Cowboys vs. Eagles: Philly 'One-and-Done' In Playoffs, Predicts NFL Exec

At least one NFL executive believes the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles - a hill that the Dallas Cowboys are trying to climb - are a prime candidate for an upset early in the playoffs.

The Dallas Cowboys will be making a "trap-game''-level mistake by failing to recognize the many hills that must be climbed - step by step by step - in order to ascend toward their goal of championship contention.

But at least one NFC exec believes one of those hills will crumble on its own.

"I could see (the Eagles) being a one-and-done,'' an anonymous NFC exec tells Jeremy Fowler in an ESPN survey. "They haven't had to go 15 rounds with anybody yet. I just wonder if they are battle-tested. 

"I think a few late-season losses would actually help them."

In truth, a "few late-season losses'' for the undefeated Eagles would also help somebody else - the Cowboys.

The Eagles are the only unbeaten team still standing in the NFL, but some critics point out that they've only got two of their eight wins against teams that are currently above .500 - and that one of those victories came against a Cowboys team that used Cooper Rush at QB in place of the then-injured Dak Prescott.

And when the rematch is staged on Christmas Eve, Prescott figures to be a factor for a Dallas team with a ..... against Philly.

It is true that five of the Eagles' wins have come against last-place teams. But it is also true that this is what we like to call "A .500 League,'' and that good teams shouldn't be punished for having lifted themselves above the muddy middle.

In the end, the Dallas (6-2) schedule and the Philly schedule will be notably similar, and the Cowboys will attempt to utilize that to overtake the Eagles in the NFC East (continuing with coach Mike McCarthy's Revenge Tour in Green Bay on Sunday). But failing that? There is at least a smattering of belief that if Dallas doesn't knock down the Eagles in the regular season ... it'll happen soon enough after that.

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