Eagles vs. Cowboys (Rd. 2): Predictions, betting lines and TV/radio broadcast info

While the Mummers are marching down Broad Street, the Eagles will finish off Year 1 of the Doug Pederson era with a meaningless game in South Philly against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field.

• MORE EAGLES COVERAGE
• Stay or Go 2016
• Report: Tony Romo to see action against Eagles on Sunday
  
• Should the Eagles fire Doug Pederson?
  
• Recap: Eagles chat with Jimmy Kempski
• Carson Wentz bought the Eagles offensive linemen guns for Christmas

Normally, with a 13-2 team like Dallas coming into town, the Eagles would be decided underdogs. But considering Dallas has the playoffs to look forward to (while dealing with the timeless "rest vs. rust" argument), the Eagles are pretty big favorites in this one. While it remains to be seen how much Jason Garrett (and Jerry Jones) plays his starters, the Eagles regulars should play a full game for one last time this season. With a win, they would finish 6-2 at The Linc on the season and 7-9 overall.

Here's a look at how the two teams matchup on paper and how our writers see the game playing out:

Cowboys (13-2) at Eagles (6-9)

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET | Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Pa.)

BY THE NUMBERS

BROADCAST INFO

TV: FOX | RADIO: 94.1 WIP

BETTING LINES

SPREAD: Eagles (-4.5) | TOTAL: 42.5 (via Odds Shark)

PREDICTIONS

Jimmy Kempski

@JimmyKempski  |  Email  |  Stories

PICK: Eagles 29, Cowboys 24

The Cowboys say they're playing their starters this Sunday. Based on the point spread for this game, Vegas disagrees. Personally, I think the Eagles will see a healthy dose of Mark Sanchez in the second half of this game, and maybe sooner. The Eagles ride off into the sunset with a 7-9 record, same as last year.

RELATED: All of Jimmy's Week 17 NFL picks

Rich Hofmann

PICK: Eagles 27, Cowboys 14

There is a lot of talk about Tony Romo, Dak Prescott, and Zeke Elliott heading into this game. The Cowboys are “America’s Team,” after all. They’ll have their chance at fun in the playoffs, but I think that the Eagles (who don’t care about their record for draft purposes) are going to win pretty easily.

First off, I can’t imagine Dallas is going to let their starters play a full NFC East game when they don’t have to. The Cowboys offensive line is excellent, but I just can’t imagine Jason Garrett making those players bang bodies with Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan and co. for four quarters when the game means nothing to them.

And even if the Birds were incentivized to lose, they usually win meaningless Week 17 games anyway. Take a look at what has happened when they had nothing to play for since 2007:

That one blowout loss was the year that the Eagles went 4-12, when they had the most to gain by losing (and the Giants were also still alive for a wild-card berth). They ended up selecting Lane Johnson, which is ironic because he’s one of the reasons that this game is meaningless for the Birds.

Matt Mullin

@matt_mullin  |  Email  |  Stories

PICK: Eagles 23, Cowboys 17

What the hell are we supposed to make out of this one? Neither team has much of anything to play for — and for the complete opposite reasons. I was already unsure who exactly is going to play, or for how long, and then I got a notification on my phone saying that Tony Romo is expected to play for the first time in over a year… in December … in Philly … presumably with a bunch of backups. What could possibly go wrong?

The Eagles are five-point favorites, which makes sense given the scenario outlined above, but it is still strange to see a 6-9 team giving a 13-2 team points, let alone five. And although it isn’t much, the Birds actually do have something for which to play: their pride. And their jobs.

They seem to be making a habit of winning meaningless late-season games. A year ago, it was too little, too late for Chip Kelly and the majority of his staff. Luckily for Doug Pederson, his seat isn’t nearly as hot — win or lose, he’ll be back next season.

But I’m feeling a win to close out his first season at the helm.