent Celek more, who is the Eagles second leading receiver behind Jackson.  This will also be Michael Vick’s first time back in Atlanta since the infamous dog fighting scandal that nearly ended Vicks’ career.  Although Vick has not been an impact player for the Eagles this year, it will be very interesting to see how he and the Atlanta crowd reacts to his return.

I don’t think the Eagles should have too much of a problem beating the Falcons in this one, even without their star receiver.  The Falcons will be without their starting quarterback Matt Ryan (turf toe) and may be without their star running back Michael Turner.  Turner re-aggravated an ankle sprain last week, so even if he does play he wont be the same explosive back.  Chris Redman will start in place of Ryan at quarterback, and he led the Falcons to a comeback win last week.  Even though Redman had a good game last week, it was against the very weak Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so I don’t see him having the same success against a Philly defense that holds teams to 202 passing yards per game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Philadelphia Eagles 28, Atlanta Falcons 17

The Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) and Chicago Bears (4-5) are facing off at Soldier Field Sunday, and both teams have been looking bad lately.  The Bears have looked a lot worse, and their quarterback Jay Cutler has been playing awful.  That doesn’t meant he Eagles can relax though, as they are still without Brian Westbrook and will be without him for the next few weeks due to his concussion symptoms still lingering.  LeSean McCoy will get the bulk of the carries, but the Eagles have not been running the ball much so I don’t know if he will get the ball all that much.  McNabb has had to throw the ball a ton, and it has lead to some interceptions.  The Bears give up only 195 passing yards per game, so McNabb will need be careful with his throws as the Bears have a decent secondary.

The Eagles’ defense needs to look to get some turnovers, as that is about the only thing the Bears have been doing lately.  Jay Cutler threw 5 interceptions last week and the Bears only managed to score 6 points.  Cutler will be trying to limit those interceptions, so he will most likely throw a lot of short passes and screens.  Matt Forte has been ineffective as a runner, but he has been great for Cutler on screen passes.  He caught 8 passes for 120 yards last week, so the Eagles need to be ready for the screen pass.  This is a tough one to pick for me, as both teams have been playing poorly lately.  With the Bears seemingly falling apart though, I will go with the Eagles in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Philadelphia Eagles 28, Chicago Bears 24