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Winning road games against division foes is tough enough for any NFL team.
Winning in Philadelphia is even more of a chore, no matter if it was the old Veteran Stadium, or the new Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles moved back in 2003.
But the main reason the Eagles have been so tough at home over the years is the simple fact that they've had good football teams, and at times, rather dominating ones. So it shouldn't come as a surprise the Cowboys have struggled mightily when playing in Philadelphia over the last decade and a half.
That is unless the lights are on. For some reason, the Cowboys have found a way to master the Eagles' after dark. In the last 15 years, Dallas is just 4-11 in Philadelphia, with all four wins occurring in night games.
And they haven't just been your average wins. All four of them have had their share of drama, then again the Eagles and Cowboys are always full of drama.
But these night games usually had something to do with some kind of return.
In 1996, the Cowboys beat the Eagles on Monday Night Football in the last game before Michael Irvin returned from a five-game NFL suspension. In 1998, the Cowboys whipped the Eagles on MNF in Troy Aikman's first game back from a broken collarbone earlier that year.
In 2005, it was an interception return by Roy Williams, capping an improbable fourth-quarter comeback to give the Cowboys a wild one-point win.
And just two years ago, Terrell Owens returned to Philadelphia as the hated villain, but it couldn't stop Tony Romo and the Cowboys from thrashing the Eagles by three touchdowns.
Fortunately for Dallas, this year's road trip to the City of Brotherly Love again occurs at night, in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football.
Could the Cowboys keep their rare night-game success in Philadelphia going? History suggests they will.
Let's take a closer look back at these four nightly wins the Cowboys have garnered over their hated divisional rivals.
1996 - Cowboys 23, Eagles 19
In a matter of one quarter, an entire season was revitalized. The Cowboys, defending Super Bowl champs and winners of three of the last four Lombardi Trophies, were on the ropes with a 1-3 record and facing the Eagles on the road in prime time.
The Cowboys were playing their last game without Michael Irvin, who was serving a five-game suspension due to offseason drug charges. And so far in the regular season, the team was clearly missing their vocal leader.
And for a moment, it appeared the Eagles would steamroll the lifeless Cowboys in this game, grabbing a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter.
But the game turned around on one kickoff return. Herschel Walker, in his second stint with the Cowboys, returned a kickoff to midfield, setting up a Troy Aikman touchdown pass to Eric Bjornson. That score seemed to turn the tide and before halftime, the Cowboys managed to reel off 20 straight points to lead 20-10.
The scoring slowed down in the second half, but the Cowboys defense stepped up to the challenge, sacking the Eagles six times and forcing five turnovers, including a George Teague interception near the goal line to preserve the win.
Rumor has it that Irvin showed up at the Cowboys headquarters at Valley Ranch soon after the final gun in Philadelphia. Even without his team, he got back to work and played the last 11 games as the Cowboys finished the year 10-6, winning their fourth straight NFC East title.
1998 - Cowboys 34, Eagles 0
After playing six games without their starting quarterback, the Cowboys got a healthy Troy Aikman back under center for a Monday Night showdown in Philadelphia.
And surprisingly, the Eagles didn't put up much of a fight. This time it was the Cowboys who posted a 10-0 lead, thanks to a 10-yard touchdown pass from Aikman to Irvin. But instead of the Eagles getting back in the game with a special teams play, it was the Cowboys putting the game out of reach with one of their own.
Deion Sanders, who had already lit up the Giants back in Week 3 with punt and interception returns for scores, was up to his tricks again, taking a punt 69 yards for a second-quarter touchdown. The Cowboys led 17-0 at halftime and poured it on in the second half, with David LaFleur and Emmitt Smith reaching paydirt.
The Eagles were held to just 200 total yards as the Cowboys posted their first, and still only, shutout over Philadelphia in the longstanding series.
2005 - Cowboys 21, Eagles 20
With a little more than four minutes to play, Eagles fans were rocking at the new Lincoln Financial Field, expecting the home team to put away a hard-fought win. But despite trailing 20-7 late in the game, the Cowboys weren't done yet.
Drew Bledsoe found Terry Glenn in the end zone for a touchdown, cutting the Eagles' lead to 20-14.
The Eagles had the ball back with more than three minutes left and needed just a couple of first downs to secure the victory. Instead, Donovan McNabb fired a pass to the Cowboys sideline that safety Roy Williams snagged and returned 46 yards for a shocking go-ahead touchdown.
The Eagles made a desperate attempt to win the game, but David Akers' 60-yard field goal on the final play fell well short, giving the Cowboys an improbable comeback victory.
2007 - Cowboys 38, Eagles 17
It wasn't Terrell Owens' first trip back to Philadelphia, having played the Eagles in 2006, but still, the Philly faithful hadn't gotten over the T.O. departure and held a rally outside the stadium to burn all existing Owens jerseys from his Eagles days.
On the field though, it was the Cowboys burning by Philadelphia defenders all night as they cruised to a 21-point victory. Owens broke open the game in the third quarter with a 45-yard touchdown reception, finishing the night with 10 catches for 174 yards.
Tony Romo passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns, finding tight ends Tony Curtis and Jason Witten for scores as well. Witten provided one of the most memorable plays in franchise history, hauling in a 52-yard reception, and then running most of the play without a helmet after a vicious collision with an Eagles defender.
The Cowboys racked up 434 yards of total offense, and defensively, they sacked McNabb three times and picked off two passes.
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Nick Eatman - 
