Philadelphia Eagles Tickets

The Philadelphia Eagles stumbled down the stretch, getting shut out by the Dallas Cowboys in the season finale, which cost them the NFC East division title and a home playoff game.

The Eagles finished the season as the fifth best offense in the NFL, but you wouldn't have known it watching the Dallas game. In fact, the Cowboys have beaten the Eagles in both meetings this season and held them to a combined 16 points, all of which came in the first matchup in Philadelphia.

The good news is that it is very difficult to beat a team three times in a season, especially a bitter division rival. The bad news is that the Cowboys have already beaten them twice and did so in decisive fashion in the most recent meeting.

Philadelphia's biggest offensive problem is that they can become too one dimensional. Head coach Andy Reid has always favored a pass-happy offense, but the lack of balance can make life easier on the opposing defense.

It's worth mentioning that the Eagles scored more than 30 points in half of their games this year, so it was often feast or famine when it came to their offensive output.

Dallas has been able to completely shut down Philadelphia's running game, forcing them into obvious passing situations.

The Cowboys have a lot of good pass rushers and the Eagles offensive line has had its share of injuries this year, so a lot of pressure is getting to quarterback Donovan McNabb.

With running back Brian Westbrook getting back into the swing of things after missing half the season with concussion symptoms, look for the Eagles to try and slow down the Dallas' pass rush with a lot of screens.

Rookie running back LeSean McCoy has also been effective out of the backfield and has more muscle to power up inside on running plays.

Also, Philadelphia's young but explosive wide receivers are going to have to play much better than they did in the season finale. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin have the speed to make big plays against a suspect Dallas secondary.

Despite ending up as one of the wild card teams, the Eagles certainly have just about as good of a chance as anyone else of making a run to the Super Bowl in the NFC, which is completely up for grabs.