NFL Week 16 Predictions: Eagles Will Corral Cowboys to Keep Dream Alive

The King (of the NFC East) is dead! Long live the King (of the NFC East)!

That's how the wacky script known otherwise as the 2011 NFL season is reading these days, with the Philadelphia Eagles looking to add a few speaking lines of their own to this semi-Shakespearean madness.

All Andy Reid's squad needs to do is take out a Dallas Cowboys team on Christmas Eve that it stomped in Philly in Week 8, 34-7, to push this mess one step closer to complete chaos and keep the Dream Team's dream season alive.

Believe it or not, the Eagles will make it happen, with plenty of help from Jerry Jones' finest.

Neither Michael Vick nor Tony Romo figures to find much freedom of movement on Saturday. Vick has been among the most poorly protected passers all season, having suffered through a litany of injuries on account of an offensive line that's been shuffled and reshuffled more often than a deck of cards at a Las Vegas casino. Romo's taken his fair share of punishment, too, with rookie tackle Tyron Smith having his moments, both positive and negative.

It just so happens that both teams sport dominant pass rushers—the Eagles' Jason Babin (18 sacks), the Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware (16 sacks)—who should have little difficulty wrapping up the opposing signal caller more often than not.

The difference, then, will come from each team's running game. Philly flaunts the third-best ground attack in the NFL, thanks in large part to LeSean McCoy, the league's second-leading rusher. McCoy tore up Dallas' vaunted defense for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries last time these two teams met.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, are still reeling from the loss of rookie sensation DeMarco Murray to a fractured ankle. Luckily for Jason Garrett, Felix Jones has returned to fitness, just in time to resume his place as Dallas' top rusher. To his credit, Jones has been terrific of late, tallying well over 100 yards from scrimmage in each of the last two weeks.

Jones wasn't fit for Dallas' loss in Week 8, though it's fair to say he'll have at least a decent day against Philly's 17th-ranked run defense.

Still, if Andy Reid plays his cards right, he'll get the ball to McCoy early enough and often enough to keep the Cowboys offense off the field on the way to a big "W."

And if the New York Giants lose to the Jets, then the NFC East crown will be well within the Eagles' reach on New Year's Day.

Because, as it happens, the King is never really dead, at least until the season comes to a close.

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