The Philadelphia Eagles are ONE win away or ONE Green Bay loss away fron clinching the home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. That would surely give the Eagles a huge advantage against any foe who dares to play at Veteran's Stadium. The Eagles will have to win next week against a very tough opponent in the New York Giants. The G-Men will still be fighting for a playoff berth and with the cold & windy Giants Stadium on their side, it will be tough for the Eagles to win. Plus, Donovan McNabb will still not be playing. But for now, let's talk about the Eagles win over the sorry Dallas Cowboys. Looks like Dave Campo has one more week of employment by Jerry Jones. After the Cowboys last game against the Redskins, Jerry Jones can then officially talk to Bill Parcells for his new replacement. The Eagles on the otherhand are now the NFL's best 34-13 over the past 3 seasons under Andy Reid. Currently, they are 12-3 overall and 11-0 in the NFC. They've won 13 straight regular seasons against NFC teams since losing at San Francisco last season. Under Andy Reid, the Birds are 10-0 in primetime games, 4-0 this season. They have also won 6 games by 21 or more points, including both games this year against Dallas.

The Eagles won the first half with AJ Feely throwing for 253 yards and 1 TD pass to Todd Pinkston. They led 17-0 at the half, but ultimately won the game with their vaunted defense. They held the Cowboys rookie QB Chad Hutchinson to 128 yards total passing yards and sacked him seven times. The Eagles also forced 3 turnovers, including a very big INT by Shawn Barber who returned it for a TD with only 12 minutes left. The Eagles second-half defensive stands all started with a 53-yard Lee Johnson punt, but Joey Galloway returned it 71 yards to the Eagles 9-yard line. A brilliant defensive series forced the Cowboys to go for it on 4th down and the Birds held. The Birds took over, but could not move the ball and Lee Johnson was forced to punt from deep in his territory. His punt only traveled 32 yards. Dallas moved the ball just enough to get into field goal position. Cowboys kicker Billy Cundliff sucessfully kicked a 42-yard FG for the Cowboys only points in the game. Soon afterwards, Feely was intercepted, his 2nd of the game and that should of setup Dallas for more points. Then Shawn Barber stepped in front of Hutchinson pass and had nothing but open field and 80 yards of open real estate in front of him. The INT TD return gave the Eagles a 24-3 lead and basically sent the Pokes packing with 12 minutes left in the game. David Akers finished the scoring with 39-yard FG. That TD return was also the longest defensive return since, Troy Vincent and James Willis combined a return for 103 yards in a 24-14 win over these same Cowboys back in 1996. Dallas was also 0-for-12 on third downs. You can't win if you don't get any third down conversions. The Birds held Dallas to only 78 net yards passing and also held Emmitt and company to a measely 68 rushing yards.

Emmitt Smith, playing in perhaps his last game in white, silver and blue in Texas Stadium, rushed only 8 times for 30 yards. It was a sad way to finish his Cowboys' playing career against the Eagles. He more often than not, rushed for over 100 yards against Philly. The Eagles can now clinch at least a bye with a Steelers win over the Bucs on Monday or a Packers loss to Buffalo today. They will get home-field if, both Green Bay and Tampa Bay lose. The Eagles defense will have to play better next week, if they want to beat the New York Giants. The Giants need to win to assure themselves of a playoff berth. The Eagles win and they just about guaranteed themselves a trip to San Diego in late January, if they win their two playoff games at home.