Attention Eagles fans. Enjoy your Thanksgiving feast. I don’t think you’re going to like dessert.
The Eagles invade Jerry’s World for a special holiday clash with the hated Cowboys. Nothing quite gets Philly fans revved up as the sight of those guys with the star on their helmet.
Chip Kelly has constructed an 8-3 mark by beating the teams they are supposed to beat. Today they take a step up in class in playing the team with an identical mark that is tied with them atop the NFC East.
The key to this game will be the Eagles defense vs. Tony Romo and the Cowboys offense. If they can pressure Romo, knock his increasingly brittle body off his game a bit, they have a shot. The Eagles will score points. I’m just not sure they can stop Romo, DeMarcus Murray and Dez Bryant.
Throw in the mandatory couple of turnovers from Mark Sanchez and that’s a lot to overcome.
Also not working in the Eagles favor is their road record this year against three other solid NFL teams. Trips to Arizona, San Francisco and Green Bay all went into the ‘L’ column, the fiasco against the Packers including an exclamation point.
If the Eagles have an advantage, it might be on special teams. Another return touchdown would be huge in Dallas.
The Birds’ best bet is to feed LeSean McCoy and try to keep Romo et all off the field, at the same time limiting the chance that Mark Sanchez would throw a pick. But Shady has been kind of spotty so far this year. Maybe the stars will bring out the best in him.
Then again, maybe Romo will once again revert to his old self, and turn the ball over in a crucial situation late in the game.
This one likely will be a shootout, but I think the Cowboys have more weapons.
The Pick: Make it Cowboys 29, Eagles 26. I hate to ruin your Thanksgiving, but I don’t see the Birds beating the ‘Boys on a day when we all feast on bird. I hope I’m wrong. The challenge for Chip Kelly and the Eagles now will be trying to figure out a way to rally and make the playoffs.
Season Record: I had a feeling a team like the Titans was going to struggle on the road coming off a short week following their appearance on Monday Night Football. They didn’t disappoint. Things get a lot tougher for the Eagles the next three weeks, at Dallas, home for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks, and a home rematch with the Cowboys. The blowout win over the Titans raised the Eagles mark to 8-3, pretty amazing in light of the injuries they’ve had to overcome. I jumped on the Birds to push my season mark to 8-3 as well. One of us is going to fall today in Dallas.
Game by Game: Eagles 43, Titans 24 (My Pick: Eagles 34, Titans 23)
Packers 53, Eagles 20, 21 (My Pick: Packers 33, Eagles 24)
Eagles 45, Panthers 21 (My Pick: Eagles 33, Panthers 17)
Eagles 31, Texans 21 (My Pick: Eagles 29, Texans 19)
Cardinals 24, Eagles 20 (My Pick: Eagles 24, Cardinals 23)
Eagles 27, Giants 0 (My Pick: Giants 31, Eagles 26)
Eagles 34, Rams 28 (My Pick: Eagles 35, Rams 19)
49ers 26, Eagles 21 (My Pick: 49ers 33, Eagles 29)
Eagles 34, Jaguars 17 (My Pick: Eagles 31, Jags 16)
Eagles 30, Colts 27 (My Pick: Colts 29, Eagles 23)
Eagles 37, Redskins 34 (My Pick: Eagles 24, Redskins 23)
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