My friends, the NFL season is here, and we begin with the wonderful bitterness and hostility that is Eagles-Cowboys.
Like Philadelphia water ice and pecan pie, these combatants begin 2025 on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Birds are coming off of their second Super Bowl title while Dallas hasn't reached the NFC Championship game, much less the Bowl, since the 1995 season. That's a long walk in the desert for Jerry Jones & Co.
Unfortunately for Jones – is there a more delicious three-word phrase in the English language? – that trek is about to get even longer after dispatching superstar rush LB Micah Parsons to Green Bay. It’s like trading Texas brisket for a side of quinoa - and then wondering why your tailgate is a solo affair.
Of course, like a good South Philly roast pork sandwich, this rivalry marinates in mutual contempt, dating back to when the teams first met in 1960. Dallas leads the all-time series 74-58, but recent history suggests a swift changing of the guard, like THE TRE MAN quickly swapping his peas – "I'm really full, Dad" – for a bowl of mint chip.
The memories of these games still permeate, like the aroma of the aforementioned delicacy. In 1999, Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin caught what would be his final pass, suffering a career-ending spinal injury on the unforgiving artificial turf. As he was carted off, Eagles fans cheered, just as they did in 1981 when Wilbert Montgomery broke Cowboys hearts in the NFC title game.
Montgomery rushed for 194 yards on the afternoon - including a back-breaking 42-yard touchdown dash - as Dick Vermeil's Birds crushed Coach Tom Landry's Flex Defense, 20-7, earning their first Super Bowl trip.
In addition to Vermeil and Landry, the coaching carousel has brought other legends to both sidelines. The Cowboys leaned on Tom's Swiss-watch consistency for 29 seasons before Jimmy Johnson arrived with his swagger and college pedigree. Philly countered with Greasy Neale's championship teams of the late 1940s, then Andy Reid's innovative offense that tormented Dallas for more than a decade before Doug Pederson brought the town its first title.
Now it's Nick Sirianni leading the Birds' latest golden era while Dallas searches for answers in the post-Jason Garrett wilderness. Indeed, Sirianni, who looks equally equipped to pump your gas or coach your team, has built something special in the City of Brotherly Shove.
Off the field, the cultural divide between these two cities runs deeper than the crack in that old bell near Independence Hall. This is South Philly cheesesteaks – the kind that can stop traffic and arteries – versus Dallas barbecue, blue-collar grit against oil money glamour, Rocky Balboa's underdog spirit battling America's Team mythology. It's why this rivalry endures even when both teams struggle, and why it reaches fever pitch when both are good, which hasn't happened often since Carter was in office.
Last season marked the Eagles' first sweep of Dallas since 2011, with Philadelphia outscoring the Cowboys 75-13 in two meetings. Those numbers are every bit as ugly as the group photo at a Lehigh Football reunion and, without Parsons anchoring their defense tonight, Dallas will struggle to contain an Eagles offense that bulldozed through the playoffs like THE FAIR CLAUDINE through a Black Friday sale.
I expect this to be a beatdown of near-biblical proportions – beware of flooding, Dallas fans – with Philly taking it to the visitors from the coin toss. The Cowboys may get an early score, but it'll be all downhill from there. IGGLES, 37-10.