Dak Prescott knows what he and the Dallas Cowboys are walking into with their big showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday.
Sunday will be Prescott’s 12th career game against the Eagles and his sixth in Philly, so the rabid fans there are nothing new to him. But Prescott told reporters on Thursday his preparation for a raucous environment such as the one expected this weekend goes all the way back to his college days at Mississippi State.
“I guess you (can) say having grown up in the SEC, (there were a) lot of different venues and stadiums that you can feel it by the time you get near the stadium,” Prescott said, per ESPN.com. “(Fans) eat, sleep, breathe the game of football. The fans’ excitement. The atmosphere. The close games. The energy.
“When you walk into Philadelphia’s stadium, it’s not different. It feels like some of those old Saturday nights.”
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This isn’t just some nostalgic stroll for Prescott. He knows that with that excitement comes noise — often lots of it. And with a lot of noise comes a host of problems for an unprepared offense.
“Fans are going to get loud,” Prescott said on Thursday. “You’ve gotta make sure your communication is top notch. Then, yeah, then it’s fun always getting a win up there.”
The Cowboys are 8-3 in games started by Prescott against the Eagles, and he hasn’t lost to them since 2019. But Prescott has only played the Eagles once in Philly since then, having missed the 2020 and 2022 contests at Lincoln Financial Field because of injury. His one start against them since, in Week 18 of 2021, came when the Eagles rested several starters with their playoff fate sealed.
Even still, Prescott hasn’t forgotten how Eagles fans can affect a game — and how wicked they can be to opponents. Even the home team isn’t spared their wrath, he said, when things aren’t going as well for the Eagles.
“Philly fans are serious,” Prescott said, per ESPN.com. “They love their team. They’re ruthless to the other guys, and if their team isn’t doing well, they let them know that, too, know what I mean?
“Not anything that is PG-13, to be honest with you, whether it’s language or whether it’s driving into the stadium and seeing how the fans give you different signs, even show body parts at different times, or (their) back end.”
This is arguably the biggest matchup between the hated rivals in years. The Eagles sit atop the NFC East with the best record in the NFL at 7-1 The Cowboys are right on their heels at 5-2, having won two straight since the 49ers demolished them on Sunday Night Football on Oct. 8.
It also will be the first head-to-head matchup between Prescott and Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. The one game they started against one another came in Dallas in 2021.
The Cowboys know this game will go way beyond the crowd factor, even as loud as Eagles fans might be. It ultimately could decide the NFC East crown and possibly the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed for the playoffs. They say they’re ready for the challenge.
“We’re not going to sugarcoat it like the Eagles don’t have a good team,” Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence said, via The Athletic. “They’re one of the best teams in the league, and if we want to solidify ourselves and say who we are and beat our chest, we have to come out with this win.”
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