Sunday Night Football has been taking a beating in the ratings this season, but NBC has its best hopes for a bounce-back in Week 8 -- a blockbuster NFC East showdown with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. This is always a heated rivalry, but the stakes are even higher with both teams gunning for the division title.
Eagles vs. Cowboys 2016: Time, TV schedule and team news for ‘Sunday Night Football’
Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott square off in a highly anticipated NFC East clash.
The Cowboys are well-rested coming off their bye week, and at 5-1 they’re in the driver’s seat in the division. Dak Prescott has been a wonderful story, filling in for Tony Romo and playing well above expectations. However, the real engine driving Dallas’ offense is its No. 4 overall pick, Ezekiel Elliott.
The former Ohio State star has lived up to the hype and more this season, leading the league with 703 rushing yards in six games (yes, he’s still the league leader even after having his bye week). Elliott is averaging 5.1 yards per carry and has rushed for at least 130 yards in four games. He’s been unstoppable, and the Cowboys’ elite offensive line gives him even more to work with. With Dez Bryant expected to make his return from a knee injury, Dallas’ offense at full strength should be a terrifying sight for the rest of the NFC.
The Eagles have been a bit streaky this year, starting out 3-0 but dropping two games in a row. They got back in the win column in dominating fashion last week, running out to a 21-10 victory and handing the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the year. The Eagles won that game with strong performances from their defense and special teams -- Josh Huff ran back a kickoff 98 yards to the end zone, while the defense recovered three fumbles and forced Sam Bradford into throwing an interception.
Carson Wentz has cooled off a bit after his fast start to the year. He had his worst performance yet in Week 7, throwing two interceptions and completing just 16 of 28 passes while averaging only 4.9 yards per attempt. Of course, the Vikings’ defense can make any quarterback look bad, but the No. 2 overall pick is showing off some rough edges in his rookie year.
Fortunately for Wentz, he has the defense to help bail him out of poor performances. The Eagles are allowing just 307 yards per game, fifth-best in the league. They’re also giving up 14.7 points per game, third-best behind only the Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has assembled a unit that’s mostly playing above its talent level and keeping the Eagles in every game. With the Eagles’ stout front four going up against the Cowboys’ nasty offensive line, the battle in the trenches will be fascinating to watch.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen genuinely good football in primetime, but the Cowboys and Eagles have the goods to make it happen. These are two young, exciting teams, playing for bragging rights in a division with decades of bad blood. If both teams play up to expectations this could be something special.
How to watch
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Place: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya
Online: NBC Sports Live
See More:
