Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who missed 10 games last season with a broken left clavicle, has not faced off against Philadelphia since January 2010, when his Cowboys beat the Eagles 34-14 in the wild card round of the playoffs. Sunday, Romo and the Cowboys bring their fourth-ranked passing offense to town as Dallas looks to improve to 4-3.
The nine-year veteran has been less than stellar in his eight career starts against the Eagles, completing less than 60 percent of his passes and throwing just 12 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. In his career, the Pro Bowl quarterback has completed over 64 percent of his passes and has thrown roughly twice as many touchdowns as he has interceptions.
Indeed, the Eagles have had Romo's number, holding him to a career passer rating of 80.5, the lowest of any team that has faced him more than twice. However, this will be the first time the Cowboys offense goes up against defensive coordinator Juan Castillo.
"We'll be matching up against a different scheme, defensively," said Romo. "In film, we see them running some Cover-0, some Cover-2, and doing some things they used to not do much of. This defense looks very different from the Jim Johnson and Sean McDermott defenses of the past. Back then, they would be blitzing the moment they stepped off the bus. Now, they want to create turnovers by dropping back and keeping their eyes on the quarterback."
Romo is not taking the 2-4 Eagles lightly. He knows that records can be deceiving, and feels that his own team's win total is not indicative of their talent level. He believes that the Eagles have turned a corner.
"When you're preparing for a team, you have to throw out the record and just watch the tape. The team you see on film is the team you're going to be playing," he said. "You want to pay attention to how disruptive a team's front seven is, how good they are on the back end, and who the guys are that you want to attack in different situations. They play hard, they flow to the ball, and they're very disruptive. On the back end, they're great, too. I came away from watching the tape this week feeling like we're going to be facing a very good team in Philadelphia."
A phrase that will be repeated ad nauseum is "must win." At 2-4, the Eagles sit two games behind the Giants and a game behind both the Redskins and Cowboys. A loss Sunday could put the Eagles three games out of first place and would cement their position in last place in the division. A win could put them one game out of first place.
The Cowboys are in a similar position - a loss could land them in last place, and a win would put them in second place, perhaps even in first place. Tony Romo and the Cowboys will be fired up when they take the field in Philadelphia in front of a national audience. The Eagles will have to match that intensity.
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