Eagles-Cowboys: Game time, channel, how to watch and stream

‘Tis the season for the Eagles to renew one of the NFL’s most heated rivalries, as the Birds travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on Christmas Eve.

Unfortunately, some of the juice from Saturday’s game was sucked dry by the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose overtime win against the Cowboys last week simplified the Eagles’ chances of clinching the NFC East and the NFC’s top playoff seed. Now all it takes is one win over their final three games for the Birds to secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

There is still a small chance the Cowboys could win the NFC East, but the odds are so remote it’s not really worth talking about. The Minnesota Vikings could also end up claiming the top playoff seed in the NFC East, but it would require the Eagles losing all three of their remaining games against the Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, and New York Giants.

The Eagles will have to defeat the Cowboys without Jalen Hurts, who is out with a sprained shoulder. Taking the field in his place is Gardner Minshew, the mustached Mississippi native who has played well when given the opportunity, including a key win last season against the New York Jets that helped push the Eagles to an unexpected playoff appearance. But most Birds fans remember the celebration with his father after the game that quickly went viral.

This is the 128th time the Eagles have faced the Cowboys, dating back to 1960, with Dallas holding a 72-55 series lead. But the hatred between the two teams really stems from a December 1967 game in Dallas, where Cowboys linebacker Lee Roy Jordan delivered an elbow to the face to famed Eagles star Timmy Brown, a hit so vicious it cost Brown somewhere between four and nine teeth.

“That started the rivalry,” Brown told The Inquirer back in 2013. Brown died in 2020 at age 82, but the nasty rivalry that began with his broken jaw lives on.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Eagles-Cowboys matchup:

Eagles-Cowboys is scheduled to kick off at 4:25 p.m. Eastern on Fox.

Calling the game is Fox’s new top crew, which featured play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt and analyst Greg Olsen. Reporting from AT&T Stadium during the game are Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi.

The game will also air on radio in Philadelphia on 94.1 WIP. Calling the game will be longtime play-by-play announcer Merrill Reese, who offered his voice as a narrator of “The Night Before Christmas” on The Philly Special Christmas album. Joining him for the 25th season is former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick, with 94.1 WIP host Howard Eskin reporting from the sideline.

Spanish-speaking listeners can tune into La Mega 105.7, where the game will be called by WIP host Rickie Ricardo, Oscar Budejen, and Bill Kulik.

Eagles vs. Cowboys will stream on the Fox Sports app, but you’ll need to be a cable subscriber to log in.

The game will also stream on a host of so-called skinny bundles that carry Fox, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.

If you’re looking to stream the game for free, your best option if you live near Philadelphia is to use an over-the-air antenna.

Eagles staff writers Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, and Josh Tolentino will be covering the action live on Gameday Central. Smith and Tolentino will discuss the Eagles-Cowboys game at 3 p.m. prior to kickoff. Notes and observations about the game will be at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t forget to subscribe to our free Sports Daily newsletter.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Cowboys: Live coverage

Thanks to Christmas falling on a Sunday, the NFL scheduled the bulk of its Week 16 games to air on Christmas Eve, which means Eagles fans in Philadelphia will get a double dose of games this holiday weekend.

Unfortunately, the Christmas Day matchups that looked good on paper to start the season are now mostly throw-away games, with Tony Romo and CBS’s top crew forced to call a wretched matchup between the Denver Broncos (4-10) and the Los Angeles Rams (4-10).

Saturday, Dec. 24

Sunday, Dec. 25

Monday, Dec. 26