Cowboys hope to continue recent dominance over Eagles in rivalry series

If the Dallas Cowboys can pull off the upset tonight in Philadelphia, it will extend a surprising record of dominance over the Eagles that now goes back a decade. Given where the rivals currently find themselves in the division and overall NFC landscape, this will be one of the more significant meetings between them in recent memory.

With Philly the NFL’s last undefeated team after five games in 2022, they certainly have more to lose at home tonight than the plucky 4-1 Cowboys. One team is trying to validate itself as the true class of the conference, while another is just hoping to keep its shocking win streak alive during QB Dak Prescott’s absence.

The Eagles have added incentive tonight; snapping a three-game losing streak against Dallas and reasserting themselves in the rivalry. Philadelphia’s last victory over the Cowboys was in 2020, Ben DiNucci’s first and last start as Dallas’ QB during Prescott’s mostly-missed season with a lower leg injury.

The Cowboys not only retook the high ground since that disaster but have been crushing the Eagles in their last three meetings. Dallas has won by 20-plus points in each of the victories and given QB Jalen Hurts some of his worst days so far in the NFL.

You may be surprised to learn that this win streak over Philly isn’t an anomaly for the Cowboys. They’ve actually had the upper hand over the Eagles for the last decade.

Going back to 2012, Dallas has won 13 of the 20 biannual games played against Philadelphia. That’s a 65% winning percentage over their rivals, which is consistent with how the Cowboys have handled business in the NFC East over the last 10 years.

Dallas has also gone 16-5 against the Giants and 14-7 against Washington since 2012.

Of course, most of those wins occurred with either Dak Prescott or Tony Romo leading the Cowboys’ offense. Tonight’s affair will be a different story with Cooper Rush under center, but he’s already notched wins against New York and Washington in the last few weeks.

The 2022 Philadelphia Eagles certainly present a different level of competition. Hurts has become a more polished quarterback and presents one of the more potent dual threats as a runner of any NFL QB. Their defense is currently fourth overall in yards allowed, slightly ahead of the Cowboys’, and seventh in scoring.

The beauty of tonight’s showdown is that all of the pressure is really on the Eagles. A home loss to the Cowboys, even with Prescott back, would have been a big blow to Philly’s ego and legitimacy. But if they become another of Cooper Rush’s unlikely victims then the whole world will be laughing. The public excoriation next week would be brutal.

If the Cowboys fall tonight, it will be unfortunate but ultimately not devastating given the circumstances. The converse of Rush’s involvement is a ready-made excuse for Dallas; an easy scapegoat soon fixed by Dak’s return. We’ll still be able to look at a 4-2 record and upcoming games against the Lions and Bears and feel good about the Cowboys’ overall trajectory.

But hopefully, despite Prescott’s absence, the Cowboys’ winning formula over the last four weeks will come through at least one more time. Hanging the first loss on the Eagles would be the tastiest moment yet of 2022 and perhaps the entire regular season. It would also reinforce that, no matter what our rivals dare claim, Dallas is still their daddy in the NFC East.