Coming off of the beat down the Cowboys handed them on Sunday, the Ealges want nothing more then to get back on the field Saturday and get the bad taste out of their mouth.
Jumping out to an early lead will be key for the Birds in doing just that.
While the Eagles have had some come from behind wins this season, there is one thing they have not managed to overcome- a half time deficit.
In all 11 of the Eagles wins, they have entered the 3rd quarter with the lead. In 9 of those games, the lead was greater then two touchdowns.
However, in all 5 of the Eagles losses, they were losing at halftime.
The same goes for the Cowboys- they have trailed at halftime for every one of there losses. They were winning in 8 of 11 of their wins.
The numbers don’t lie, and they say that the team winning at half is going to win this game.
Whether it seems like it or not, right now the pressure is on the Cowboys. They are riding an emotional high and fully expect to get their first playoff win since 1996.
If the Eagles can come out of the gate with big plays to Desean Jackson and open a one or two touchdown lead, the doubt will begin to creep back into the Cowboys mind. It will also give the Eagles young players the confidence they gained over the 6 game winning streak.
Tony Romo will start to remember that he has not won a playoff game in his career. Neither has his coach Wade Phillips. Jerry Jones will start to look down from his box and decide who needs to go after another first round playoff exit.
Once the Cowboys start to feel that pressure, you can bet that Tony Romo will start to take chances with the ball down the field to make the big play. Despite their poor performance last week, the Eagles have the secondary to make him pay for that.
The Cowboys running attack shredded the Birds last week, but with his team down, Wade Phillips will feel the pressure of his job on the line, and abandon the run.
The Eagles must come out and jump on the Cowboys early if they want to win this game.
