The last time Carson Wentz and the Eagles traveled down to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas they let victory escape their grasp.
The Eagles held a 23-13 advantage during the early minutes of the fourth quarter. A few bad spells on offense and lapses on defense allowed the Cowboys to force overtime. Wentz, however, never had the opportunity to take the field in the extra time as Dallas' Jason Witten ended the game with a touchdown. Wentz finished his debut in Dallas with 202 passing yards, a touchdown, and a loss.
"It was a good football game. We let it get away but at the same time that was last year," Wentz said Wednesday afternoon. "We're a different team. They're a different team."
Coming off the bye week, Wentz and the Eagles sit atop the NFC East at 8-1 and 3-0 in the division with Dallas trailing in second place at 5-4 and 2-0 in division play. While much will be made of the matchup at quarterback against second-year star Dak Prescott, Wentz's eyes lie on securing the upper hand moving forward.
"We're playing the Cowboys, that's plenty significant enough. Dak's a great player. I think it's exciting for this conference, for this rivalry, for this league. A lot of respect for him and what he's done, but at the end of the day, we're playing the defense. I'm not playing Dak Prescott," Wentz said.
In two games against Dallas, Wentz has thrown for 447 yards while completing 68 percent of his passes and three touchdowns. With just how deep the Eagles-Cowboy rivalry plunges and how invaluable the bragging rights are for the fans in Philadelphia, the importance of winning these games go outside of just the regular-season record for Wentz.
"I've heard all sorts of stuff like that. I think it's cool," Wentz said of the rivalry talk. "As if our fans aren't passionate enough, I know this week is a big week. Obviously, divisional rivals and there's a lot riding on it so to speak and we don't take it lightly either."
