Eagles embarrass Cowboys on Sunday Night

There is nothing like the Eagles crushing the Cowboys, especially when it is on national television for all the country to see.  The Eagles basically played a perfect game in downing Dallas, 34-7, and are now 3-4 and find themselves right back in the thick of the division.  Here are my thoughts on the game:

-LeSean McCoy was clearly the best player on the field.  McCoy juked, jived and motored all over the Dallas defense, rushing for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.  McCoy seems to be getting better an better every week and is turning the Eagles into a run-first team, quite an accomplishment with Andy Reid at the helm.  I'm not sure there is a better running back in the NFL.  To think, this is just his third year in the league and he could get even better.

-Michael Vick played a nearly flawless game, completing 21 of 28 passes for two touchdowns while rushing for 50 yards.  While he nearly had a fumble in the third quarter, Vick didn't turn the ball over and didn't make a bad pass all game long.  When Vick has plenty of time and makes quick decisions to either throw the ball or tuck it and run, he is at his most dangerous.  This was probably his best game since the Monday Night massacre against the Redskins.

-The Eagles first 6 possessions all ended with a score touchdown or a field goal.  Zero punts until the 4th quarter.  Remarkable.

-Take out the long touchdown by the Cowboys in the 4th quarter and the Eagles defense also played a nearly flawless game.  A lot was made of how the Wide 9 wasn't working but the adjustments Juan Castillo and the defense made all seemed to work perfectly.  While DeMarco Murray did have success on the ground, any time Tony Romo dropped back to pass, Trent Cole and Jason Babin were both bearing down on him.  Combine a potent pass-rush with great coverage and you have an unbeatable combination.

-Dez Bryant and Miles Austin combined for just six catches, with most of them coming in garbage time.  Much of the credit goes to the Eagles pass rush not giving Romo enough time but the All-Star secondary certainly played up to expectations.

-Andy Reid had TWO correct challenges in the game.  Has that ever happened before?

-Speaking of Reid, his perfect record after a bye continues.  With all the negatives against the Reid, give this man time to prepare and he makes the necessary adjustments to get his troops ready.

Your Eagles are now tied for second place in the NFC East with a 3-4 record.  With the Giants facing a brutal November schedule, the division race is far from over.  Bring on the Bears!
(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Eagles vs. Cowboys Week 8 inactives: all hands on deck

The Eagles and Cowboys announced their inactive players for their Week 8 Sunday Night showdown:

Eagles: LB Keenan Clayton, DE Philip Hunt, T Winston Justice, RB Dion Lewis, CB Curtis Marsh, S Jarrad Page, OL Julian Vandervelde

Cowboys: G David Arkin, NT Josh Brent, DE Clifton Geathers, RB Felix Jones, G Kevin Kowalski, G Daniel Loper, QB Stephen McGee

The bye week healed the Eagles, who have every starter healthy and ready to go.  It will be especially nice to see Trent Cole out there creating havoc for Tony Romo.  Dion Lewis is the one surprise inactive, apparently due to a car accident, and that should mean that Ronnie Brown, who will return kicks tonight, will get more touches.  Lewis has looked good any time he has had the ball in his hands this season.

Every Eagles/Cowboys game is big but this one is huge for the Eagles.  If they want to make a run for a playoff spot, this is a must-win game.  Go BIRDS!

Backup Eagles barely lose to Cowboys

Even though they won, this has still got to be pretty embarrassing for the Cowboys. The Eagles, playing the entire game with backups at every position, barely lost to the Cowboys, 14-13, in an incredibly boring and meaningless game.

Since the Eagles didn't bother to play the game, as they rightfully shouldn't have, I'm not going to bother to do a recap. Kevin Kolb looked below average in the game, completing just 18 of 36 passes for 162 yards, a touchdown and 3 interceptions, and didn't do much to give Eagles fans confidence if Michael Vick were to get hurt next week. The only Eagle that got significant playing time this week that I want to see more of is Jerome Harrison, who picked 105 total yards in the game. Harrison is a tremendous change of pace back and I would love to see him get a few extra touches in the playoffs.

The Eagles finish the season with a 10-6 record, a pretty solid record considering many thought this was a rebuilding year for the Birds. Now let's see if the Michael Vick magic can carry them to that elusive Super Bowl title.
(AP PHOTO)

Eagles vs. Cowboys Week 17 Inactives: Stars sit

The Eagles and Cowboys have announced their inactive players for their meaningless Week 17 game:

Eagles: LB Shawn Bradley, DE Trent Cole, WR DeSean Jackson, T Winston Justice, DT Trevor Laws, RB LeSean McCoy, CB Asante Samuel, QB Michael Vick

Cowboys: OT Alex Barron, K Kris Brown, G Phil Costa, DE Clifton Geathers, QB Chris Greisen, OT Jermey Parnell, S Andrew Sendejo, WR Teddy Williams

The Eagles are clearly treating this week like a bye as all of their offensive and defensive stars are taking the week off. Expect to see plenty of Jerome Harrison and maybe even some Mike Kafka as the Eagles treat this game like a preseason contest.

It's hard to care too much about a game the Eagles don't even care about but it's always fun to watch the Eagles beat the Cowboys. Look for Kevin Kolb to have a big game as he angles for a starting job for another team next year. GO BIRDS!

DeSean's huge night leads Eagles over Cowboys

The Eagles will put up with DeSean Jackson's post-touchdown celebrations as long as he keeps making big plays. Behind a career night from Jackson, the Eagles edged the Cowboys, 30-27, to remain atop the NFC East.

It was all about the big play for the Eagles, as DeSean Jackson needed just 4 catches to amass 210 yards, the third most in one game in Eagles history. His two biggest plays were the first and the last time Jackson touched the ball, as he caught a 60 yard pass on the first play of the game and had a dynamic 91 yard catch and run touchdown in the 4th quarter that proved to be the game winning score. Sure, Jackson drew a stupid penalty for falling into the end zone backwards on his 91 yard score, but it's something we have all grown to live with (and love) from number 10. Remember when Jackson had trouble doing anything against the Cowboys last year? Yeah, neither do I.

The rest of the Eagles offense did work in this one, too. Despite throwing a pair of interceptions that weren't his fault, Michael Vick put together another solid performance, throwing for 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushing for 16 yards and another touchdown. He didn't always make the perfect play and he took a ton of hits but Vick continues to evolve into one of the most reliable QB's in the game. Also having a great game was LeSean McCoy, who ran roughshod over the Cowboys in the 4th quarter to rack up a career high 149 yards on just 16 carries for a ridiculous 9.3 yards per carry average. With the way the Eagles continue to set up the run with their tremendous passing game, expect McCoy to have a lot more games like this in the coming weeks and years.

Without Asante Samuel, the Eagles defense continues to look weak. While the Cowboys do have a respectable offense, there is no excuse for the defense to get shredded by a mediocre quarterback like Jon Kitna. Samuel can't return to the Birds fast enough but I'm not sure his presence will eliminate all of the blown assignments and missed tackles that plagued the Eagles defense.

In other injury news, it sounds like Stewart Bradley will be out for at least a few weeks after a nasty injury caused him to dislocate his elbow. While Bradley hasn't had a stellar season, the Eagles need all the help they can get on that side of the ball and will miss their defensive leader.

The win over the Cowboys keeps the Eagles in the drivers seat in the NFC East with a showdown against the Giants looming next week. While the Eagles are fortunate enough to catch a break with the Giants getting a shorter week because of their game being moved to Monday, the Birds will need to be at the top of their game with the division on the line. While we can be sure the offense will produce their fair share of big plays, let's hope Asante Samuel finds his way back to the field and gives the defense the boost it sorely needs. With another game against a Manning on the schedule, I'm sure Asante has a few more interceptions in him.

Eagles vs. Cowboys: Week 14 Inactives

The Eagles and Cowboys have announced their inactive players for their Sunday Night Game:

Eagles: LB Omar Gaither, T Austin Howard, CB Brandon Hughes, OT Winston Justice, QB Mike Kafka, TE Garrett Mills, CB Asante Samuel, DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim

Cowboys: RB Marion Barber, LB Victor Butler, OL Phil Costa, LB Kenwin Cummings, DE Clifton Geathers, T Jermy Parnell, QB Tony Romo, T Sam Young

As we knew, the Eagles will be without Samuel and Justice for the game. Joselio Hanson will once against start in Samuel's place and King Dunlap will get the start at right tackle for Justice. The only surprise inactive is Gaither, who hasn't exactly seen the field much this year, anyway.

With the Cowboys suddenly playing better football under Jason Garrett, we should be in for a good game tonight. GO BIRDS!

Cowboys and Redskins losses, McNabb benching highlight Eagles bye week

The Eagles didn't play in Week 8 but they have to be pretty happy with everything that happened to their divisional rivals in the week. Not only did the Cowboys and Redskins lose, they both lost in embarrassing fashion, with the Cowboys getting worked by a very average Jaguars team and the Redskins collapsing in the 4th quarter against the Lions. Oh, and of course, there is the little matter of the Redskins benching Donovan McNabb.

With the Redskins still within a touchdown late in the game, head coach Mike Shanahan chose to bench McNabb, turning the offense over to Rex Grossman. Yep, Shanahan thought the team had a better chance of winning with Rex Freakin' Grossman than they did with McNabb. While Shanahan said after the game that McNabb was still the starting quarterback, you can bet the sensitive McNabb will sulk in practice and won't soon forget getting benched. The Redskins can probably forget about signing McNabb to a long term deal.

As for the Cowboys, while their season was pronounced over once Tony Romo went down, starting the season 1-6 is still a nightmare scenario for "America's Team". The disappointment on the face of Jerry Jones is enough to bring a smile to any Eagles fan.

Of course, with a game against the Colts looming in Week 9, the Eagles don't have much time to enjoy the suffering of their biggest rivals. With the way the rest of the NFC is playing, the door is still wide open for a darkhorse contender like the Eagles to get hot and make a Super Bowl run.

That looked familiar: Cowboys end Eagles season with another beatdown

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Same opponent. Same location. Unfortunately, same result.

For the first time in the Andy Reid era, an Eagles season was ended in their first playoff game of the postseason. In a repeat of the Week 17 blowout, the Cowboys had their way with the Eagles, dominating them from start to finish in a 34-14 win.

As much as it pains me to admit, the Cowboys are simply better than the Eagles. Their defense hounded Donovan McNabb all game long, forcing him to scramble out of the pocket and rush his throws. The Cowboy offense also seemed one step ahead of the Birds D, calling screen plays when the Eagles blitzed and moving the ball at will. Really, the only thing that kept the Cowboys from putting up more points were untimely penalties that kept them off the board in the first quarter.

As for the Eagles, we will spend another offseason wondering what to make of the team. Are the Eagles a great team that simply ran into a team that had their number? Or, are the Eagles simply a good team that doesn't quite have enough talent to keep up with the best in the league?

Of course, you know that no offseason will be complete without the obligatory Donovan McNabb drama. As far as I'm concerned, McNabb did everything he could with what little protection he got against the swarming Cowboys defensive line. McNabb was forced out of the pocket on nearly every passing play and had to improvise most of the game. Despite this loss not being his fault, many fans in Philadelphia are going to call for him to be shipped out of town. Those that want him out, I ask you to please tell me who the Eagles should turn to at quarterback that will be better. Michael Vick is not an acceptable answer. Kevin Kolb is not a proven commodity. Hopefully the Eagles front office understands that this team needs to improve a lot more in other areas than they do at QB.

So another season ends in disappointment for the Eagles, this time without a deep run into the playoffs. It was a typical Eagles season, filled with big wins and bad losses and the belief that, if the team plays to their potential, they could beat anyone. As Eagles fans, we keep rooting because we know, at some point, they will put it all together and win the Super Bowl. We only hope that it will happen in our lifetime.

Eagles/Cowboys Wild Card Inactives: Vick is back

The playoffs are here! The Eagles and Cowboys have announced their inactive players for their Wild Card showdown:

Eagles: WR Kevin Curtis, DB Quintin Demps, QB Kevin Kolb, OL King Dunlap, DT Trevor Laws, DB Geoffrey Pope, OL Dallas Reynolds, TE Martin Rucker

Cowboys: CB Cletis Gordon, G Montrae Holland, LB Curtis Johnson, QB Stephen McGee, T Pat McQuistan, OL Duke Preston, S Pat Watkins, LB Jason Williams

The only change for the Eagles from last week is that Michael Vick returns as the backup quarterback and Kevin Kolb has been pushed to the 3rd string. Expect Vick to be used often as the Eagles try to throw a different wrinkle at the Cowboys. Quintin Demps will be out again this week meaning Jeremy Maclin will return kicks.

The Cowboys will get lineman Marc Colombo back but otherwise have all the same inactive players. Colombo is a solid lineman so Tony Romo should get even more protection tonight.

Let's hope for a completely different game this week from the Eagles. Hopefully the Birds have scrapped whatever gameplan they used last week and they will come out this week with tons of energy and passion as their season is on the line. GO BIRDS!

NFL First Round Playoff Schedule: Eagles vs. Cowboys on Saturday

The Eagles won't have to wait long to get their revenge on Dallas. Here is the schedule for the first round of playoff action:

Saturday:
(5) Jets @ (4) Bengals, 4:30 pm (NBC)
(6) Eagles @ (3) Cowboys, 8:00 pm (NBC)

Sunday:
(6) Ravens @ (3) Patriots, 1:00 pm (CBS)
(5) Packers @ (4) Cardinals, 4:40 pm (FOX)

With three re-matches from games this week, it should be a great Wild Card weekend. Hopefully the Birds can wake up and actually play this time.

Playoff rematch: Dallas crushes lifeless Eagles as Birds fall to #6 seed in NFC

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Eagles never seem to like to do things the easy way. Needing a win to get a first round bye in the playoffs, the Eagles didn't bother to show up against the Cowboys, getting crushed, 24-0. The loss means the Eagles didn't get a first round bye, didn't win the NFC East and, because the Packers beat the Cardinals, the Eagles have slipped all the way to the number 6 seed in the NFC. Oh, and their opponent when they go on the road in the first round? Yep, the Dallas Cowboys.

Trying to analyze what happened in the game today would simply be maddening. Basically, the Cowboys were better in every facet of the game. Offensively, Dallas dominated the Eagles by running the ball when they wanted to (6.3 yards per carry) and met little resistance in the passing game, meaning the Cowboys could do whatever they wanted on offense and controlled the clock for most of the game (over 40 minutes of possession). Defensively, Dallas pressured Donovan McNabb all day (4 sacks, 2 fumbles), completely shut down the Eagles rushing game (37 yards on 10 carries) and didn't allow the Eagles receivers to get open down the field.

So, rather than getting a week to rest up before making their playoff run, the Eagles will have just this week to regroup and try once again to solve Dallas, this time with their season on the line. The Cowboys have now beaten the Eagles twice this season so hopefully the Birds saved their master gameplan on how to knock off Dallas for next week in the playoffs. At least we know they can't possibly play any worse than they did this week.

What a difference a year makes. Last year, we were all basking in the joy of the Eagles destroying the Cowboys to get themselves into the playoffs. This year, we have been given a taste of what it feels like on the other side, although we can be comforted with the fact that the Eagles will still be in the playoffs. The frustrating thing about this Eagles team is that we know how good they can be when they are on their game, we just never know when they are going to show up. They better plan to show up next week.

Eagles/Cowboys Inactives: Gotta work for your rest

The Eagles and Cowboys announced their inactive players for their huge Week 17 clash:

Eagles: WR Kevin Curtis, DB Quintin Demps, OL King Dunlap, DT Trevor Laws, DB Geoffrey Pope, OL Dallas Reynolds, TE Martin Rucker, QB Michael Vick

Cowboys: OT Marc Colombo, CB Cletis Gordon, G Montrae Holland, LB Curtis Johnson, QB Stephen McGee, OL Duke Preston, S Pat Watkins, LB Jason Williams

The Eagles will once again be without Quintin Demps, meaning Macho Harris will be the primary kick returner. Hold on to the ball, Macho! Kevin Curtis is also out again as he still isn't 100%. Michael Vick was also expected to be back this week but his injury appears to still be bothering him. That means no trick plays with Vick and Kevin Kolb is the backup.

The only Cowboy that I have heard of that is inactive is Marc Colombo. He has been out since Week 10 with an injured leg.

Does it get any bigger than this? As if an Eagles and Cowboys game needed anything more on the line, the Birds have a playoff bye in their grasps. The Eagles should be fighting hard to get their rest next week. GO BIRDS!

The Eagles are one win away from a first round bye

Thanks to an incredible performance on Monday Night by the Chicago Bears, your Philadelphia Eagles are now one win away from the Number 2 seed in the NFC. The Bears knocked off the Vikings, 36-30 in overtime, to drop Minnesota to 11-4, the same record as the Eagles.

Now, if the Eagles knock off the Cowboys next week, not only do they win the NFC East, they also get a first round bye. And you thought the game next weekend couldn't get any bigger!

Eagles let NFC East lead slip away to Dallas

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A matter of inches decided tonight's game between the Eagles and Cowboys. With the game tied and the Eagles facing a 4th and 1 while entering Cowboys territory, Donovan McNabb took the snap and lunged at the line, seemingly falling forward for the few inches the Eagles needed to convert. One bad spot, an Andy Reid challenge and a non-reversal by the referees later and the Eagles were robbed of a first down they nearly certainly had.

Just a few plays later, Tony Romo found Miles Austin for a 49 yard touchdown that clinched the victory for the Cowboys, who ended up winning 20-16. The win gives Dallas sole possession of first place in the NFC East and makes them a truly legit contender in the NFC.

The Eagles had plenty of chances all night but seemed to come up just short every time. Donovan McNabb had his usual maddeningly inconsistent game, throwing nearly as many passes into the ground as he did to his receivers. McNabb wasn't helped by the Eagles offensive line in this one, either, as he was sacked four times and flushed out of the pocket on numerous occasions.

Still, the Eagles had a shot to at least send the game into overtime as they drove down the field trailing by a touchdown with about 5 minutes left. Then, facing a 4th and 11 in Dallas territory, Andy Reid made one of his more curious decisions, electing to kick a 52 yard field goal to cut the Dallas lead to 4 rather than go for the touchdown the Eagles would need eventually, anyway. So, with no timeouts left, the Eagles gave the ball back to the Cowboys with 4 minutes left and all Reid could do was watch as Dallas salted the game away.

In all, this was one of the more maddening Eagles games to watch. The game was right there for the taking by the Birds and they just couldn't get it done. While the refs do deserve some blame in this one, there is still plenty of blame to go around on the Eagles sideline, from the coach to the quarterback to the defense that couldn't stop Dallas on 3rd downs. While I still have faith that the Eagles will be right there in the NFC East title race at the end of the season, they simply must fix some of the glaring problems they seemingly have had for years, like their timeout usage and their short yardage failures. It's not going to get any easier when they travel to San Diego next week, either, so let's hope they find that magic solution sooner rather than later.

Eagles/Cowboys Inactives: Westbrook officially out

The Eagles and Cowboys have announced their inactive players for their Sunday Night clash:

Eagles: DE Victor Abiamiri, WR Kevin Curtis, LB Chris Gocong, RB P.J. Hill, G Max Jean-Gilles, OL Mike McGlynn, CB Dimitri Patterson, RB Brian Westbrook

Cowboys: S Michael Hamlin, G Montrae Holland, QB Stephen McGee, OL Pat McQuistan, LB Steve Octavien, C Duke Preston, CB Allen Rossum, LB Jason Williams

As was reported earlier today, Brian Westbrook is being held out due to precautionary reasons. He is apparently still dealing with post-concussion issues so the Birds want him to rest up for another week. None of the other players for the Eagles are surprises, Gocong hadn't practiced all week so he wasn't expected to play.

As for the Cowboys, there aren't any surprises. In fact, Allen Rossum is the only player of that bunch that I've ever heard of.

Here we go, first place in the NFC East will be on the line tonight! GO BIRDS! BEAT DALLAS!

Cowboys release T.O., move along Eagles fans

There's a new number one receiver on the market for Eagles fans to drool over. Unfortunately, it's one that we are all too familiar with.

The Cowboys finally came to their senses and realized Terrell Owens is a cancer to their team and released the controversial wideout. The release will cost the Cowboys 9 million dollars against the cap, so you can be sure they really wanted T.O. out. He spent three years with the Cowboys and had at least 1000 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns in each season. He is coming off his worst full season since 1999 in terms of on-field production and the Cowboys must have realized it wasn't worth the aggravation of putting up with the mouthy, over-rated wide receiver.

The Eagles have been linked to every possibly available number one receiver in the league, so you can bet speculation has already begun that this very available receiver is coming back to Philly. Don't count on that happening, however. Even though T.O. has seemingly mended his relationship with Donovan McNabb, the Eagles have numerous reasons why they won't even think about bringing him back. From a locker room perspective, the Birds have already lived through the disruptions this guy causes. From a P.R. perspective, the Eagles just let their most beloved player go so you can bet there is no way they would bring in a player that every fan hates. Finally, from an on-the-field perspective, T.O. just doesn't have it anymore and wouldn't be much of an upgrade over what the Eagles already have.

In conclusion, don't worry about our receivers anymore, Eagles fans, it could be worse. We could have Roy Williams as our number one wideout.

Re-living the magic: Video Highlights of the Cowboy Massacre

I can watch this clip over and over again:

Hat tip to whoever uploaded this to YouTube.

Unreal: The Birds are playoff bound after destroying the Cowboys!

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

No Eagles fan could have asked for anything more today. The early games shaped up perfectly, with the Raiders beating the Bucs and the Texans beating the Bears, and set up a win-or-go-home match-up between the Eagles and Cowboys. From there, the Eagles took care of business in dominating Dallas 44-6 and now a season that seemed lost has new life.

After a tense first quarter, it looked like we were headed towards another low-scoring NFC East defensive battle. With the score knotted at 3-3 early in the second quarter, Donovan McNabb connected on a short pass to Correll Buckhalter that Buck took for 59 yards all the way down to the 6 yard line. That play led the Eagles to a 24 point second quarter outburst and from there they never looked back.

The offense was the story of the second quarter as McNabb connected on several big passing plays to DeSean Jackson and Reggie Brown. The Eagles actually had a balanced offensive attack, mixing in runs by Brian Westbrook and Buckhalter with their usual array of passes.

The third quarter of the game belonged to the Eagles defense. The Cowboys marched down the field twice in the third quarter only to get the ball stripped twice by Brian Dawkins and have it returned for a pair of touchdowns to completely blow the game open. Dawkins created one of the strips while sacking Tony Romo and the other on Marion Barber after he caught a pass. One of the fumbles was returned 73 yards by Chris Clemons and the other was returned 96 yards by Joselio Hansen and the rout was on. Anyone want to question whether BDawk deserves to be a Pro Bowler?

From there the Eagles simply ran the ball and melted the clock away. Inexplicably, while down 44-3, the Cowboys kicked a field goal late in the 4th quarter to pull themselves within 5 touchdowns. I guess they needed a moral victory to take with them into the offseason.

The Eagles were given yet another chance to resurrect their season and they did so in an eye-popping fashion today. After being left for dead by many, including myself, following their tie with the Cincinnati Bengals, they fought their way back into the playoff picture. After falling a foot short against the Redskins, it appeared that the Eagles were once again done as they needed a miracle combination of losses to have a shot. The miracle happened, and the Birds capitalized.

Also making today's victory doubly great for Eagles fans is that the Cowboys were denied a spot in the playoffs. Once again, "America's Team" has proven they can't win when it matters most. They might be one of the most talented teams in the NFL but they clearly don't have what it takes to win in December. It will be fun to see what changes happen in Dallas because it's clear they can't continue with the same personnel. Whether it's the coach, the quarterback or the receiver, somebody has to go.

But enough about the Cowboys, it's time to celebrate the Eagles and their Wild Card berth. They will now face the Vikings in Minnesota next weekend. The Vikings aren't a particularly scary opponent for the Eagles since their defense can be thrown on. Stopping Adrian Peterson will be priority number one but the Minnesota offense doesn't have much else.

The NFC playoffs are wide open. Besides the Carolina Panthers, none of the other teams in the NFC are really better than the Eagles. The Birds have already beaten the Giants, Falcons and Cardinals this season so they definitely have a shot at making a deep playoff run. After last week I never thought I would be saying this but the Eagles are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. As the Giants proved last season, getting hot at the right time can carry you a long way.

Congrats, Eagles, you proved all the doubters wrong. While you aren't a perfect team, you had an opportunity today and you seized it. Celebrate your win today but get yourselves ready to extend this season beyond just the first round.

Go BIRDS!!

It's on: Eagles vs. Cowboys for the last playoff spot

Entering today, here were the Eagles two playoff scenarios:

1. Beat Dallas PLUS a Bucs loss to the Raiders PLUS a Vikings loss to the Giants

2. Beat Dallas PLUS a Bucs loss to the Raiders PLUS a Bears loss to the Texans

The Vikings beat the Giants so scenario #1 is out. For scenario #2, not only have the Bears lost to the Texans but, shockingly, the Raiders have beaten the Bucs. So the Eagles have gotten the help they needed and it sets up a HUGE showdown between the Eagles and Cowboys. The winner is in, the loser is out.

Eagles vs. Cowboys with the playoffs on the line. Could you ask for anything more?

Click here for the inactives for the Eagles/Cowboys game

Eagles/Cowboys Inactives: Curtis, Baskett are in, L.J. is out

If the Cowboys win, they're in. If the Eagles win, depending on how these early games end up, they could be in. Here are the inactives for today's game:

Eagles: DE Victor Abiamiri, OL Shawn Andrews, RB Lorenzo Booker, QB A.J. Feeley, LB Joe Mays, OL Chris Patrick, DE Bryan Smith, TE L.J. Smith

Cowboys: CB Alan Ball, G Joe Berger, QB Brooks Bollinger, CB Courtney Brown, LB Bobby Carpenter, RB Alonzo Coleman, TE Rodney Hannah, G Montrae Holland

Donovan McNabb gets his full complement of wide receivers for the game with Curtis and Baskett back in the lineup. Smith is the only weapon that will be missing in the game, although with the way he was dropping passes last week, I don't think the Eagles will really miss him at all.

The Cowboys will have all of their stars in the game, including Tony Romo, Marion Barber and Jason Witten, all of whom were question marks heading into the game. With this being a make or break game for the Cowboys, you had to bet all would be active.

Regardless of whether the Eagles are eliminated or not prior to kickoff, this should be a huge game. The chance to keep the Cowboys out of the playoffs should be enough to get the Birds fired up.