PHILADELPHIA — Even before Terrell Owens took his big plays and bigger mouth home to Atlanta, the Philadelphia Eagles were a desperate team.
The four-time NFC East champions and reigning conference champs enter tonight's game against the Dallas Cowboys needing a victory to avoid falling below .500 and further out of the playoff race.
The Eagles (4-4) won't have Owens because the All-Pro wideout was dismissed from the team last Monday following a series of incidents, including harsh criticism of the organization and quarterback Donovan McNabb.
A once-potent offense certainly will miss its top playmaker, but McNabb and the rest of his teammates are eager to prove they can still have success.
"We just have to come together, pull through and understand the situation that has happened, and what we need to do in order to get out on this field and get back to playing with a lot of passion, playing with a lot of excitement and playing together," McNabb said.
Owens was on the field when the Cowboys completely outplayed the Eagles in a 33-10 victory at Dallas last month. The Cowboys jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and never let up. Drew Bledsoe picked apart the defense with 289 yards passing and three touchdowns, and Dallas racked up 456 yards.
In that game, the Cowboys' defense was even more dominant than their offense. They held the Eagles to just 129 yards, while limiting them to only two third-down conversions in 12 chances.
"I think it may have been probably at the top of the list," defensive tackle La'Roi Glover said. "To get there again, it's going to take another great effort. You have to know what particular plays they like out of which formations, who they want to get the ball to, down and distance — all those type of things. You have to be on top of your game when you play the Eagles."
Philadelphia lost 17-10 to Washington last Sunday in its first game without Owens. McNabb led the offense down the field in the final minutes only to be stopped with three chances from the Redskins 7.
Without Owens, the Eagles plan to spread the ball around to several receivers, including Greg Lewis, Reggie Brown, Billy McMullen and tight end L.J. Smith. Former three-time Pro Bowl tight end Chad Lewis was re-signed earlier in the week, giving McNabb another familiar target.
Running back Brian Westbrook should get more carries as Philadelphia tries to balance out its pass-heavy offense.
"He is a good football player and good football players are hard to come by, but I think the team supersedes any of those good football players, because the team will continue to go on," Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress said of Owens. "I look at it from that standpoint."
Dallas (5-3) is coming off a bye week following an easy win against Arizona. The Cowboys have lost two games by a total of four points this season, and won three others by a combined margin of 10 points.
Running back Julius Jones is expected to return after missing the last three games with a sprained left ankle. Marion Barber filled in nicely, rushing for 222 yards in the last two games. Rookie Tyson Thompson also works into the mix.
"I'm going to use the players the best way I can," Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said. "I think now we have a good situation here. We have three kids I'll put in the game and I think they can all carry the ball. I think you better get used to that around here."
An effective running game has complemented Bledsoe's passing. The 13-year veteran has revived his career in Dallas after three subpar seasons in Buffalo. Bledsoe has thrown for 2,019 yards, 13 TDs and his quarterback rating of 97.4 is fourth in the league.
Oddly, the last time the teams played each other on a Monday night, Owens stole the attention with a pregame promo in which actress Nicollette Sheridan, a star of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," dressed only in a towel, asked him to skip the game, then dropped the towel and jumped into his arms.
Owens' response to Sheridan: "Aw, hell. The team's going to have to win this one without me."
Owens scored three TDs that night, but the Eagles now will have to win this one, and the rest of their games without him.
Head-to-head
COWBOYS (5-3) AT EAGLES (4-4)
Ch. 4, 7 p.m.
The scoop: Now that it has rid itself of Terrell Owens, Philadelphia might be ready to get back in the race in the NFC East. What better place to start than against Dallas, a team it has defeated six consecutive times in Philadelphia? But the Cowboys are on a roll. They have won three of their last four, are coming off a bye and have a trio of young running backs that have bolstered the offense. What's more, they whacked the Eagles in the first meeting in Dallas, 33-10, last month.
Prediction: Eagles, 24-21