Cowboys look to spoil the Eagles chances of clinching NFC East

The Eagles (12-3) had an opportunity to clinch the NFC East last week, but a game-winning touchdown by the Washington Commanders with 6 seconds remaining ended those hopes. The Birds can still clinch the division with a win on Sunday as they host the Dallas Cowboys (7-8) in a Week 17 matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.

Jalen Hurts was ruled out of the eventual 36-33 loss early in the first quarter and will miss Sunday’s game against Dallas as he remains in the concussion protocol. Washington kept its playoff dreams alive with a win over the Birds.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys — who are eliminated from playoff contention — beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, putting a dent in Tampa’s postseason hopes. Will the Cowboys play spoiler again? Or will the Eagles clinch the division? Here’s what the Cowboys are saying about the Eagles …

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts not on practice field Friday. ‘It’s going to be tough for him to make it’ for Cowboys game

In their last meeting, the Eagles dominated the Cowboys in a 34-6 win at AT&T Stadium in quarterback Cooper Rush’s first start of the season. Rush completed just 13 of 23 passes for 45 yards before he was pulled for Trey Lance in the third quarter. Rush said he and the team have grown since their Week 10 matchup.

“We found a better flow, for sure,” Rush told reporters. “I think everyone as a group is playing well. So we just want to keep that going.”

Since Week 10, the Cowboys have a 4-2 record and have won four of their last five games. Rush has completed 64.4% of his passes for 1,131 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception over his last five starts.

But the Cowboys will be without star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on Sunday. Lamb has 101 catches for 1,194 yards and six touchdowns but was ruled out for the final two games of the season. Without Lamb, the Cowboys offense will look different — but Rush isn’t worried.

“Obviously, his production [will be missed],” Rush said. “But I mean, there are guys ready. We got a very deep receiving room. A bunch of smart dudes that are chomping at the bit to go play.”

The Bucs’ quest for a fourth straight division title took a hit with last week’s loss to Dallas. Tampa’s loss shifted the control in the NFC South race back to the Atlanta Falcons.

When Rush was asked if being a spoiler to the Eagles would be better than being a spoiler to Tampa, Rush laughed and responded, “I don’t know, but I definitely want to beat Philly, though.”

Running back Rico Dowdle was asked a similar question.

“I think that’s more of a media, fan type of thing. We’re just going in there to win the game,” Dowdle told reporters. “That’s our only goal. To go in there and win. The results or the playoff effects, we don’t think nothing about it.”

But Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons is thinking about it. Now that the Cowboys know their postseason fate, Parsons says Dallas has embraced a role as spoilers.

“[A win on Sunday] probably makes the year,” said Parsons, a Harrisburg native and former Penn State star. “That sets everything off. Like us getting that win in an away game in Philly, knowing how they’re trying to get the No. 1 seed. We can set them back a little bit. You know, they’re fighting for everything. They’re fighting for where they want to be in playoffs, and we’re just fighting to whoop them. They got more to lose than we do. So that would be a great feeling right there.”

Head coach Mike McCarthy said the Cowboys’ mindset heading into each game remains the same, despite being ineligible for the playoffs.

“Mindset is to win,” McCarthy told reporters. “We’re going to Philadelphia to win a game. We’re viewing it as if it’s a division game, it’s a rival game, all those things. It’s going to be exciting to go up there. The crowd is going to welcome us with open arms, like they always do, so we’re fired up about that, too. But we’re going there to win, and that’s something that I think is clear to everybody.”

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When Parsons was asked if he liked McCarthy’s mindset for the team, the linebacker immediately responded: “I don’t even think that’s Mike’s mindset; that’s our mindset.

“Your coach can preach something, but it’s up to the players to actually do it. I think that’s our mindset. I mean, we [were] eliminated from playoffs, and you saw some of the best efforts from all the guys. I just think we’re locked in. We want it. We want to win games, and we want to prove to people that we can win. And we want to prove to people that we are a good football team.”

The Eagles play in Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.