Today's Eagles-Cowboys game will be the 124th in the history of a rivalry that dates back to 1960. The Cowboys have a 69-54 lead in the all-time series.
When the Eagles beat the Cowboys in November, the starting quarterbacks were Carson Wentz and Ben DiNucci. Today they will be Jalen Hurts and Andy Dalton.
This is the first time that both teams will start different quarterbacks in the two Eagles-Cowboys games since 2010, when Jon Kitna and Stephen McGee started for Dallas and Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb started for the Eagles.
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Here are 10 notable facts and figures from the 61-year history of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry:
GASHING THE COWBOYS: Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb and Correll Buckhalter have the highest career rushing averages ever against the Cowboys - Cunningham at 7.4, McNabb at 5.8 and Buck at 5.7. That’s with a minimum of 50 carries. The highest average ever against the Cowboys by a non-Eagle is Mount Holly native Franco Harris’s 5.4. Shady is 10th on that list at 5.3.
RUNNING IT UP ON DALLAS: During the 14 years that Andy Reid was Eagles head coach, the Cowboys lost 17 games by at least 22 points. Nine of them - more than half - were to the Eagles. During that span, the Eagles beat the Cowboys by 38, 33, 31, 28, 27, 27, 26, 24 and 22 points. Seven of the Eagles’ 10 most lopsided wins over the Cowboys were with Reid as head coach.
TWICE IN ONE QUARTER: The Cowboys’ two-longest touchdowns ever against the Eagles were in the same game and actually in the same quarter. In a 49-19 win over the Eagles at the Cotton Bowl in 1962, Amos Marsh had a 101-yard kickoff return and Mike Gaechter had a 100-yard interception return - both in the fourth quarter. They’re also the two-longest 4th-quarter plays in Cowboys history.
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SUCCESS VS. EAGLES: Andy Dalton’s 104.0 career passer rating is 9th-highest ever against the Eagles (minimum of 50 attempts) and 4th-highest among active QBs, behind Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins. Dalton beat the Eagles in 2012 and 2016 while he was with the Bengals. His 58 pass attempts are 5th-most ever against the Eagles without an interception, behind Rivers (110), Warren Moon (67), Stephen McGee (65) and Dwayne Haskins (59).
EAGLES GOING FOR RARE SWEEP: The Eagles have only swept the Cowboys 11 times in a series that goes back to 1960. From 1965 through 1987, the Eagles went 23 consecutive years without sweeping Dallas, going 11-34 overall, before the Eagles recorded three straight sweeps. The Cowboys have swept the Eagles 19 times.
DESEAN A NIGHTMARE FOR DALLAS: If DeSean Jackson does play Sunday, he’ll be returning to the stadium where he set a record for most receiving yards in a game against the Cowboys by an opposing player. Jackson’s 210 yards in the Eagles’ 30-27 win is the most ever by an opposing player in Dallas. The previous high was 201 by Johnny Morris of the Bears at the Cotton Bowl in 1962.
RANDALL, DONOVAN AND VICK: Only two Eagles quarterbacks in the last 30 years have won twice against the Cowboys in the same season. Donovan McNabb did it in 2000, 2001 and 2004 and Michael Vick in 2011. Before that, you have to go back to Randall Cunningham, who swept the Cowboys in 1988, 1989 and 1990, and Sonny Jurgensen, who turned the trick in 1961.
REMEMBER CARSON WENTZ? Carson Wentz’s 95.7 passer rating is the highest ever by an Eagles quarterback against the Cowboys. It’s also 6th-highest ever against the Cowboys.
FADING ZEKE: Ezekiel Elliott averaged 115 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry in his first five games against the Eagles, all Dallas wins. He’s averaged 55 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry in his last two games against the Eagles, both Dallas losses.
SELECT COMPANY: The Cowboys are 5-1 vs. rookie quarterbacks since 2016, with the only loss coming on the final day of the 2016 season to the Eagles and Carson Wentz, who threw for 245 yards and two TDs to Zach Ertz in the Eagles’ 27-13 win at the Line. The only other Eagles QB to beat the Cowboys as a rookie was Jack Concannon in 1964.
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