PHILADELPHIA -- Welcome to Lincoln Financial Field where the Dallas Cowboys take on thePhiladelphia Eagles with first place in the NFC East on the line.
What it takes: The Cowboys are the NFL's only undefeated road team at 6-0. Every other team has lost at least two games away from home. Among the reasons for the success: DeMarco Murray's running and Tony Romo's passing.
Murray is averaging 130 yards a game on the ground on the road. Romo has 15 touchdown passes and just one interception away from home this season.
But it will take more than just those two tonight. Romo pointed out the crucial play of the 41-28 win against the Chicago Bears last week was Anthony Spencer's forced fumble. The Cowboys are leading 14-7 at the time and then scored 21 straight points.
"You have to understand that the football is important in this football game," Romo said. "Things move quickly. You want to be in a position where you're playing on short fields. Also, you need something from defense and special teams to gain momentum. Last week against the Bears, the game was close, and that's when we get the turnover. That kind of triggers a move."
Slow their roll: It's often said that cornerbacks need short memories. They can't let one bad play affect the next play. For the Cowboys' defense tonight as a whole that can't be the case.
Because of the Eagles' pace of play -- defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli compared it to Loyola Marymount's basketball team in the 1990s -- the Cowboys have to make sure they follow Marinelli's tenets: get lined up, read your keys and know your assignment.
They can't allow the Eagles to string plays together or else there will be a repeat of what they saw on Thanksgiving.
"It gets rolling on you and you've got to have the ability to lock in and play one snap at a time," Marinelli said. "We talk about it all the time. And get back in your stance and play. But it is, it's a snowball effect. They do a terrific job with that. But that's the mental toughness we've got to be able to play with. We've got to get back down and let the last play go and go play the next play. That's a big key for us."
The ref: Terry McAulay's crew will work tonight's game. It's the second time McAulay has been the ref for a game involving the Cowboys this season, having also worked the season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Here is a breakdown of what McAulay's crew called last week in the 49ers-Oakland Raiders game.