PHILADELPHIA _ The NFC East has been the division no one wanted to win this season, at least until Sunday in Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles were underdogs to the Dallas Cowboys, but that's a position they have liked in recent seasons. They certainly liked it on Sunday.
By beating the Cowboys, 17-9, the Eagles didn't clinch the division with one game still remaining, but they put themselves in a great position to do so. If they beat the 4-11 Giants on the road next Sunday, the Eagles win the division and will host a wild-card round playoff game on either Jan. 4 or 5.
There are no sure things this season for the Eagles, of course, who were 5-7 after losing to the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 1. They have won three straight since then, but that includes a home win over the Giants that required overtime to secure.
That's the worry for the rest of this week. For now, beating the Cowboys is statement enough that the Eagles are a dangerous team, even when working without some of their most effective weapons.
On Sunday, while Carson Wentz did just enough with an offense operating with backups at skill positions, it was actually the defense that held up when really needed. The Eagles lost both starting cornerbacks for a while, had tackle Fletcher Cox leave with a shoulder injury and then return, and despite the alterations did a very good job of containing the No. 1 offense in the league. It was their first win scoring 17 or fewer points since the opener of the 2012 season.
The first order of business for the Eagles on Sunday was to be first on the scoreboard, something they had neglected to do recently against Dallas.
In losing three straight to the Cowboys, the Eagles had fallen behind by at least 6-0 in every game. This season, in what became a one-sided loss, Dallas went up 14-0 and was ahead 27-7 at halftime. In fact, in the seven games the Eagles played against the Cowboys with Doug Pederson as head coach, they only held a halftime lead in one of them, a 13-10 advantage in 2016. The coach was aware of the problem.
"We have to be able to score sooner than later against these guys," Pederson said. "Even some of the games that we watched against this week from last year and even the year before, we got down early in those games. We have to start fast, put points on the board early, and try to sustain that throughout the course of the game."
They took care of the initial part of that plan in the opening quarter as they scored on each of their first two drives against Dallas on Sunday. Receptions by J.J. Arcega-Whiteside spurred an opening drive to a field goal by Jake Elliott. Then a long-gaining swing pass to Miles Sanders fueled a drive that finished with a Carson Wentz touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to tight end Dallas Goedert.
Chasing that 10-point deficit, the Cowboys had to get away from relying on workhorse running back Ezekiel Elliott and leave the ball in the hands of quarterback Dak Prescott. In the opening half, Dallas called just five running plays, all to Elliott, while Prescott, who had a sore shoulder, threw 18 passes and scrambled out of another pass call.
This should have given the Eagles a defensive advantage, and they did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys did scratch out a pair of field goals to hang around, which they did only because the Eagles offense went quiet in the second quarter.
Rather than take the game by the throat with a couple more scores, the Eagles couldn't add to their early binge. They lost the ball on downs after throwing incomplete twice after a 3rd-and-1 at the Dallas 31-yard line, punted when another drive stalled, and missed a 53-yard field goal on their last possession of the half. That set up the Cowboys with good field position for their second field goal.
So, they had a halftime lead, but at 10-6 it didn't feel quite as commanding as Pederson would have liked.
The Eagles dodged away from further trouble on the opening drive of the second half for Dallas. The Cowboys, getting good runs and receptions from Elliott, drove steadily down before stalling on a third-down attempt at the Eagles 26-yard line. Dallas appeared ready to line up for another field goal attempt, when Pederson challenged the end of the play, and the officials discovered that a loose ball was indeed a fumble recovered by the Eagles.
There was finally some breathing room for the Eagles after an 80-yard drive ended with Miles Sanders touchdown run at the end of the third quarter, but once again they didn't keep adding on. A stalled drive ended in another missed field goal by Elliott, this attempt from 55 yards.
Dallas used good field position to get another field goal and make it a one-score game, 17-9, and then drove down the field as the clocked ticked under two minutes to play. The Eagles stopped that drive when Prescott's fourth-down attempt into the end zone was broken up by reserve cornerback Sidney Jones.
The Eagles weren't great, but they were good enough. Good enough to take control of a bad division, perhaps, but good enough.
Someone had to win the NFC East and, maybe it's not official yet, but it sure looks as if the Eagles are at the head of the line.
