The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are locked in one of the fiercest division races in the NFL, but for the first time this season, we'll finally see the two teams face each other. The 8-3 Cowboys host the 8-3 Eagles on Thanksgiving in a game between two teams who are not only fighting for the NFC East crown, but the NFL's best record as well.
Eagles vs. Cowboys 2014: Thanksgiving clash with NFC East on the line
The Cowboys and Eagles face off on Thanksgiving with the winner taking hold of first place in the NFC East.
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Both teams sit just a game behind the 9-2 Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots for the NFL's best record. Thankfully, the Pats play in the AFC, meaning that whichever of these two teams wins the division has a great shot to earn a first-round bye and potentially homefield advantage throughout the playoffs if they can pass the Cardinals.
It's not often these two teams don't play until this late in the season. In division play, the Cowboys have already swept the New York Giants, but lost at home to Washington in Week 8. That game saw Tony Romo knocked out most of the second half with a back injury, but did return before Dallas ultimately lost in overtime.
Romo missed the following week against Arizona, who manhandled the Brandon Weeden-led Cowboys. As for the Eagles, they’ve beaten Washington and New York once, meaning that four of their final five games are within the division.
Digits
The Eagles feature one of the NFL’s most balanced offenses. They rank fourth in passing offense, gaining 293.1 yards per game. They can also run the ball effectively, as evidenced by their 118.7 yards per game, good for 12th-best in the league. Their defense has been their Achilles’ heel though, as they rank 26th in total yardage allowed per game in addition to their 25th-ranked scoring defense (25 ppg allowed).
The Cowboys have relied heavily on the ground game, ranking second in rushing offense (150 yards per game). Their 14th-ranked defense has been good enough, but their 19th-ranked pass defense (247.8 yards allowed per game) could be where the Eagles expose them.
Arizona owns head-to-head wins over both teams, so Dallas or Philly would likely have to finish with a better record than Arizona to win the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
Who to Watch
Mark Sanchez - The Eagles' up-tempo offense requires the quarterback to do a lot in terms of making the right play calls and being able to throw well in addition to occasionally running the ball. Sanchez has done all of this well in his three starts in place of the injured Nick Foles. So far this season, Sanchez has completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,187 yards with seven touchdowns against six interceptions, good enough for an 86.8 QB rating.
DeMarco Murray - The NFL's leading rusher will attempt to continue his record-setting pace against the Eagles' No. 16 rushing defense. Murray leads the NFL with 1,354 yards to go with seven scores. He's also chipped in 38 catches for 303 yards.
The Venue
Nicknamed “Jerry World” after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, AT&T Stadium is one of the best sports venue ever seen. It features the largest retractable roof on the planet, which when closed makes the facility the largest enclosed NFL stadium. That will likely be the case for a cold Thanksgiving game between Philly and Dallas. It also features the world’s largest HDTV video board, which is made up of four display screens and weighs 600 tons.
The seating capacity for football games at AT&T Stadium is 80,000, but that can increase to more than 100,000 for marquee affairs. Since the stadium opened in 2009, it has hosted several major sporting events, including Super Bowl XLV in 2011, the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and the 2014 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four.
How to watch
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington
When: 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews
Online streaming: Verizon NFL Mobile
Odds
The Cowboys are 3-point favorites according to OddsShark, with an over/under of 56 points.
Preliminary judgment
The ESPN crew is high on the Cowboys, with 10 of 13 experts taking Dallas to win. The CBS sports panel also gives Dallas a 7-1 edge. The SB Nation staff was split with a 4-4 tie between the Cowboys and Eagles.
Further reading
For more on the Eagles, check out Bleeding Green Nation.
For more on the Cowboys, head on over to Blogging the Boys.
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