Cowboys at Eagles
Reigning league rushing champion DeMarco Murray gets a crack at his former team when he leads the Philadelphia Eagles into Sunday's matchup against the visiting Dallas Cowboys in an early-season showdown between bitter NFC East rivals. Murray carried the Cowboys to the division title last season by rushing for 1,845 yards, but he signed with Philadelphia in the offseason.
Murray said he will be taking a business-as-usual approach against Dallas, which was unwilling to match the Eagles' offer to him. "I'm not looking at it as facing the Cowboys," said Murray, who ripped off 12 100-yard games last season. "Just preparing like I always prepare for any other game." Philadelphia will be looking to rebound from a 26-24 loss at the Atlanta Falcons in the season opener after a belated comeback from a 20-3 halftime deficit fell short. Dallas rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the New York Giants 27-26 on Tony Romo's touchdown pass with seven seconds to play, but lost star wideout Dez Bryant to a broken foot.
TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Eagles -5. O/U: 55
ABOUT THE COWBOYS (1-0): Dallas will be hard-pressed to replace the production of Bryant, who has at least 88 catches and 1,200 yards in each of the past three seasons and led the league with 41 touchdown receptions in that span. Romo threw for 356 yards with three TDs and two interceptions last week, connecting on eight passes apiece to veteran tight end Jason Witten and running back Lance Dunbar, part of a three-man committee in the backfield. Joseph Randle received the bulk of work in place of Murray, rushing for 65 yards on 16 carries while adding three catches for 42 yards.
ABOUT THE EAGLES (0-1): Murray never had fewer than 19 carries in a game with Dallas last season, but he rushed only eight times for nine yards in the loss to the Falcons, although he scored a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Sam Bradford overcame a shaky first half in his Philadelphia debut to finish 36 of 52 for 336 yards with one TD and two picks while second-year wide receiver Jordan Matthews was his top target with 10 receptions for 102 yards. Cornerback Byron Maxwell, who signed a six-year, $63 million free-agent deal, struggled badly while matched up against Julio Jones.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Dallas has won the past three matchups in Philadelphia by an average of 13.3 points.
2. Witten has five career 100-yard games against the Eagles.
3. The Cowboys haven't won their first two games since 2008 while the Eagles haven't opened 0-2 since 2007.