Cowboys, Eagles close regular season on different paths
This is not a case of two ships passing in the night.
What happened to the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles this season has been in plain view for all to see.
The Cowboys are on their way to the playoffs.
The Eagles are on their way to the off-season.
But first, they meet on Sunday in Philadelphia in the regular-season finale.
The Cowboys (13-2) will have a first-round bye and get into postseason play in the divisional round. The Eagles (6-9) will not be able to avoid a losing season, but have never had any love for the Cowboys.
The most intriguing storyline on Sunday will be how much will the Dallas starters play?
Regardless, the Cowboys haven’t swept the Eagles since 2012. The Cowboys are 4-3 and 2-1 in season finales against the Eagles. Historically, the Cowboys are 25-32 overall and 12-22 on the road in season finales.
Much like Prescott, the Eagles have a key building block in rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. He ranks second (behind Prescott) among NFL rookies in passing yards with 3,537 and 14 touchdowns.
The Eagles and Cowboys have split their past six regular-season games, including back-to-back overtime games in Dallas.
Offensively, the Eagles and Cowboys are similar in many ways:
▪ The Eagles are tied for the second-most 10-plus play drives (34) in the NFL this season, trailing only Dallas (35).
▪ The Eagles rank third in 5-plus minute drives (30) as well, behind Dallas (35) and Detroit (32).
▪ The Eagles own the NFL’s 10th-ranked rushing offense (113.3) this season, trailing only Dallas (155.1), San Francisco (130.5) and Atlanta (119.1) in the NFC.
Statistical comparisons
Cowboys | Eagles | |
Record | 13-2 | 6-9 |
Scoring average | 27.2 | 22.6 |
Opp. Scoring average | 18.6 | 21.2 |
Total offense | 388.8 | 336.8 |
Rushing | 155.1 | 113.3 |
Passing | 233.7 | 223.5 |
Total defense | 343.8 | 352.6 |
Turnover margin | +7 | +4 |
Penalties/yards | 100-844 | 109-884 |
Dallas Cowboys regular-season schedule | |||
Sept. 11 | Giants 20, Cowboys 19 | ||
Sept. 18 | Cowboys 27, Redskins 23 | ||
Sept. 25 | Cowboys 31, Bears 17 | ||
Oct. 2 | Cowboys 24, 49ers 17 | ||
Oct. 9 | Cowboys 28, Bengals 14 | ||
Oct. 16 | Cowboys 30, Packers 16 | ||
Oct. 23 | Bye | ||
Oct. 30 | Cowboys 29, Eagles 23, OT | ||
Nov. 6 | Cowboys 35, Browns 10 | ||
Nov. 13 | Cowboys 35, Steelers 30 | ||
Nov. 20 | Cowboys 27, Ravens 17 | ||
Nov. 24 | Cowboys 31, Redskins 26 | ||
Dec. 1 | Cowboys 17, Vikings 15 | ||
Dec. 11 | NY Giants 10, Cowboys 7 | ||
Dec. 18 | Cowboys 26, Bucs 20 | ||
Dec. 26 | Cowboys 42, Lions 21 | ||
Jan. 1 | at Philadelphia | Noon | KDFW/4 |
This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Cowboys, Eagles close regular season on different paths."