The
Dallas Cowboys
have complete control of their path to another NFC East title, and they might be even closer by kickoff.

The
Philadelphia Eagles
‘ playoff fate could be determined then, too.

The Cowboys may have a chance to clinch the division crown when they host the surging Eagles on Saturday.

Dallas (8-6) leads the second-place
New York Giants
by one game and is two in front of the third-place Eagles (6-8) heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Only one of those teams will reach the playoffs, and the Cowboys could clinch that spot Saturday with a win combined with
a Giants’ loss to the
New York Jets
earlier in the day.

That matchup also has serious implications for Philadelphia, which also needs a Jets victory to remain alive in the division.

For the Eagles to repeat as East champions, they must beat the Cowboys and Washington at home on Jan. 1. They need the Giants
to lose to the Jets and then beat Dallas in their last game.

That would leave all three teams at 8-8, and Philadelphia would own the tiebreaker based on a superior divisional record.

“I’m a big Jets fan this week,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “You control what you control. You have to play the game whether
that team wins or loses.”

The Eagles’ playoff hopes remained alive after a 45-19 romp over the Jets on Sunday, their second straight victory.

“It feels good that we are still alive,” said tight end
Brent Celek
, who had a career-high 156 yards and one touchdown. “That is all you can ask for at this point. We just have to play together
as a team and go up there, fight and beat Dallas.”

The Cowboys should be eager for revenge after losing 34-7 at Philadelphia in Week 8. That was just their second loss in the
last six meetings in the series since the Eagles kept them out of the playoffs with a 44-6 win in Week 17 of 2008.

“We’ve got to get the wins. We’ve got to get in,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “Best way to do it is win this thing.”

Dallas regained some momentum by beating Tampa Bay 31-15 last Saturday after blowing fourth-quarter leads in consecutive games.

“We just can’t let up,” receiver
Dez Bryant
said. “We know where we want to go and it don’t matter who comes in here, we’re going to keep the same intensity and just
play hard and hopefully we can win out. … We just got to keep focusing and keep playing hard.”

Tony Romo
is doing his part to get Dallas into the postseason, completing 69.9 percent of his passes for 869 yards with eight touchdowns,
no interceptions and a 121.4 passer rating over the last three games.

Romo has thrown 18 touchdown passes and just two picks in the past seven contests since struggling with a season-low 66.7
rating against the Eagles. He finished with 203 yards on 18-of-35 passing with one touchdown and one INT in that defeat.

Romo has 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while going 5-4 as a starter against Philadelphia.

The onus may again be on Romo and the passing game since Dallas is dealing with a rash of injuries to its backfield, with

Felix Jones
‘ hamstring tightness the latest issue.

Jones is listed as questionable after running for more than 100 yards each of the past two weeks. He may be joining rookie
running backs
DeMarco Murray
and
Phillip Tanner
on the sidelines, leaving the Cowboys with 12-year veteran
Sammy Morris
and practice squad member
Chauncey Washington
.

Morris made his season debut with 12 carries for 53 yards against the Buccaneers, and is expected to start if Jones can’t
play.

“Sammy is the most logical choice … and we have another young back on our practice roster (Washington), so he’ll get a chance
to do some of that too,” coach Jason Garrett said.

Dallas’ defense is looking to build on its best performance of the season, holding Tampa Bay to 190 total yards.

The unit is likely to be tested much more thoroughly by
LeSean McCoy
, who ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries last week.

He’s scored eight TDs in the past four games, giving him 20 total scores – an Eagles single-season record. Two of those came
when McCoy ran for a career-high 185 yards in the October rout of the Cowboys.

“It tells you I’m a pretty good back and I have an outstanding offensive line,” said McCoy, who had 149 yards on 16 carries
in a 30-27 win at Dallas on Dec. 12, 2010. “It’s definitely a team thing.”

Michael Vick
also starred against the Cowboys earlier this season, completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns while running
seven times for 50 yards.

“It feels good to still have a chance to even be considered in the playoff race,” said Vick, who threw for 274 yards with
one touchdown while adding another score on the ground last week.

“We’ve been through a lot, but we’re resilient.”

The
Dallas Cowboys
have complete control of their path to another NFC East title, and they might be even closer by kickoff.

The
Philadelphia Eagles
‘ playoff fate could be determined then, too.

The Cowboys may have a chance to clinch the division crown when they host the surging Eagles on Saturday.

Dallas (8-6) leads the second-place
New York Giants
by one game and is two in front of the third-place Eagles (6-8) heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Only one of those teams will reach the playoffs, and the Cowboys could clinch that spot Saturday with a win combined with
a Giants’ loss to the
New York Jets
earlier in the day.

That matchup also has serious implications for Philadelphia, which also needs a Jets victory to remain alive in the division.

For the Eagles to repeat as East champions, they must beat the Cowboys and Washington at home on Jan. 1. They need the Giants
to lose to the Jets and then beat Dallas in their last game.

That would leave all three teams at 8-8, and Philadelphia would own the tiebreaker based on a superior divisional record.

“I’m a big Jets fan this week,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “You control what you control. You have to play the game whether
that team wins or loses.”

The Eagles’ playoff hopes remained alive after a 45-19 romp over the Jets on Sunday, their second straight victory.

“It feels good that we are still alive,” said tight end
Brent Celek
, who had a career-high 156 yards and one touchdown. “That is all you can ask for at this point. We just have to play together
as a team and go up there, fight and beat Dallas.”

The Cowboys should be eager for revenge after losing 34-7 at Philadelphia in Week 8. That was just their second loss in the
last six meetings in the series since the Eagles kept them out of the playoffs with a 44-6 win in Week 17 of 2008.

“We’ve got to get the wins. We’ve got to get in,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “Best way to do it is win this thing.”

Dallas regained some momentum by beating Tampa Bay 31-15 last Saturday after blowing fourth-quarter leads in consecutive games.

“We just can’t let up,” receiver
Dez Bryant
said. “We know where we want to go and it don’t matter who comes in here, we’re going to keep the same intensity and just
play hard and hopefully we can win out. … We just got to keep focusing and keep playing hard.”

Tony Romo
is doing his part to get Dallas into the postseason, completing 69.9 percent of his passes for 869 yards with eight touchdowns,
no interceptions and a 121.4 passer rating over the last three games.

Romo has thrown 18 touchdown passes and just two picks in the past seven contests since struggling with a season-low 66.7
rating against the Eagles. He finished with 203 yards on 18-of-35 passing with one touchdown and one INT in that defeat.

Romo has 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while going 5-4 as a starter against Philadelphia.

The onus may again be on Romo and the passing game since Dallas is dealing with a rash of injuries to its backfield, with

Felix Jones
‘ hamstring tightness the latest issue.

Jones is listed as questionable after running for more than 100 yards each of the past two weeks. He may be joining rookie
running backs
DeMarco Murray
and
Phillip Tanner
on the sidelines, leaving the Cowboys with 12-year veteran
Sammy Morris
and practice squad member
Chauncey Washington
.

Morris made his season debut with 12 carries for 53 yards against the Buccaneers, and is expected to start if Jones can’t
play.

“Sammy is the most logical choice … and we have another young back on our practice roster (Washington), so he’ll get a chance
to do some of that too,” coach Jason Garrett said.

Dallas’ defense is looking to build on its best performance of the season, holding Tampa Bay to 190 total yards.

The unit is likely to be tested much more thoroughly by
LeSean McCoy
, who ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries last week.

He’s scored eight TDs in the past four games, giving him 20 total scores – an Eagles single-season record. Two of those came
when McCoy ran for a career-high 185 yards in the October rout of the Cowboys.

“It tells you I’m a pretty good back and I have an outstanding offensive line,” said McCoy, who had 149 yards on 16 carries
in a 30-27 win at Dallas on Dec. 12, 2010. “It’s definitely a team thing.”

Michael Vick
also starred against the Cowboys earlier this season, completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns while running
seven times for 50 yards.

“It feels good to still have a chance to even be considered in the playoff race,” said Vick, who threw for 274 yards with
one touchdown while adding another score on the ground last week.

“We’ve been through a lot, but we’re resilient.”

The Dallas Cowboys have complete control of their path to another NFC East
title, and they might be even closer by kickoff.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff fate could be determined then, too.

The Cowboys may have a chance to clinch the division crown when they host
the surging Eagles on Saturday.

Dallas (8-6) leads the second-place New York Giants by one game and is two
in front of the third-place Eagles (6-8) heading into the final two weeks of the
regular season.

Only one of those teams will reach the playoffs, and the Cowboys could
clinch that spot Saturday with a win combined with a Giants’ loss to the New
York Jets earlier in the day.

That matchup also has serious implications for Philadelphia, which also
needs a Jets victory to remain alive in the division.

For the Eagles to repeat as East champions, they must beat the Cowboys and
Washington at home on Jan. 1. They need the Giants to lose to the Jets and then
beat Dallas in their last game.

That would leave all three teams at 8-8, and Philadelphia would own the
tiebreaker based on a superior divisional record.

“I’m a big Jets fan this week,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “You control
what you control. You have to play the game whether that team wins or loses.”

The Eagles’ playoff hopes remained alive after a 45-19 romp over the Jets on
Sunday, their second straight victory.

“It feels good that we are still alive,” said tight end Brent Celek, who had
a career-high 156 yards and one touchdown. “That is all you can ask for at this
point. We just have to play together as a team and go up there, fight and beat
Dallas.”

The Cowboys should be eager for revenge after losing 34-7 at Philadelphia in
Week 8. That was just their second loss in the last six meetings in the series
since the Eagles kept them out of the playoffs with a 44-6 win in Week 17 of
2008.

“We’ve got to get the wins. We’ve got to get in,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
said. “Best way to do it is win this thing.”

Dallas regained some momentum by beating Tampa Bay 31-15 last Saturday after
blowing fourth-quarter leads in consecutive games.

“We just can’t let up,” receiver Dez Bryant said. “We know where we want to
go and it don’t matter who comes in here, we’re going to keep the same intensity
and just play hard and hopefully we can win out. … We just got to keep
focusing and keep playing hard.”

Tony Romo is doing his part to get Dallas into the postseason, completing
69.9 percent of his passes for 869 yards with eight touchdowns, no interceptions
and a 121.4 passer rating over the last three games.

Romo has thrown 18 touchdown passes and just two picks in the past seven
contests since struggling with a season-low 66.7 rating against the Eagles. He
finished with 203 yards on 18-of-35 passing with one touchdown and one INT in
that defeat.

Romo has 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while going 5-4 as a starter
against Philadelphia.

The onus may again be on Romo and the passing game since Dallas is dealing
with a rash of injuries to its backfield, with Felix Jones’ hamstring tightness
the latest issue.

Jones’ status is unclear after he ran for over 100 yards each of the past
two weeks. He may be joining rookie running backs DeMarco Murray and Phillip
Tanner on the sidelines, leaving the Cowboys with 12-year veteran Sammy Morris
and practice squad member Chauncey Washington.

Morris made his season debut with 12 carries for 53 yards against the
Buccaneers.

“Sammy is the most logical choice … and we have another young back on our
practice roster (Washington), so he’ll get a chance to do some of that too,”
coach Jason Garrett said.

Dallas’ defense is looking to build on its best performance of the season,
holding Tampa Bay to 190 total yards.

The unit is likely to be tested much more thoroughly by LeSean McCoy, who
ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries last week.

He’s scored eight TDs in the past four games, giving him 20 total scores -
an Eagles single-season record. Two of those came when McCoy ran for a
career-high 185 yards in the October rout of the Cowboys.

“It tells you I’m a pretty good back and I have an outstanding offensive
line,” said McCoy, who had 149 yards on 16 carries in a 30-27 win at Dallas on
Dec. 12, 2010. “It’s definitely a team thing.”

Michael Vick also starred against the Cowboys earlier this season,
completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns while running seven
times for 50 yards.

“It feels good to still have a chance to even be considered in the playoff
race,” said Vick, who threw for 274 yards with one touchdown while adding
another score on the ground last week.

“We’ve been through a lot, but we’re resilient.”

The Philadelphia Eagles have had some great performances despite their slow start in 2011. However, the defense has mostly been criticized. A lot of that is warranted as the Eagles have failed to tackle and allowed too many big plays. For fantasy football owners, the Eagles have been a mixed bag. If you are in a fantasy league with individual players, some Eagles defenders have done a lot better than others for you. Here is a look at some Eagles defensive players have done well for fantasy owners through the bye week despite the slow start of the team as whole.

1. Jason Babin(notes)

The Eagles brought back Babin after he thrived with the Tennessee Titans. So far, he is looking like one of the biggest steals of the season. Babin is among the league leaders with seven sacks. He has slowed the past two weeks in terms of getting sacks but his aggressive nature enables him to constantly pressure quarterbacks. Babin has looked like a superstar so far in 2011.

2. Cullen Jenkins(notes)

The other newcomer on the defensive line has also done a great job. Jenkins has five sacks, an impressive total for a guy in his position. Jenkins is an excellent run stuffer that also has the ability to rush the passer. He hasn’t forced any turnovers yet but he certainly has that capability. He is one of the top defensive tackles in 2011 in terms of numbers.

3. Nnamdi Asomugha(notes)

Asomugha struggled in the first few games in terms of finding his spot in the defensive scheme. But he has still been able to get an interception and he is one of the better tacklers in the secondary, which doesn’t say a whole lot. Asomugha has been on fire the past two weeks and should be a solid starter the rest of the season.

4. Jamar Chaney(notes)

The Eagles have had pretty poor play at the linebacker position. But Chaney he has actually been okay and is getting better. He is tied for the team lead with 36 tackles. He also has an interception on the season. With the amount of plays that offenses run toward the Eagles linebackers, Chaney has become a valuable commodity for fantasy owners.

* – Mark Paul is a regular fantasy football player and fan of the Philadelphia Eagles

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

PHILADELPHIA – It’s no secret DeSean Jackson makes the Eagles go. And lately, he hasn’t been going very far.

Neither have they.

Jackson, among the game’s most explosive wide receivers, has just four catches for 51 yards in the Eagles’ last two games and doesn’t have a reception longer than 17 yards since opening day.

As such, the new-look Eagles (1-2) have lost their last two games and head into Sunday’s date with the San Francisco 49ers (2-1) in last place in the NFC East.

For somebody who has 19 touchdowns of 30 yards or more since Opening Day of 2008, this has been an uncharacteristically quiet opening stretch for Jackson. Although he did have six catches for 102 yards against the Rams in Week 1, overall, Jackson ranks 62nd in the NFL with 10 catches this year, 57th with 153 yards and tied for 26th with just one touchdown.

Not what you’d expect from a two-time Pro Bowl pick and two-time 1,000-yard receiver.

“It’s football,” Jackson said. “I’m one of 11 players. They’re not always going to be calling my number, and I’ve just got to help out and do whatever I can to help my team win. You’ve just got to keep working hard, and hopefully it will get better.”

Michael Vick, who threw touchdown passes of 45, 61, 88 and 91 yards to Jackson last year, said teams are defending the Eagles differently than in the past. Opposing defences are dropping a safety back so deep that it’s almost impossible to hit deep strikes to Jackson.

“Teams are playing so far down the field,” Vick said, “you can’t even see the free safety any more.”

And they’re doing this only against Jackson and the Eagles.

“During the week, when we watch film of these teams playing other teams, we don’t see them playing like this,” Jackson said. “It’s respect. I think a lot of defences are not going to let us just run past them and do the things we’re great at doing.

“We’ve just got to find a way to make plays somehow, some way underneath, and if every team is going to be 35 yards back deep, we just have to throw underneath and do other things.”

That opens up the field for other players to catch the football on shorter routes, but that’s exactly what defences want. The ball in somebody else’s hands.

“When a team does that to you, you have to be like a surgeon,” offensive co-ordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. “You have to play at a high level consistently, and then big plays will come naturally. You’ve got to surgically dissect them, especially when they’re playing you like that.”

Jackson was open on one deep route this year, but dropped what would have been an 84-yard score against the Rams.

He said if teams are covering the deep ball, he has to get the football and make plays in other ways.

“Over the past three years, if you watch film, there are other plays I’ve done other than just running deep,” he said. “I caught balls underneath and took them the distance, as well. It really doesn’t matter if it’s deep or short or whatever it is, I’m capable of doing it all.”

Jackson is unsigned beyond this year and protested his minimum-wage salary by holding out of the first 10 days of training camp. He said once he’s on the field, the contract situation is out of his mind.

“I’ve got to go out there and still make plays and be the receiver I’m capable of being,” he said. “Whether or not I have the ball in my hands or not, I feel like I already established myself in this league as one of the great receivers. I just have to go out there and just keep doing what I can do. Staying healthy is the biggest thing. As long as I can stay healthy — regardless of where I’m playing — I think I’ll be all right.

“As long as I’m healthy and we’re winning, regardless of my numbers, I think I’ll be very happy.”