10 Eagles-Cowboys curiosities from throughout history originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles and Cowboys have faced each other 124 times since the Cowboys entered the NFL in 1960, and those games have produced hundreds of unforgettable moments.
The Cowboys lead the all-time series 70-54, but since 1988, the Eagles have a winning record against their biggest rival.
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As we all get ready for the Monday night showdown at AT&T Stadium, let’s take a look at some notable stats and numbers from the first 124 editions of Eagles-Cowboys.
Waiting for a sweep: The Eagles haven’t swept the Cowboys since 2011, and the nine-year drought is their longest since another nine-year drought from 1991 through 1999. The Eagles actually went 23 straight years without a sweep from 1965 through 1987, going 11-35 vs. Dallas during that span. The Cowboys swept the Eagles in 2012 and 2018, but 10 of the last 14 seasons the two teams have split. Neither team has swept the series in consecutive seasons since the Eagles recorded three straight sweeps from 2000 through 2002.
Familiar names: The two active players with the most career sacks against the Cowboys are Ryan Kerrigan (13.5) and Brandon Graham (9.5). Two former Eagles are next on that list: Michael Bennett (7.5) and Vinny Curry (7.0). Only Michael Strahan (18) has more career sacks against the Cowboys than Reggie White (17.5). Lawrence Taylor is third on that list (15).
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Big Red owned the Cowboys: From 1999 through 2012, the 14 years Andy Reid coached the Eagles, the Cowboys lost 17 games by more than three touchdowns. More than half of them — 9 of the 17 — were to the Eagles. During that span, the Eagles beat Dallas by 38, 33, 31, 28, 27, 27, 26, 24 and 22 points. The Cowboys’ three worst home losses during that 14-year span (and four of their worst five) were all to the Eagles. Ten of the Cowboys’ 55 worst losses in franchise history — nearly 20 percent — were to Reid’s Eagles. And 5 of their 22 worst home losses of all time were to Reid.
Playoff nightmares: Conversely, the Eagles’ three worst postseason losses ever were all against the Cowboys and were all in Dallas — 30-11 in 1996, 34-14 in 2010 and 34-10 in 1993. Those are the only postseason games the Eagles have ever lost by more than 17 points. The 1980 NFC Championship Game at the Vet was the Eagles’ only playoff win over the Cowboys (and the only postseason matchup in Philly).
Wes Hopkins owned Dallas: Nobody in history has recorded more interceptions against the Cowboys than Wes Hopkins. The all-time great Eagles safety picked off the Cowboys nine times, tied with Giants safety Terry Kinard, who also had nine. Hopkins had 30 interceptions in his Eagles career, so 30 percent of them came against Dallas. Who’s next on that list? Lito Sheppard picked off the Cowboys eight times.
So did Lito: Speaking of Lito, two of the four longest interception returns ever against the Cowboys were by Lito Sheppard. Lito had a 101-yard pick-6 off Vinny Tetaverde at Texas Stadium in 2004 and a 102-yard pick-6 off Drew Bledsoe in 2006 at the Linc. He’s the only player in NFL history with two 100-yard interception returns against the same team.
Big plays: The two longest fumble return TDs against the Cowboys were also by Eagles — Joe Lavender’s 96-yarder in 1974 and Joselio Hanson’s 96-yarder in 2008. Including Sheldon Brown’s 80-yarder in 2005 and Chris Clemons’ 73-yarder in 2008, four of the six longest fumble return TDs ever against the Cowboys were by Eagles players.
Randall, Donovan and Vick: Randall Cunningham (9-3), Donovan McNabb (12-8) and Michael Vick (4-2) were a combined 25-13 against the Cowboys. Every other Eagles quarterback is a combined 28-54 vs. the Cowboys.
DeSean heroics: DeSean Jackson is the only player with two 80-yard touchdown catches against the Cowboys. Jackson had a 91-yarder from Michael Vick in 2010 and an 81-yarder from Jalen Hurts last year, both at AT&T Stadium. Jackson owns two of the four longest TD catches ever against the Cowboys in North Texas. One of the others was Mike Quick’s 83-yarder from Ron Jaworski in 1983.
Tight ends doing damage: No player has ever gotten off to better start against the Cowboys than Keith Jackson, who had 182 yards in two games against Dallas as a rookie in 1988. That remains the most yards ever by a rookie against the Cowboys. Two pretty good wide receivers, Odell Beckham Jr. (180) and Randy Moss (162), are next. Speaking of tight ends, Zach Ertz has more career catches against the Cowboys than any tight end ever. Ertz has 66 catches, four more than Hall of Famer Jackie Smith had for the Cards (in nine more games).
