Out Of The Chute: Eagles at Cowboys

Every week during the season, we’ll scout out the Cowboys next opponent. This week, that opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Opponent: The Philadelphia Eagles.

Record: 6-8. A CAGEY 6-8! The most dangerous 6-8 team in NFL history, I tell you!

The Line: Cowboys by 2.5. When two overrated teams collide, you get even money.

Last Game: A stern 45-19 beatdown of the Jets that made the Eagles' chances of winning the NFC East in shocking fashion that much more feasible. Shady McCoy ran for three touchdowns and Mike Vick chipped in two more TDs of his own. But the real story was the Eagles defense, which forced four turnovers and treated Mark Sanchez like a wishbone.

The Coach: Andy Reid. Every Eagles fan I know has deeply conflicted feelings about the team's late season run costing them a chance to rid themselves of this man for good.

The Offense: The Eagles have won two straight since Mike Vick returned to the lineup, but it's McCoy who has been the linchpin of this offense all season long. When McCoy gets more than 20 carries, the Eagles are 4-1. When he gets less than 20 carries, they're 2-7. Surely, you remember the last time McCoy faced your beloved Cowboys, hanging a buck-eighty on Dallas and scoring twice in a 34-7 rout. That was not terribly fun to watch. Also, beware Brent Celek, who is suddenly ALIVE WITH PLEASURE. Rob Ryan better earn his money with this game.

The Defense: Jason Babin is closing in on the Eagles' team sack record and has a chance to beat Michael Strahan's all-time NFL record. So yeah, he should probably be blocked. This defense has shown some improvement the past two weeks, though perhaps not enough to spare Juan Castillo's job once the season is over.

Key Matchup: Jason Garrett's clock management vs. Andy Reid's clock management. Someone is gonna screw this all up at the end of the game, it's just a matter of who. That's what happens when these two teams meet and the division is at stake.

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