They meet for the 131st time in a rivalry that dates back to 1960 in a stadium where the Eagles haven't won since 2017. With four straight wins, the Eagles are 6-2 and on the heels of the Washington Commanders atop the NFC East. With three straight losses, the Cowboys are 3-5 and planning on life in the immediate present and future without starting quarterback Dak Prescott.
All of that, of course, is just part of the equation as attention turns to Sunday. Welcome to Dallas Week, the first of two such extraordinary weeks in a Philadelphia Eagles season – not so much for the players and coaches, who put the same gravity and focus on this game as they do every game of the season – but for the fans who dislike the Cowboys with every bit of their fiber.
It's just a rivalry thing. You understand.
"We know it's a game in our division, but it's just another game. That's how you have to treat it," right tackle Lane Johnson said. "Every game is important. We know that. We just want to keep this thing rolling."
As the Eagles and the NFL moved through the trade deadline on Tuesday – the Eagles did not make a deal – the vision became more in focus: This is the roster the Eagles put together way back in the spring, tweaked it all the way through Training Camp, kept working to improve to this moment, and will now go the distance with largely what they have (Howie Roseman never stops looking, as we know). Philadelphia felt coming out of Training Camp that it would be a team with a chance to win a lot of football games, that the team would improve as time went along as its two new coordinators – Vic Fangio on defense and Kellen Moore on offense – gained familiarity with the players and the players gained a keener understanding of the schemes.
And that's exactly what has happened.
"Trust, continuity, these are words that I've said 1,000 times, those things are important. Those things are important for success," quarterback Jalen Hurts said.
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The Eagles have had to overcome some roster challenges in these first eight games. Wide receiver A.J. Brown missed three games after a sensational opening-night win in Brazil against the Packers and then left Sunday's victory over Jacksonville early in the second half with a knee injury. Fellow wide receiver DeVonta Smith has missed a game-plus after suffering a concussion. The offensive line has had starters in and out of the lineup – left tackle Jordan Mailata is on Injured Reserve and has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. Cornerback Darius Slay missed Sunday's win over Jacksonville after suffering a groin injury a week earlier.
The roster, indeed, has been tested. No matter.
"Everyone prepares to be a starter and then you go out and you do your job because you are ready to go," said Fred Johnson, who has stepped in at left tackle. "I think we have trust in each other. We are here for a reason, so there are no excuses, only expectation."
Now, it's all about Dallas, a team that has beaten the Eagles six straight times at AT&T Stadium. At 3-5, the Cowboys have a conundrum at quarterback with Prescott out with a hamstring injury. They are likely to turn to Cooper Rush, who has a 5-1 career record as a starter, with his only loss coming in October, 2022, a 26-17 loss at Lincoln Financial Field as he threw three interceptions.
A rivalry is renewed and anything that has happened in the past, as we have learned many, many times, is irrelevant. The Eagles begin a stretch of extremely difficult games – at Dallas, home the following Thursday against Washington, at Los Angeles, at Baltimore – so the 2024 season reaches its third quarter.
Philadelphia is positioned to make some noise, but all roads in the NFC East go through Dallas, the division winner in 2023. Of course, the NFC East has had no repeat winner since 2004, so everything is, as always, in play in the NFC East.
"Division game, that always means something," Johnson said. "We know Dallas, they know us. Gotta get ready to play a great game to beat them, as always. It hasn't been easy."
Welcome, then, to another very big week in the 2024 regular season. Inside the walls of the NovaCare Complex, the Eagles are in their routine. Outside the walls, it's Dallas, Dallas, Dallas. As he always has been and as it always will be.
