Saturday has the potential for another great moment in Eagles-Cowboys lore for Birds fans. A win from backup quarterback Gardner Minshew and company would give the Eagles the NFC East crown, lock up the No. 1 seed in the conference and give them a franchise-record 14th regular season win. 

Dallas Week holds a special play in the hearts of Eagles fans, as the matchup becomes just as much about the past as it does the present. 

What are the best moments in the history of this rivalry?

Obviously, I'm not touching upon the times the Cowboys got the best of the Birds. Yes, I know about all of those Super Bowl wins from before the vast majority of people had email. I'm self-aware enough to admit that. During my time watching the Eagles, however, and in the 21st century as a whole, they've done way more damage than Dallas in the NFL scene. 

It evens out. 

Just saw "44-6" to an Eagles fan and you'll know exactly what I mean.

To keep in the holiday spirit before the Christmas Eve game between the two teams, here are 10 legendary moments in the rivalry over the decades (in chronological order):

1. 1980: NFC Championship Game

This is first in chronological order and still remains the pinnacle of Eagles-Cowboys games for Philadelphians. Facing the Cowboys at home in the 1980 NFC Championship Game at Veterans Stadium for a chance to make their first ever Super Bowl, running back Wilbert Montgomery put the team on his back. 

Montgomery, battling through injuries, rushed for a team playoff record 194 yards and two touchdowns in the 20-7 win over Tom Landry and his big, dumb winter hat. The top highlight, of course, is Montgomery's 42-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to break things open:

Though the Eagles would come up short in the Super Bowl itself to the Raiders, this play stands as a swift kick in the teeth to all the Cowboys stand for. 

2. 1987: Fake Kneel Down

Buddy Ryan wanted blood.

Amidst the 1987 players' strike, the Eagles were fielding a team full of replacement players in Week 5 against a Cowboys squad that had stars Randy White and Tony Dorsett, who had crossed the picket line. Dallas smashed the Eagles 41-22, running up the score even with the clear roster disparity with Dallas' strike-breaking players. 

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When the two teams met next a couple of weeks later after the strike had ended, Ryan wanted revenge. 

With the Eagles up 10 and the ability to simply kneel down and burn the clock out, the Birds decided to run up the score in their own right. Quarterback Randall Cunningham faked a kneel down and chucked the ball all the way down the field towards the end zone. Pass interference was called against Cowboys defensive back Ron Francis, who was covering Mike Quick, giving the Eagles the ball at the one-yard line with two seconds remaining. 

Keith Byars took the handoff, jumped and plowed in for a TD, giving the Birds a 37-20 win.

Landry and Cowboys players were furious. Eagles fans at the Vet were going wild. 

What goes around, comes around!

3. 1995: 4th and 1

"They stopped him again!"

In Week 15 of the 1995 season, the 8-5 Eagles found themselves in a fight against the 10-3 Cowboys. With things tied up at 17 in the fourth quarter, Dallas boldly decided to go for it on 4th and 1 from their own 29, a move so aggressive that it might even give Nick Sirianni pause. 

The Eagles' fierce defense stuffed Dallas running back Emmitt Smith for a turnover on downs. The Vet went ballistic.

The celebration, however, was too soon. The officiating crew ruled the play off, as the two-minute warning hit just before the snap. Both fans and the Eagles' sideline alike were enraged. I can only fathom the amount of f-bombs ringing out from the 700 level. 

Dallas doubled down on their call to go for it. The Birds' defensive force halted Smith once again. Nice going, Barry Switzer!

Eagles radio play-by-play announcer Merrill Reese delivered one his most iconic calls on this play too, yelling "They stopped him again!" repeatedly in the aftermath. 

Behind a 42-yard field goal from Gary Anderson, the Eagles would end up with a 20-17 victory. 

4. 2000: Pickle Juice Game

"Man, it's a hot one..."

In Week 1 of the 2000 season, the Eagles and Cowboys were playing in the sweltering heat. With the temperature well over 100 degrees at Texas Stadium, dehydration and cramping were going to almost be as impactful in the game as actual Xs and Os. Head coach Andy Reid had the team drink some pickle juice to keep them hydrated under that burning sun. The Birds proceeded to toast the Cowboys, winning 41-14.

"The Pickle Juice Game" was born.

Duce Staley turned in the best game of his career, rushing for 201 yards (and gaining 262 total from scrimmage) in the victory. 

While this was an ass-kicking Eagles, it was bigger than just this one game. This was a new century. This was a new Eagles era. Gone were the days of the triplets beating the Eagles. Dallas no longer owned the league. The NFC East would be the Eagles' for the next two-plus decades. The Eagles rode that W to their first playoff appearance in four years, making six NFC Championship Games (and winning one Super Bowl...) since then. Dallas has three total playoff wins in the 21st century. 

All those old-school Eagles fans who had suffered through watching incompetent play and other NFC East teams go on championship runs finally had a taste of glory. 

Worth noting: Randall Cunningham was the Cowboys' QB that day.

5. 2004: Monday Night Smackdown 

No play in his career better illustrated the full of extent of Donovan McNabb's talent than his 14-second scramble against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football:

Freddie Mitchell hauled in that 60-yard bomb from No. 5. 

McNabb threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns. Terrell Owens (more on him shortly!) had six catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns. Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown have been dominant in 2022, but I still believe that's the most in-synch I've ever seen an Eagles QB and wideout. 

6. 2006: T.O.'s Return

The toast of the city was Philly's greatest enemy just two years later. 

After those infamous sit-ups in his driveway in Moorestown and a Super Bowl hangover in 2005 for the Eagles overall, T.O. had become persona non grata in Philadelphia. Reid sent him packing. After that season, Owens signed a new contract with the Cowboys. Of course he did. 

The anticipation for his first game back at Lincoln Financial Field as an opponent in 2006 was equal to the hype surrounding his first game as an Eagle. 

In Week 5, Dallas came to town. Eagles fans were in an uproar in the tailgating lots prepping for Owens. This game was an event. 

By his Hall of Fame standards, the Birds shut down Owens, as he only managed 45 receiving yards on three

 catches. The crowd at the Linc adored the performance. 

With under a minute remaining, the Cowboys, trailing 31-24, had a chance to send the game into overtime. On a 2nd and goal from the Eagles' six-yard line, Dallas QB Drew Bledsoe dropped back to pass. He looked for tight end Jason Witten, but, for some reason, decided to launch the football into Lito Sheppard's chest.

Sheppard took it back to the house for a 102-yard pick six:

7. 2006: "He's Our Baby"

Jeff Garcia is a man in a long line of backup QBs who captured Philadelphia's adoration, so much so that he lives on as a meme for Eagles fans:

He was Philly's "baby" during the playoff push to end the 2006 season. The Eagles lost McNabb for the year due to injury in a Week 11 loss to the Titans. All hope was gone. Then came Garcia.

Garcia, now starting for the Birds, won three of the Eagles' next four games ahead of a Christmas Day road matchup with the Cowboys. If the Eagles prevailed, they'd be on their way to winning the NFC East for the fifth time in six seasons. No pressure!

Garcia kept things steady in a 23-7 win that saw Brian Westbrook rush for 122 yards. 

The Birds were going to head back to the playoffs after a setback the prior season. I saw a couple Garcia jerseys while playing street football as a kid in the days following this win. I'm guessing Modell's sold out quickly! 

"Philadelphia, Merry Christmas!" Garcia said as he left the field after capturing the division crown. That was a gift on every Eagles fan's wishlist. 

Will another backup QB lift the Eagles to holiday win against the Cowboys? Things are in Minshew's hands now. 

8. 2008: 44-6

Do I even need to explain this one?

The Eagles were improbably alive for a Wild Card spot on the last day of the season. One of the Cowboys or the Eagles were heading to the postseason and the other was scheduling tee times. 

"Beatdown" doesn't even begin to describe the way the Birds laid waste to the Cowboys at the Linc. Every facet of the team was destroying Dallas. 

My favorite play of the day? With the Eagles taking a 27-3 first half lead into the third quarter, Brian Dawkins, in his last ever home game in Philadelphia, stripped Tony Romo before Chris Clemons recovered the fumble and went bumblin', stumblin', rumblin' mode for a 73-yard TD:

9. 2013: NFC East Championship Game 

The first, but assuredly not the last, clutch performance of Nick Foles' career in midnight green. 

In a winner-take-all showdown against Dallas, the NFC East was on the line in Week 17 in Chip Kelly's first year guiding the Birds. Neither of the Pro Bowl QBs who started the year for their respective teams were playing in this one. Kyle Orton stepped in for an injured Tony Romo. Foles was in Stage 1 of his Philadelphia magic act, throwing for 27 touchdowns and just 2 INTs after Michael Vick got hurt.

Foles threw for 263 yards and 2 TDs that night at AT&T Stadium. LeSean McCoy rushed for 131 yards on the ground and had a touchdown reception. 

Slot corner Brandon Boykin put the finishing touches on this baby with a game-sealing interception off Orton at the tail end of the fourth quarter:

Poor Jerry Jones in his box suite! 

10. 2017: A Super Sunday Night

This was yet another instance of "wow, this team is special" for the 2017 Eagles. 

After a shaky first half where the Eagles trailed 9-7 in Arlington, the Birds scored 30 unanswered points, crushing the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. 

Doug Pederson's gameplan was aggressive as anything I've seen from an NFL head coach, going for two on three touchdown scores in the second half (the Eagles converted two of them). Leading 23-9 early in the fourth quarter and not taking the foot off the pedal in the slightest, Carson Wentz delivered a strike on 4th and 5 to Alshon Jeffery for a 17-yard touchdown:

Their peak was short, but that Wentz-Jeffery combo was so money in 2017. 

As for what this meant for the Eagles' Super Bowl hopes, the Birds moved to 9-1, winning their eighth-straight game. The Eagles, beating a Dallas team that won the division with a 13-3 record the year prior, illustrated that they could beat a talented roster, not just the bottom-feeders on their schedule, while also being capable of staging a comeback in a marquee game. 

This was a foundational performance for their eventual run to the Lombardi Trophy. 

Break out the eggnog and get ready!

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