Watch Cowboys at Eagles at 9.25pm on Sky Sports Action (407) on Sunday; full NFL coverage begins at 5pm with New Orleans Saints at Tennessee Titans
Sunday 22 December 2019 17:09, UK
One of the Dallas Cowboys (7-7) and Philadelphia Eagles (7-7) will stand alone at the top of the NFC East after Sunday. Who will it be?
In the penultimate week of the NFL season, these two fierce rivals meet for the second time this year in a game which is likely to decide the division and send the winner to the playoffs.
Dallas - who won the first bout 37-10 - will clinch a spot with a win, while the Eagles will keep their fate in their own hands if they are victorious.
A Philadelphia win will give them the better record, but they will also need to beat the New York Giants on the road in Week 17 to secure their postseason berth.
What is the story behind these two teams as we edge ever closer to the playoffs?
The Cowboys' season arc has looked a little something like this: 3-0 and a Super Bowl contender, three straight losses and 'overrated', two consecutive NFC East wins to move to 5-3 and control of the division, then four losses from the next six to sit where they are now: 7-7 and holding the division lead by a thread.
They've beaten the bad teams (Giants (3-11), Redskins (3-11), Dolphins (3-11), Eagles (7-7), Lions (3-10-1)), the exception being the 8-6 Rams last week, and lost to those with winning records (Saints (11-3), Packers (11-3), Vikings (10-4), Patriots (11-3), Bills (10-4), Bears (7-6 at the time)), again one exception being the 5-9 Jets.
Who are they and what are they capable of?
Realistically, they should be capable of contending for the Super Bowl - they have the talent on both sides of the ball.
There are All-Pros along the offensive line, arguably the best pure runner in the league (Ezekiel Elliott) in the backfield and a 1,000-yard receiver (Amari Cooper) on the outside - plus another just 89 yards from that mark (Michael Gallup).
Quarterback Dak Prescott has the second-most passing yards (4,334) in the NFL. When he's on form, he can be unstoppable.
Plus defensively, there are stars on every level. So why the struggles?
The general consensus is that Dallas's problems boil down to head coach Jason Garrett and his lack of direction with the team.
If they win out and finish at 9-7, it will be the fourth straight winning season for Garrett's side. However, they only have one playoff victory to show for it - and two exits.
With an 84-66 regular season record (.560) in his career so far and three postseason losses - all in the divisional round - do his teams simply lack the killer instinct to win when it matters?
Analysts and fans argue Garrett should have achieved more with his teams over the last decade, and certainly this season. He is likely running out of time unless the Cowboys can produce a deep playoff run.
The Cowboys must win on Sunday and reach the postseason. Even then, Garrett might not be safe. What will his team produce when his job is on the line?
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was asked this week if Sunday's game was the biggest of his career so far. "You could probably say that" was his response.
After two straight seasons of watching from the sideline as Nick Foles led the Eagles to first, a Super Bowl, and second, a surprise road playoff win before exiting to the Saints last season, Wentz finally has the chance to play knockout football if he can guide his side to two wins.
In fact, the Eagles have essentially had the season on the line since three straights losses to the Patriots, Seahawks and Dolphins in Weeks 11-13, and Wentz has stepped up in a big way.
In their last two outings, he has racked up 591 yards, completing 63 of 93 passes for five touchdowns, no picks and a passer rating of 102.9.
Against Washington, Wentz led a comeback by going 11 of 11 for 89 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. What's more, he's been playing with 'nobodies' on the outside.
On Sunday, only one wide receiver caught a pass for the Eagles - and that receiver, Greg Ward Jr, went undrafted in 2017, spent the first part of this season playing for the San Antonio Commanders in the Alliance of American Football, and was only promoted to the Eagles' active roster on November 23 (after being cut back in September!)
The other two options were rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who has eight catches for 130 yards in his freshman campaign, and Robert Davis, who has one catch for 11 yards in his entire three-year career. Neither of them made a catch last Sunday.
Top two starters DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery are on injured reserve, Nelson Agholor is still out with a knee problem, and Philadelphia experimented with Mack Hollins and Jordan Matthews - both have since been cut.
Wentz could end up achieving the most passing yards in a single season by an Eagles quarterback in NFL history (he needs 486 to top Donovan McNabb's 3,916), and he would have done it with perhaps the worst receiving group in the entire league.
However, just because he doesn't have options doesn't mean he has no targets at all.
Tight end Zach Ertz has again emerged as his quarterback's go-to, receiving a massive 129 targets and turning them into 84 catches, 888 yards and six touchdowns. Backup Dallas Goedert is second to Ertz with 45 catches, 451 yards and four TDs.
Then there is Miles Sanders, Philly's first-year running back who appears capable of doing it all. He has managed a team-leading 687 yards on the ground and added 433 yards through the air, gaining 5.8 yards per touch with five total touchdowns.
Sanders has led the way in recent weeks, and his 172 scrimmage yards against Washington were the most by any Eagle since 2014. With starter Jordan Howard continuing to miss practice with a shoulder injury, expect Sanders to be much more involved than the last time these teams met, when he managed just nine touches for 32 yards.
The Eagles have managed to hang 91 points on the Dolphins, Giants, and Redskins in the last three weeks. But when they come up against the talented Cowboys, will they have what it takes to win their individual battles?
This weekend, we are showing triple-headers on both Saturday and Sunday in the penultimate week of the NFL season.
Tune in at 5pm on Saturday for Texans at Buccaneers, Bills at Patriots and Rams at 49ers. We are back at 5pm on Sunday with Saints at Titans, Cowboys at Eagles and Packers at Vikings.
