IRVING, Texas - The birds are scattered across the short
route to Lincoln Financial Field. The count is up to at least 50 by the time the
Cowboys' team buses pull into the stadium tunnel.
These birds aren't our feathered friends, mind you, but a legion of
one-finger salutes - green-clad Eagles fans welcoming America's Team to their
fair city.
"Philadelphia maneto" ("Let brotherly love endure.") Not when the
Cowboys are on the schedule.
Names, stadiums and fortunes have changed throughout the 97-game history of
Cowboys-Eagles, but never the on-field intensity between the players and the
off-field hostility among their opposing supporters.
It's Dallas glitz against Philly grit. It's five Super Bowls (1971, 1977,
1992, 1993, 1995) against three NFL championships (1948, 1949, 1960). It's
perhaps the most passionate rivalry in pro football.
"The Eagles reminded me of a fungus under your toenail," jokes former Cowboys
offensive lineman Nate Newton, a fixture on the '90s championship teams. "No
matter how much Desenex or anti-bacterial cream you use, it always seemed to
crop back up.
"We looked at them as NFC East opponents. It's a bitter rivalry, just like
the Redskins and the Cardinals used to be, and the Giants. But the Eagles made
it personal."
The 48-year battle continues Monday night with Philadelphia's final
regular-season visit to Texas Stadium. Both teams handily won last week's
opener. Both could contend for the NFC East title all season long.
The Cowboys have a five-trophy head start. They won the East last season and
have garnered national acclaim as this year's NFC favorite. But the veterans
feel like they've been chasing the Eagles for years.
"Ever since I came in the NFL, this has been Philadelphia's division,"
sixth-year tight end Jason Witten said. "Last year, New York took it (the Super
Bowl), but over the long haul it's been Philadelphia's division and you had to
go and take it from them. I think we understand what kind of challenge it is."
Witten and these current Cowboys have written new chapters into a storied
rivalry that includes bounties and batteries, former teammates and
fourth-quarter heroics. Here's a closer look at some of the more recent moments
in Cowboys-Eagles lore:
Controversy
Buddy's Revenge (1987): Fuming over Tom Landry's decision to run a
reverse in the Cowboys' 41-22 blowout win two weeks earlier, Eagles head coach
Buddy Ryan retaliated near the end of Philadelphia's victory at the Vet. Leading
comfortably 30-20, quarterback Randal Cunningham intentionally ran up the score
by faking a third consecutive kneel-down and firing a touchdown pass in the
final minute.
Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, then serving as the Eagles' defensive
coordinator, found no humor in Ryan's tricks.
"You know, I've never coached that way," Phillips said last year. "No offense
to Buddy, but I didn't think it was right."
Asked if he confronted Ryan after the game, Phillips said, "Yeah. He didn't
care."
Bounty Bowl I and II (1989): In yet another notorious moment for Ryan,
Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson accused him of placing a 'bounty' on Cowboys
kicker Luis Zendejas and rookie quarterback Troy Aikman on Thanksgiving Day.
Zendejas suffered a concussion when Eagles linebacker Jessie Small crushed
him on a kickoff. Two weeks later, Eagles fans tossed snowballs and beers at
Johnson following Philly's 20-10 victory at the Vet. Nothing like a little
holiday cheer.
Irvin's Injury (1999): The rivalry's lowest point: Some merciless cheering from Eagles fans as Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin lay motionless on the Vet turf after suffering a spinal cord injury that would ultimately end his career.
The Cowboys lost that game, then three of the next four en route to an 8-8 season in Chan Gailey's last as head coach. Diagnosed with cervical stenosis (narrow spinal column), Irvin officially retired the following July. "The Playmaker" was inducted into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor in 2005 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
T.O.'s Return (2006): Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens received little
brotherly love from the Philly faithful six months after the Eagles released
him, ending his long-standing feud with quarterback Donovan McNabb and the
organization.
Owens was held to three catches for 45 yards and the Eagles sealed their
38-24 victory on Drew Bledsoe's last-minute interception which cornerback Lito
Sheppard returned 102 yards for a score. The miscue foreshadowed Tony Romo's
eventual promotion; Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells benched Bledsoe for good
two weeks later following another forced interception.
Late-Game Suspense
Woody's Pick (1994): Darren Woodson ended Philly's last-minute,
potential game-winning drive with a 94-yard interception for a touchdown.
The defending Super Bowl champs escaped the Vet with a 31-19 victory and
improved to 11-2. Their bid for a three-peat ended with an NFC Championship loss
to quarterback Steve Young and the 49ers two months later, however.
Load Left (1995): Sitting in field goal range with a tie score
(17-17), Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer called two straight unsuccessful
short-yardage plays in the final minute. The Eagles stuffed Emmitt Smith on
third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, regained possession in Cowboys territory and
kicked the game-winning field goal.
"The whole world knew we were going to run that play," Newton recalled. "You
talk about a bitter taste in your mouth. That really got us going for the rest
of the year because we wanted people to know that that ain't the team you saw."
The Cowboys didn't lose another game that year. They crushed Philly in the
divisional round, got past Brett Favre's Packers in the conference title game
and then beat Pittsburgh to claim their third Super Bowl in four years.
Hutton's Folly (1997): With the Cowboys leading 21-20, Eagles punter
Tom Hutton dropped the potential game-winning field goal snap and was tackled
while trying to run with the ball.
The Cowboys had erased a 20-9 deficit earlier in the game and survived to win
their second game in Switzer's last season.
Roy's Woody Impression (2005): The Cowboys won a Monday night
nail-biter, 21-20, with another safety's last-minute interception for a
touchdown.
This time Roy Williams picked off Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb with 2:43
remaining and ran 46 yards untouched for the game-winning score.
Unforgettable Plays
The Longest 14 Seconds (2004): McNabb redefined the term "pocket
presence" in a Monday night blowout victory over the Cowboys. He eluded Dallas
defenders for 14 seconds before rifling a 60-yard completion to Freddie Mitchell
that led to an Eagles score.
Owens, playing for the eventual NFC Champion Eagles, caught six passes for
134 yards and three touchdowns. Philly rolled at Texas Stadium, 49-21.
No Helmet, No Problem (2007): In 20 years, Witten's career might be
encapsulated in one indelible image - his hat-less, nose-bloodied, 53-yard catch
and run at the Linc after absorbing a nasty hit that sent his helmet skittering
across the field.
Witten finished with three catches for 77 yards, including a 20-yard
touchdown to give him 19 career scores, tying Butch Johnson for the 11th-most in
club history. He passed Tony Dorsett (3,432) for 10th place on the club's
all-time receiving yards list.
And the Cowboys won easily, 38-17.
"It's funny because you look back at it and it probably wasn't my best game,"
Witten said. "But everybody remembers that play and you're the toughest guy to
ever play now because your helmet came off."
Pickle Juice
Cooling Effect (2000): On a 109-degree day at Texas Stadium, Eagles
players claimed they stayed hydrated by drinking a combination of water and
pickle juice in their season-opening 41-14 victory over the Cowboys. The "pickle
juice" legend lives on eight years later.
Ironically enough, Witten endorsed "Pickle Juice Sport" for a time, unaware that the drink had such a notorious place in Cowboys-Eagles history.
"I didn't even know when I first got here,"
Witten said, laughing. "And then a couple of the trainers got on me about it,
kind of joking around. Nothing serious."
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