It is once again Dallas week, and despite having a 10-2 record and a win in hand against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles have opened as underdogs against the Cowboys for the Week 14 NFC East showdown at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
The Cowboys are three-point home favorites over the Eagles for Week 14’s Sunday Night Football tilt, essentially implying that Dallas is favored over Philadelphia because the game is being played at AT&T Stadium. When the two teams played at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 9, the Eagles defeated the Cowboys 28-23.
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Coach Nick Sirianni’s Eagles had their bye week immediately after their last matchup with the Cowboys, and have since been in an incredibly-difficult stretch of games. While the Eagles were able to narrowly defeat the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills coming out of the bye, they were throttled at home against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13, losing 42-19.
Meanwhile, coach Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys have won four games in a row since being defeated by the Eagles, with quarterback Dak Prescott and company averaging 42 points per game in wins over the New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks.
Related: Eagles Still Control NFC Playoff Picture Despite Ugly Loss
An Eagles victory over the Cowboys wouldn’t lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but it would go a long way towards helping Philadelphia to clinch the NFC East for the second year in a row. (There haven’t been repeat NFC East winners since the Eagles did so from 2001-2004, as you’ve surely heard ad nauseam). A win would also keep the Eagles ahead of both the 49ers and Detroit Lions in the race for the top seed in the conference, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
However, a loss would allow the Cowboys to tie the Eagles atop the NFC East, and potentially open the door for someone else to seize the top spot in the conference. The 49ers, for example, now own the tiebreaker over the Eagles by virtue of their Week 13 victory.
The good news for the Eagles is that while they will face the Seahawks in Week 15, their schedule softens up considerably over the final three weeks of the season. The Eagles still have a pair of remaining matchups with the lowly New York Giants, and a battle with the 3-10 Arizona Cardinals sandwiched in between.
Dallas, on the other hand, has a pretty difficult schedule to wind down the season. Before finishing off their season against the fading Washington Commanders, the Cowboys have games against the Eagles, Bills, Miami Dolphins and Lions left on their slate.
