Battle For The NFC East

With the NFL’s 100^th season underway, storylines surrounding the league’s most treasured franchises have never been richer. Will the New England Patriots earn their 7^th Superbowl? Is this the beginning of a new era in San Francisco? Are the Green Bay Packers the team to beat in the NFC? Regardless of the ample storylines entering week 7, the NFL wouldn’t be the same without drama from the NFC East.

The Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. A bitter rivalry stemming all the way back to the 1960s is upon us again. Dallas holds the historical edge with a 68-52 overall record including last year’s season sweep.

Nonetheless, this is football and this is a new season. With both teams currently at 3-3, the chase for first place in the division is up for grabs Sunday in Arlington, Texas. Both teams began the season as Superbowl favorites with each hitting some adversity along the way. Dallas came out the gates hot with three straight wins behind Dak Prescott’s MVP caliber play. He enjoyed a touchdown to interception ratio of 9-2 while passing for 920 yards. Since week 3, however, Prescott has come back down to Earth with three consecutive losses from the Saints, Packers, and Jets where he’s passed for only 2 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, fumbled out of the gate with a narrow win against fellow NFC East opponent Washington 32-27. Through six games, the Eagles are a little difficult to understand as they’ve given the 5-1 Packers their only loss and the 1-5 Falcons their only win. Carson Wentz has thrown 12 touchdowns to 3 interceptions, however, his completion percentage hovers at 61%.

There are debatable reasons surrounding the performance of both teams including poor coaching, dropped passes, and injuries, but one thing cannot be denied. Sunday’s game is a must-win.  In hopes of inspiring his team, Eagles head coach Doug Peterson guaranteed a win for his ball club saying:

“I know the sky is falling outside. It’s falling and I get that and the fans are feeling just a little bit. We’re going down to Dallas, our guys are gonna be ready to play. And we’re gonna win that football game and when we do we’re in first place in the NFC East. We’re going to control our own destiny and be right where we need to be.”

Although the Eagles will play Dallas again in week 16, there is no doubt that each team has a lot to lose this week. Get your popcorn ready because we’re in for a treat this Halloween season. May the better team win.