img NFL

Dallas at Philadelphia

December 19, 2004
img1:00 PM Eastern
Premium Pick
1 unit on Philadelphia -12.5 (-110) (risk 1 to return 1.91)
Result:
LOSS

Yes, a lot of points but not enough. Philly should win this one by three touchdowns or more. They simply outclass the Cowboys in a huge way, no matter how you look at it. Despite the recent "blip" from Dallas in which they beat Chicago and Seattle, the Cowboys remain bad - real bad. So they beat the Bears and Seahawks - who hasn't? The Cowboys showed their true colors last week when they lost to New Orleans as a 7.5 point favorite. They are going to get pasted here by one of the top four teams in the league and the cream of the NFC crop. They've won the East but are still playing for home field advantage. Even with the potential for a bit of a letdown, they are just so much better than Dallas that it won't matter much. Andy Reid has committed to having his starters play. The Eagles want to maintain momentum going into the playoffs and they very much want to be in the elite class of teams that have finished the regular season at 15-1. If they needed any more motivation to avoid a letdown, they got it last week with the scare from the Redskins. They aren't going to want to let Dallas stay close here at all. Dallas' psyche is wounded after last week's loss. Human emotions can only go through so many ups and downs before they settle into a defensive position. The 'Boys got their hopes up after their two wins, convincing themselves they still might make the playoffs behind the legs of Julius Jones. Parcells said this week "The last couple of weeks, my spirit was up a little bit. "I was really kind of hoping, genuinely hoping, and I thought that there was a chance we could get going here." But, last week's loss was a killer and they now know they are done. It will be hard to get up for this game. The Eagles beat Dallas 49-21 earlier this season and I expect a similar result this week. One star pick: Philadelphia minus the points.

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