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Cowlishaw: Cowboys, Eagles games could be NFL's next big rivalry
BY TIM COWLISHAW
Staff Columnist
Published: 26 November 2014 07:22 PM
Updated: 27 November 2014 02:09 PM
On the holiday that celebrates prosperous beginnings, the Eagles and Cowboys add a new chapter to a rivalry that does not yet but might one day rank with the best in the modern NFL.
Technically, the Cowboys finished two games behind Philadelphia in the NFC East race last year. But a playoff trip was definitely on the line when Nick Foles and the Eagles outlasted Kyle Orton and the Cowboys, sending Dallas to its third straight .500 finish.
The quarterbacks have changed, and it’s not quite the end of the season, but the stakes are the same. Tied at 8-3, the Cowboys and Eagles will tangle twice in the next three weeks — starting here at 3:30 p.m. Thursday — while New York and Washington are nowhere to be seen, lying back in the ditch with 3-8 records.
The Giants remain the only team in this once-proud division to capture Lombardi Trophies this century — Philadelphia remains forever empty in that department — but the East will come down to Eagles-Cowboys for a second consecutive season. Dallas had been on a last-game-of-the-season rotation playing New York for a wild card in 2011, the Redskins for the division in 2012 and the Eagles here last year.
Do I hear a third straight Eagles-Cowboys clash in 2015 from anyone? Even a fourth perhaps?
Until that happens (and until both clubs start venturing deeper into the postseason), we cannot think of this division rivalry in the same terms as Ravens-Steelers or Seahawks-49ers, the best of the current era.
The Seahawks are the defending champs, and the 49ers have been to the last three NFC title games including last year's in Seattle. Their coaches, Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll, have gotten testy with each other since they fought it out in the Pac-12.
Good rivalry? Check.
Baltimore and Pittsburgh have staged memorable divisional battles built on defense, have fought it out in the playoffs and, since the 2000 season, have captured four of the last 14 Super Bowl victories.
Good rivalry? Check plus.
So how do the Eagles and Cowboys — teams that certainly share a contentious connection filled with strike-fueled hate and bounty bowls from the ’80s — reach the level of these other rivals?
It starts with a potential shootout at AT&T Stadium. After Green Bay, the Eagles and Cowboys are the highest scoring teams in the NFC.
It’s odd to think of the distance these two have built over the Giants and Redskins given all that has taken place. The Eagles have lost their quarterback and numerous offensive linemen, while Dallas has made key defensive improvements without radically changing its roster and holds its breath on Tony Romo’s next hit to the lower back.
It’s almost anachronistic to announce these two as the future of the NFC East because they have the best ... running backs?
LeSean McCoy led the NFL in rushing last year. While Eagles coach Chip Kelly is, indeed, an innovator in NFL terms, he loves to run the football almost (but not quite) like Darrell Royal did. Injuries within the Eagles’ interior line have made for a roller coaster season for McCoy (19 carries for 22 yards against Washington, 12 for 19 just three weeks ago against Carolina).
But McCoy dashed for 130 yards and had his longest of the season (53 yards) against Tennessee, so it’s fair to assume that he and their backup deluxe, Darren Sproles, will be factors Thursday.
DeMarco Murray, you know all about. His lead on the league’s second-leading rusher, Pittsburgh’s Le’veon Bell, is more than 400 yards.
The shelf life of a productive running back is an exceedingly short one in the NFL, and who knows what Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will decide to do when it comes time to pay Murray along with Dez Bryant, linebacker Rolando McClain and others for the future? Suddenly this team has a number of good, young players to sign — a good problem to have.
In addition, the Cowboys have drafted their way into an offensive line that should be strong for years.
For now, the Eagles and Cowboys are light years ahead of their East competitors. The division title belongs to one while the other stands in good but not great shape for a wild-card entry.
The last time the Cowboys had a record this good and played a formidable opponent on Thanksgiving Day was 2003 when the 8-3 Cowboys in Bill Parcells’ first season lost to the 7-4 Miami Dolphins.
So the message, as always, is to enjoy a good thing while it lasts. But it feels like these Eagles and Cowboys might be going at it for a while.
BY TIM COWLISHAW
Staff Columnist
Published: 26 November 2014 07:22 PM
Updated: 27 November 2014 02:09 PM
On the holiday that celebrates prosperous beginnings, the Eagles and Cowboys add a new chapter to a rivalry that does not yet but might one day rank with the best in the modern NFL.
Technically, the Cowboys finished two games behind Philadelphia in the NFC East race last year. But a playoff trip was definitely on the line when Nick Foles and the Eagles outlasted Kyle Orton and the Cowboys, sending Dallas to its third straight .500 finish.
The quarterbacks have changed, and it’s not quite the end of the season, but the stakes are the same. Tied at 8-3, the Cowboys and Eagles will tangle twice in the next three weeks — starting here at 3:30 p.m. Thursday — while New York and Washington are nowhere to be seen, lying back in the ditch with 3-8 records.
The Giants remain the only team in this once-proud division to capture Lombardi Trophies this century — Philadelphia remains forever empty in that department — but the East will come down to Eagles-Cowboys for a second consecutive season. Dallas had been on a last-game-of-the-season rotation playing New York for a wild card in 2011, the Redskins for the division in 2012 and the Eagles here last year.
Do I hear a third straight Eagles-Cowboys clash in 2015 from anyone? Even a fourth perhaps?
Until that happens (and until both clubs start venturing deeper into the postseason), we cannot think of this division rivalry in the same terms as Ravens-Steelers or Seahawks-49ers, the best of the current era.
The Seahawks are the defending champs, and the 49ers have been to the last three NFC title games including last year's in Seattle. Their coaches, Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll, have gotten testy with each other since they fought it out in the Pac-12.
Good rivalry? Check.
Baltimore and Pittsburgh have staged memorable divisional battles built on defense, have fought it out in the playoffs and, since the 2000 season, have captured four of the last 14 Super Bowl victories.
Good rivalry? Check plus.
So how do the Eagles and Cowboys — teams that certainly share a contentious connection filled with strike-fueled hate and bounty bowls from the ’80s — reach the level of these other rivals?
It starts with a potential shootout at AT&T Stadium. After Green Bay, the Eagles and Cowboys are the highest scoring teams in the NFC.
It’s odd to think of the distance these two have built over the Giants and Redskins given all that has taken place. The Eagles have lost their quarterback and numerous offensive linemen, while Dallas has made key defensive improvements without radically changing its roster and holds its breath on Tony Romo’s next hit to the lower back.
It’s almost anachronistic to announce these two as the future of the NFC East because they have the best ... running backs?
LeSean McCoy led the NFL in rushing last year. While Eagles coach Chip Kelly is, indeed, an innovator in NFL terms, he loves to run the football almost (but not quite) like Darrell Royal did. Injuries within the Eagles’ interior line have made for a roller coaster season for McCoy (19 carries for 22 yards against Washington, 12 for 19 just three weeks ago against Carolina).
But McCoy dashed for 130 yards and had his longest of the season (53 yards) against Tennessee, so it’s fair to assume that he and their backup deluxe, Darren Sproles, will be factors Thursday.
DeMarco Murray, you know all about. His lead on the league’s second-leading rusher, Pittsburgh’s Le’veon Bell, is more than 400 yards.
The shelf life of a productive running back is an exceedingly short one in the NFL, and who knows what Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will decide to do when it comes time to pay Murray along with Dez Bryant, linebacker Rolando McClain and others for the future? Suddenly this team has a number of good, young players to sign — a good problem to have.
In addition, the Cowboys have drafted their way into an offensive line that should be strong for years.
For now, the Eagles and Cowboys are light years ahead of their East competitors. The division title belongs to one while the other stands in good but not great shape for a wild-card entry.
The last time the Cowboys had a record this good and played a formidable opponent on Thanksgiving Day was 2003 when the 8-3 Cowboys in Bill Parcells’ first season lost to the 7-4 Miami Dolphins.
So the message, as always, is to enjoy a good thing while it lasts. But it feels like these Eagles and Cowboys might be going at it for a while.