What the Cowboys are saying about the Eagles ahead of Sunday’s NFC East showdown

It hasn’t always (or even most of the time) been pretty or easy, but the Eagles are 7-1 and represent the class of the NFL through eight games. But while the Birds sit atop the NFC East, their perch is far from a comfortable one with the rival Cowboys (5-2) coming to town on Sunday.

For those who celebrate, it’s Dallas Week, and Sunday’s showdown will provide a good litmus test in assessing the defending NFC champions and their Super Bowl chances. Here’s what the Cowboys are saying about the Eagles ahead of their clash at Lincoln Financial Field:

There’s never much love lost when the Eagles meet the Cowboys, but all-world Dallas pass rusher Micah Parsons did give the Eagles their flowers this week on his podcast The Edge.

The Harrisburg native and former Penn State star called the Eagles “the best team in the NFL” and added that “they have the most talented roster in the NFL, without a doubt.”

Parsons also was asked about the much-publicized Tush Push and said that the Cowboys need to be more physical if they hope to stop it. He praised the Eagles for being so “creative” and “inventive” out of that offensive look in recent weeks.

The All-Pro also named Eagles wideout A.J. Brown as one of his weekly “Dawgs of the Week” alongside Miami’s Tyreek Hill. Parsons called Brown “unstoppable” and said Brown and Hill are 1-2 in some order when it comes to the best wide receivers now in the game. Brown recorded 125-plus yards for an NFL-record sixth straight game on Sunday against Washington.

» READ MORE: Again and again, A.J. Brown did the seemingly impossible as he entered rarefied air in the Eagles’ win at Washington

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy believes Sunday’s game will likely be decided in the trenches, and the task of facing the Eagles’ vaunted defensive front is not lost on him.

“It’s top-notch,” McCarthy said of the defensive line. “The value they place on their offensive and defensive lines through player acquisition is captain obvious. Tremendous amount of depth, there’s no drop-off as they roll guys in, and they have a good substitution plan. So yes, this will be a big challenge for us.”

McCarthy also joked about the warm welcome he expects from rival Philadelphia fans.

“Just the hard-fought games, the energy, obviously the environment that you go into up there,” McCarthy said. “I’ve just never seen Santa Claus look the same since. But yeah, it’s a cool place to compete.”

It wouldn’t be a day that ended in the letter “y” without the Tush Push entering the conversation. Both McCarthy and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn were asked about how they hope to stop the Eagles’ dominant short-yardage play.

“Leverage is a big part of it,” McCarthy said. “It starts up front with them, as [Jason] Kelce’s leverage, I think he’s a former wrestler, the five, the wedge, the apex components … and Jalen [Hurts] is powerful, you see a lot of second-effort pushes from him.”

McCarthy later said that it is hard to practice against the play and joked that he’d be fined for having his quarterbacks practice it.

Quinn added that the Cowboys are going to try some new things in attempting to defend the play.

“For us, [defending it] won’t be exactly what we’ve done or shown before,” Quinn said. “It’ll be something that we have to do a little bit different. … It’ll be a tough challenge, but one we’re definitely up for.

“It gets a lot of attention, but those throws to A.J. Brown go a lot further than that 1-yard sneak. … They’ve got a bunch of explosive plays that are at the front of my thinking first, but because third and fourth downs are so critical and their time of possession, you better be able to get some stops.”

Hurts and the Eagles are 17 of 21 (81%) on the Tush Push this season.

Eagles fans are notoriously hard on their rivals and it’s no secret that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones ranks pretty high on their list of enemies.

Jones told a funny story on Dallas sports radio this week about one old run-in with Eagles fans. On 105.3 The Fan, Jones recalled a time he attended an Eagles-Cowboys game in Philly with a priest from Jenkintown named George Tribou, who after moving to Arkansas had educated Jones’ two sons.

As Jones was walking through the stadium, an Eagles fan called out at him, “Look at this arrogant SOB, he even got his own priest to go along with him.” Jones responded by winking at the fan, blowing him a kiss, and saying, “You bet.”