Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles Sun. Oct. 30, 2011 4:15 p.m. EST

One of the most heated division rivalries in the NFL these days is when the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles go head-to-head during the NFL regular season. With the NFC East division title on the line this season, the Cowboys and the Eagles will be desperate for a win this Sunday when Tony Romo and Michael Vick face off in a showdown in which one of these star quarterbacks will get a negative backlash from the fans and media with another loss on their record.

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Coming into this NFC East divisional battle on Sunday in Philadelphia, the Eagles are arguably the team in desperation mode. The Cowboys are in need of another win, especially within the division, but the Eagles are the team with more pressure to win and to win now coming into this game.

Tony Romo

The one man with his job on the potentially on the line in this game is longtime head coach Andy Reid. It would be hard to argue that Andy Reid isn’t one of the elite head coaches in the NFL today, but this dreadful start to the season with arguably the most talented roster in the league is enough to threaten his job.

As for the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo and company are coming off an impressive win over the St. Louis Rams in Week 7 in which they tied a season-high with 34 points. This win is just what America’s Team needed to get back on track and reach the true potential of their potent offense. Whether or not the Cowboys can do the same against the Philadelphia Eagles remains to be seen, but one player they might use to their advantage is up-and-coming running back DeMarco Murray.

Philadelphia Eagles Logo

Last week DeMarco Murray put on a show for the Dallas Cowboys by setting a team-record with 253 rushing yards which put him past Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith. This breakout performance was against the winless St. Louis Rams, but it still turned a lot of heads in Dallas and around the league as Murray might be the answer to the Cowboys problems in the running game.

DeMarco Murray will definitely come in handy for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8 as the Philadelphia Eagles have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. With the Eagles giving up 123.8 rushing yards (23^rd in the NFL) a game, the Cowboys could potentially have another big game out of Murray and get their fourth win of the season.

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As of right now, the Philadelphia Eagles are favored to get the win in this NFC East division battle with a -4 point spread. Even though I believe that Michael Vick and company could get the win this Sunday in Philly, I think the Dallas Cowboys will pull off the slight upset as they are the better all-around football team coming into this matchup.

Take the Cowboys at +4.

Heading into this NFL regular season the Philadelphia Eagles were dubbed the “Dream Team” of the NFL and football’s version of LeBron James’ Miami Heat squad. With all the added hype and multiple Pro Bowl additions to both sides of the football, the Eagles were considered to be a legitimate Super Bowl title contender and not many could argue the fact that they were the most talented team on paper to start the season.

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Despite getting an impressive win over the St. Louis Rams in Week 1, the Philadelphia Eagles looked like they still had some work to do in order to create some chemistry with their new additions and get superstar quarterback Michael Vick the protection he needs in the pocket. In Week 2, the Eagles showed their chink in their armor after falling to the Atlanta Falcons.

Washington Redskins Cheerleader

With Michael Vick going down with a concussion in the third quarter and being unable to return to the game, the Eagles were unable to hold their lead against the Falcons and as a result lost their first game of the season, 35-31. Even though no one though the Eagles would lose this early in the season, the loss didn’t really raise a lot of eyebrows because Vick was on the sidelines, but then came Week 3’s loss to the division rival New York Giants (29-16) followed by a loss to the San Francisco 49ers (24-23) and Buffalo Bills (31-24).

It would be hard to argue that the Philadelphia Eagles haven’t had one of the toughest schedules in the NFL to start the season as the Giants, 49ers and the Bills have been much better than anticipated in the preseason. Despite losing all of these games, the Eagles still have no excuse with all the talent they have on both sides of the football and head coach Andy Reid on the sidelines who is considered to be one of the best in the game.

In Week 6, the Philadelphia Eagles have a chance to bounce back and gain some ground in the NFC East division as they will face off against the first place division rival Washington Redskins. The Redskins are another team in the NFL that has been much better than anticipated this season with Mike Shanahan and company getting off to an impressive 3-1 start with Rex Grossman as the starting quarterback.

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Even though this game should be a competitive one with the Washington Redskins looking to prove that they are for real this season and the Philadelphia Eagles trying to take the heat off by getting a win in the NFC East division, this will be the week that Michael Vick and company get back to form as I really can’t see them losing a fifth straight game to a lesser opponent.

As of right now, the Philadelphia Eagles are favored to get the win in this NFC East division battle with a -2 point spread.

Take the Eagles at -2.

Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Jets Thurs. Sept. 1, 2011 7:30 p.m. EST

Once the NFL regular season gets underway on Sept. 8, two teams that will have a lot of pressure on them to be successful every single week and ultimately contend for a Super Bowl title at season’s end will be Rex Ryan’s New York Jets and Andy Reid’s Philadelphia Eagles. These two teams have made moves in the offseason to improve their squads on both sides of the football and as a result have gotten people buzzing about just how good they could be during the regular season.

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In their preseason finale, Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles will travel to New Meadowlands Stadium to face their toughest test of the preseason against the New York Jets. Much like the showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the preseason, the Philadelphia Eagles will face another dominant secondary with Pro Bowlers Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie looking to get the best of quarterback Michael Vick.

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Coming into this game, both Rex Ryan and Andy Reid will be looking to play their starters for maybe a series or two in order to keep them fresh for Week 1 of the NFL regular season. With that being said, this could be a game with the second teams going head-to-head and certain players looking to play their way onto the squads.

One headline that will most likely be dominating all others during this preseason finale will the new lucrative contract extension that Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick signed earlier in the week. As a way to secure the team’s future under center, the Philadelphia Eagles made it a priority to re-sign Michael Vick to contract extension that would keep him in Philly for at least the next five to six years.

Reportedly, the new contract is worth about $100 million dollars over the next six years. Not only is this the second $100 million dollar deal that Michael Vick has signed during his time in the NFL (first with the Atlanta Falcons), but this time around he will get $40 million dollars of this contract guaranteed opposed to the $35 million he had guaranteed with the Falcons.

With Michael Vick a very happy and very rich man, the Philadelphia Eagles seem to have a bright future ahead of them along with recent Pro Bowl free agents they signed like Vince Young, Ronnie Brown, Steve Smith and Nnamdi Asomugha.

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This game against the New York Jets will be nothing more than a formality and a matchup that won’t be taken very seriously by either team, but this could be a potential Super Bowl preview with these two teams having what it takes to go the distance this season.

In my opinion, the New York Jets are the better all-around team as of right now with the experience and the leadership on the sidelines to make it to the Super Bowl, but the Philadelphia Eagles will be a team to watch all season long that could turn out to be a very good football team in the NFC Conference.

Dallas Cowboys (6-10)

Every year the hype surrounding the Dallas Cowboys can be overwhelming for this storied NFL franchise. No matter how good or bad the talent on the team may be year in and year out, the Dallas Cowboys are expected to win every single season and contend for a Super Bowl title.

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Over the past two seasons, the Dallas Cowboys have failed to live up to expectations despite the extremely talented offense and defense they currently have. Injuries have been a big problem for this team, especially last season, but some people believe it was the head coaching of Wade Phillips that was their downfall.

This season will be the first full season for new head coach Jason Garrett and the sky seems to be the limit as the consensus is right now that the Dallas Cowboys could be a serious force to be reckoned with in the NFC East division.

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Philadelphia Eagles (10-6, Division title)

Much like the Miami Heat of the NBA, the Philadelphia Eagles have put some added pressure on themselves heading into the upcoming NFL season due to blockbuster trades and high-profile free agent signings.

With the addition of Nnamdi Asomugha, Vince Young, Ronnie Brown, Steve Smith and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the Eagles have gone from a perennial playoff team in the NFC Conference to a potential perennial Super Bowl title contender.

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As if the roster wasn’t extremely talented last season, they have to be arguably the most talented team in the NFL heading into next season and the favorites to come out on top in the NFC East and the NFC Conference.

It will be interesting to see if superstar quarterback Michael Vick can continue to play well under center this season in Philly. Even if he doesn’t, Vince Young is ready to step in and lead this team. The Eagles are going to be scary good this season and might make the competition in the NFC Conference look ridiculous.

Washington Redskins (6-10)

Before last season, the Washington Redskins had made some drastic improvements to their team by adding perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb and two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Mike Shanahan. Even though it looked like owner Daniel Synder had finally made the right moves to turn this franchise around, the Redskins had another awful season filled with disappointment.

This season might be more of the same for the lowly Redskins as they have traded away Mike Shanahan and have some big question marks at the quarterback position with Rex Grossman most likely being their starter.

Another disappointing season is almost certainly on the horizon for the Washington Redskins.

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New York Giants (6-10)

It wasn’t all that long ago that the New York Giants were arguably one of the best all-around teams in the NFC Conference. With a great defense and a maturing Eli Manning leading the way, the Giants looked like they might be perennial Super Bowl title contenders, but these days it seems as though the team is falling apart and possibly headed towards a rebuilding process.

Division Winner Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles