The Eagles' Path to Success in 2022 Has to Go Through the Cowboys

The Eagles' season will be defined by these two moments originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

They’ve upgraded the wide receiving corps big-time. They’ve gotten significantly better at cornerback and linebacker. They’ve added an elite pass rusher and a monster run stuffer.

Their coach has a year of experience to build on. Their quarterback has weapons across the board. The defensive coordinator actually has some talent to work with.

On paper, the Eagles team that opens the season in Detroit Sunday appears vastly improved over the group that won six of seven games at the end of last year to reach the playoffs.

There’s a reason expectations are so high around here.

There’s also a big, giant roadblock between the Eagles and their goals.

The Cowboys.

If the Eagles are going to make this a special season and go on a deep playoff run and live up to the hype, they’re going to have to figure out a way to beat the Cowboys.

And that’s been a problem around here lately.

Last time the Eagles swept the Cowboys their quarterback was Michael Vick, and he was throwing to Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek. Last time the Eagles swept the Cowboys their defense was led by Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin and Nate Allen. And Stephen McGee started one of those games for Dallas.

That was 2011 and that was four Eagles coaches ago.

Since then, the Eagles have won just seven of 20 games against the Cowboys. They’re 3-7 at the Linc against the Cowboys since 2012 and also 3-7 in their last 10 overall against Dallas.

Since the last time the Eagles swept the Cowboys, the Cowboys have swept the Eagles three times.

The last Dallas quarterback the Eagles beat twice in a season was Vinny Testaverde in 2004.

Now, two of those losses – in 2017 and 2021 - were in meaningless games on the last day of the season. But even if you take those out of the equation, the Eagles have still struggled against the Cowboys. Plus, you don’t ever want to give up 50 points to your fiercest rival, no matter how many backups you’re playing.

Until the Eagles figure out a way to beat these guys, we can’t talk about winning the NFC East or a Super Bowl run. Because it’s not going to happen.

The last three times the Eagles went to North Texas, they've lost by 27, 20 and 20 points.

Their current four-game losing streak in Dallas is their longest since the halcyon days of Rich Kotite and equals their longest since the ‘70s.

Last time the Eagles beat the Cowboys was November 2020, and the Cowboys were 2-5 at the time and their quarterback was Ben DiNucci, who hasn’t thrown a pass since. Last time the Eagles beat the Cowboys when Dallas had a winning record was 2017.
 
The reality is that Dak Prescott is 7-2 in his career against the Eagles and 6-1 since 2018 with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Now, it does look like the Eagles are a significantly better team than last year, and the Cowboys are significantly worse.

While the Eagles were adding A.J. Brown, Haason Reddick and James Bradberry, the Cowboys were losing Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson and at least for now Tyron Smith. (And keeping coach Mike McCarthy.)

But none of that matters. All that matters is that the Eagles find a way to beat Dallas, preferably twice, because you’re not winning the NFC East if you get swept by anybody.

Those two Dallas games – at the Linc on a Sunday night in October and at AT&T Stadium on Christmas Eve – could very well make or break the Eagles’ season.

The Eagles and Cowboys have finished 1-2 in the NFC East seven of the last 10 years, the Eagles winning in 2013, 2017 and 2019, the Cowboys in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2021. And it sure looks like the two of them are once again the class of the division. The only other team to win the division since 2015 was Washington at 7-9 in 2020.

From 2000 through 2011, the Eagles were 16-8 against the Cowboys, and they won six NFC East titles to just two for Dallas. Their four straight division titles from 2001 through 2004 make them the last team to win consecutive NFC East titles.

No coach in history has beaten the Cowboys more than Andy Reid.

But Dallas has had the Eagles’ number for most of the past decade. Whether or not the Eagles can finally change that will go a long way toward defining this season that’s starting out with so much promise.

The Eagles have a chance to do some special things this year. Beating the Cowboys along the way would make it even more special.

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