Eagles V Cowboys: 5 Things To Know As Season Hangs In The Balance

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Eagles fans knew it would always come down to this.

No matter how well the Birds played for the last three or four weeks (as it turned out, not great, but just good enough), there was always this one showdown that loomed on the horizon. Even if the Eagles had gone 3-0 the last three weeks instead of 2-1, everything would still be riding on the season's penultimate game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Early betting lines have the Cowboys as 1.5 point favorites over the Birds. Even though the game is in Philadelphia, that's justified.

The Eagles have struggled to beat the bottom of the league, the Giants and the Redskins, the last two weeks. The Cowboys, meanwhile, are fresh off a dominant victory over the Los Angeles Rams, a potential playoff team, last week.

Here's what you need to know heading into Week 16's battle.

It's (almost) winner take all.

The Eagles and Cowboys stand tied at 7-7 with two games remaining. If the Cowboys win the Eagles are completely eliminated. If the Eagles win, it would take an Eagles loss and a Cowboys win in Week 17 in order for the Eagles not to make the playoffs.

In other words, the Eagles absolutely have to win Sunday in order to continue their playoff hunt.

The season is shaping up mighty similar to the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, where an Eagles team that was written off mid-season stormed back with a series of improbable wins to make it to the second round of the playoffs.

Now, this version of the Eagles has only strung together two wins, but they're facing the same win-or-die pressure of last year's team. It's familiar territory.

This is a historically bad year for the NFC East

Nevermind that the division contains two of three worst records in the entire NFL, with both the New York Giants and Washington Redskins sporting 3-11 records.

What's far more notable is that the Eagles and Cowboys have failed to rise to the top.

Unless one of these two teams win both of their final games, the NFC East could have a winner with an 8-8 record for the first time in its history. Given that a division winner automatically makes the playoffs, and given the strength of Wild Card teams in other divisions, it's been weird enough that people are at least talking about reorganizing the playoff seeding structure.

So both teams should be playing with a chip on their shoulder. Obviously, both teams have underperformed to this point in the season, as both entered with aspirations of being a 10-6 to 12-4 caliber team.

Injuries on both sides are something to watch.

For Eagles fans, reading the injury report before Sunday has been a glum task for much of 2019. While Carson Wentz has stayed mostly healthy, the offense has been decimated by injuries to a plethora of key receivers and running backs, and the new offense has, at points, struggled to mesh in the past two weeks.

Among key pieces, Nelson Agholor remains unlikely to return, while right tackle Lane Johnson is a major offensive question mark as well. Right guard Brandon Brooks did participate in limited practice Wednesday, but it's the first any news of this injury has been released, and it does not seem likely to keep him out of the game Sunday.

Running back Jordan Howard is questionable, as his status was listed as "status quo" as recently as Wednesday's practice.

This all, of course, is in addition to several players the team has lost for the remainder of the season.

The Cowboys have a few injuries of their own, but not to as much of their key personnel as the Birds. The big thing to watch is their star quarterback Dak Prescott, who is dealing with an injured AC joint in his throwing arm. Analysts seem to think he's in quite a bit of pain, but most observers also expect him to play.

Carson Wentz is building his legacy.

One way or another, ever since Nick Foles left for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the legacy of Carson Wentz is officially being written. While he's at times flashed MVP talent, he's also committed costly blunders, and the team has floundered against weak defenses as a result.

There have been signs of promise in the last two weeks, though, if you knew where to look. Wentz's offense looked powerful in overtime against the Giants two weeks ago, and he also made a handful of superstar plays in the more convincing victory over Washington last week. He ended up throwing 30 of 43 passes for completion, with 266 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

At the forefront of Eagles fans' minds, though, will inevitably be comparisons to Foles and the last two seasons, in which the 2018 Super Bowl MVP guided the team to late season success. Wentz has yet to pull of those Foles-esque miracles. With his team's back against the wall, now's his chance.

Next week is pretty important, too.

The Eagles will close out their season in New York against the division rival Giants in Week 17 in what is likely two-time Super Bowl champ Eli Manning's final NFL game.

The Manning-led Giants, though just 3-11 on the year, nearly ended the Eagles' season two weeks ago on Monday Night Football, taking the Birds to overtime before the Birds won the coin toss and, soon after, the game.

Even if the Eagles beat the Cowboys, they'll be vulnerable in Week 17. A Cowboys win and an Eagles loss next week would leave the teams with a tied 8-8 record, and the advantage there would go to the Cowboys, because they would have the better in-division record.

Kickoff this Sunday is at 4:25 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.