Eagles-Cowboys Preview

 

SCOUTING REPORT

McNabb-Romo showdown highlights MNF clashBoth teams are coming off lopsided wins in Week 1. As early as it is, the NFC East looks to be the toughest division in football, so every game within the division counts. Thus, this is an important matchup. Quarterbacks Tony Romo of Dallas and Donovan McNabb of Philadelphia are in midseason form, getting excellent pass protection and putting up a lot of points. This game is full of big-time players, but it may come down to the Cowboys' offensive line versus the Eagles' aggressive blitz scheme.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
PHI	9-6	416	289	6-2	3-4	2-4	7-5
DAL	9-7	362	365	6-2	3-5	3-3	7-5
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Philadelphia Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT McNabb 60.3 3553 22 10 Kolb 64.6 741 4 3

Dallas Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Romo 63.1 4483 26 9

Philadelphia Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD McCoy 155 637 4.1 4 Weaver 70 323 4.6 2

Dallas Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Barber 214 932 4.4 7 Jones 116 685 5.9 3

Philadelphia Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Jackso... 63 1167 18.5 9 Celek 76 971 12.8 8

Dallas Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Austin 81 1320 16.3 11 Witten 94 1030 11.0 2

Full Player Stats: Philadelphia | Dallas

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	PHI	351.0
	DAL	345.0
Yards Passing	PHI	244.4
	DAL	236.8
Yards Rushing	PHI	106.1
	DAL	107.7
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	PHI	274.3
	DAL	294.3
Pass Yds Allowed	PHI	182.1
	DAL	187.7
Rush Yds Allowed	PHI	92.3
	DAL	106.6

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Philadelphia leads 11-5
Dec 16, 2007	PHI 10, DAL 6
Nov 4, 2007	PHI 17, @DAL 38
Dec 25, 2006	PHI 23, DAL 7
Oct 8, 2006	PHI 38, @DAL 24
Nov 14, 2005	PHI 20, @DAL 21
Oct 9, 2005	PHI 10, DAL 33
Dec 19, 2004	PHI 12, @DAL 7
Nov 15, 2004	PHI 49, DAL 21
Dec 7, 2003	PHI 36, @DAL 10
Oct 12, 2003	PHI 21, DAL 23
Dec 21, 2002	PHI 27, DAL 3
Sep 22, 2002	PHI 44, @DAL 13
Nov 18, 2001	PHI 36, DAL 3
Sep 30, 2001	PHI 40, @DAL 18

As dominant as the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles were in their openers, a win Monday night would be considered a lot more impressive regardless of how easy it came.

One of the NFL's biggest rivalries, featuring one of its most polarizing players, is renewed when Terrell Owens and the Cowboys host the Eagles with each team trying to stake its claim as the one to beat in the NFC East.

Dallas is looking to win its final home opener at Texas Stadium -- the team moves into a new $1 billion-plus facility next year -- by avoiding a third consecutive home loss to Philadelphia.

The Cowboys received plenty of hype as Super Bowl favorites this season after going 13-3 last year, but the Eagles garnered some as well with Donovan McNabb returning at full strength. Both teams appeared worthy of such consideration after blowout wins last week.

"There's a reason why they won 13 games last year. So we know that it's going to be a battle," McNabb said. "Every time we play it goes to the wire somehow, so we have to prepare ourselves to go out and give up a good fight."

The winner could make a statement as to which team may be the favorite to win the NFC East.

Though the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants can't be left out of that conversation, they did struggle to beat Washington in their opener and can't prove much this week. That's because they will be facing St. Louis, a team which Philadelphia dominated last Sunday in a 38-3 home win.

Dallas was just as impressive on the road in its opener, rolling to a 28-10 victory over Cleveland. Tony Romo was 24-of-32 for 320 yards and threw his lone touchdown pass to Owens, who had five catches for 87 yards.

This will be Owens' fifth game against the Eagles since they bitterly parted ways after the 2005 season. On Thursday, he said the split wasn't his fault.

"The fans and just the excitement of me coming there and being there, it became too overwhelming for Donovan," Owens said. "I think at one point in time, I will say that we had a good relationship. I think I got too big for Philly, too big for him. I just feel like in a sense that he felt like I was just probably getting too much attention.

"I feel strong about my position and what happened in Philly."

Owens and Romo have been held in check in Philadelphia's last two visits to Dallas. Romo had a 32.6 quarterback rating in those games and Owens accounted for just four catches for 60 yards while scoring the Cowboys' only touchdown as the team was limited to a combined 13 points.

Dallas was held to a total of 136 rushing yards in those two defeats, but ran for 167 last week against Cleveland. Marion Barber rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts despite leaving in the third quarter with bruised ribs, though he is expected to play this week, and rookie Felix Jones ran for 62 yards and a score.

The Eagles run defense, though, looked very good last week as it held three-time 1,000-yard rusher Steven Jackson to 40 yards on 14 attempts. Philadelphia was seventh in the league against the run last season, allowing an average of 95.8 yards per game, while Dallas ranked sixth at 94.6.

Brian Westbrook has rushed for 100 yards only once in 12 career games versus Dallas, but is coming off a solid season debut with 91 yards and a TD on 19 carries. He also had a touchdown reception as part of Philadelphia's masterful passing game led by McNabb.

Coming off a season in which he was recovering from knee surgery and didn't appear to hit his stride until late in the year, McNabb looked very healthy to open this season as he threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns. Even with Philadelphia not acquiring a big-name receiver through free agency and projected starters Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown sidelined by injury, the Eagles had three 100-yard receivers -- rookie DeSean Jackson, Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett.

"They played the Rams. They didn't play the Cowboys," Dallas cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones told the team's official Web site. "We'll do what we have to do and we're going to show up. I can't wait."

Though Brown may return Monday, Philadelphia's passing attack appears to have a greater challenge against a Dallas secondary which is expected to welcome back Pro Bowl cornerback Terence Newman, who sat out the opener with a groin injury. With Jones replacing Newman in the starting lineup last week, the Cowboys limited the Browns passing game -- featuring 2007 Pro Bowlers Derek Anderson, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow -- to 114 yards.

"It's one game," Dallas safety Ken Hamlin said. "We showed we can do things, we executed pretty well, but we have to improve."

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Jean-Jacques Taylor has been at the DMN for 16 years. He covered the Rangers and Cowboys before becoming a columnist.