It promises to be the game of the three-day-old decade - Eagles at Cowboys in what amounts to a playoff game minus the threat of elimination.
Win, and the Eagles advance all the way to the second round of the NFC playoffs. Lose, and they are still in the tournament with a playoff game next weekend.
Win, and the Eagles instantly become a legitimate favorite to go to the Super Bowl. Lose, and the road to Miami is open, but unpaved and perilous.
Win, and the Eagles officially go into the postseason as the hottest team in the NFC. Lose, and, well, maybe that's not such a bad thing. A four-game winning streak is a lot more probable than the 10-game streak it would require for the Eagles to win out.
This game offers the benefit of a playoff game without the risk - and of course it is against the team whose very existence most offends the sensibilities of Philadelphia fans. This year, the Dallas Cowboys have managed the difficult trick of becoming even more unbearable: Their ostentatious new stadium, site of today's virtual playoff, is like a physical manifestation of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' ego.
The most compelling subplot in this game is the way the two teams are struggling to cross thresholds that have tripped them up in the past. Thing is, they are two very different thresholds.
For Tony Romo and the Cowboys, the final month of the regular season has been a nightmarish repeat cycle of frustration and disappointment. They have tended to play well early in the season and then fall apart late, either missing the playoffs (as they did thanks to a 44-6 loss to the Eagles in the season finale last year) or stumbling in and losing in the first round.
For Donovan McNabb and the Eagles, the pattern has been the opposite. They get better as the season wears on and have been frequent postseason winners over the last decade. For them, the threshold is a bit farther down a very tough road.
Both men have survived a certain wide receiver who shall remain nameless in his Buffalo exile.
Romo has never won a playoff game. McNabb has never won a Super Bowl. Romo is younger. He has more time. McNabb is older but seems energized by an influx of youthful offensive weapons who are the equal, finally, of what Romo has worked with his whole career. Romo and McNabb are excellent quarterbacks who will carry those burdens until they are able to shed them on the field in big games.
