Eagles at Cowboys -- Week 13

Where: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas (grass, outdoors – retractable roof).

When: Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC, with announcers Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth).

Spread: Cowboys by 7½ points.

Forecast: Partly cloudy; temperatures in low 50s; 20 percent chance of rain; wind from the S at 10 mph.

2011 records: Eagles (Overall: 3-8; NFC East: 1-2). Cowboys (Overall: 5-6; NFC East: 2-2).

Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Nov. 11, 2012: Cowboys 38, Eagles 23; Dec. 24, 2011: Eagles 20, Cowboys 7. Series record: Cowboys lead 60-47.

What matters: For many of the Eagles on Sunday, it’s all about playing for pride now, not to mention jobs. It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that head coach Andy Reid and his staff will be gone when this season mercifully comes to a close -- and a lot of the players won’t be around, either. That means they have to impress somebody else’s coaching staff and this game will be on national television. Certainly, the Eagles would love to be spoilers and keep their arch-rivals out of the playoffs, too, but that’s pretty weak motivation for a team that began the season with championship aspirations.

Who matters: Everything with the Eagles is about the future, in particular a couple of rookies, QB Nick Foles and RB Bryce Brown. The Eagles still don’t know about Foles after he’s started two games, and this will be a good test for him, playing against a good defense in front of a national television audience. Brown made a big splash in his first NFL start last week against Carolina, rushing for an Eagles rookie record 178 yards. But he also lost two costly fumbles and the Eagles will be keeping a close eye on how he responds this week. Finally, two young players on defense will be getting a long look after the Eagles released DE Jason Babin this week -- third-year man Brandon Graham and rookie Vinny Curry will get a lot of playing time against the Cowboys as the Eagles find out if they were worth the high draft picks used on them.

Key matchup:DeMarcus Ware Brent Celek will do more blocking than receiving.

Injuries of note: QB Michael Vick (concussion), RB LeSean McCoy (concussion) and RB Chris Polk (toe) are out. … C Dallas Reynolds (ankle) was limited in practice this week and he’s listed as questionable. … DT Fletcher Cox (tailbone) missed practice all week, mostly because of a death in the family, and is also listed as questionable.

Connections:Mat McBriar DeSean Jackson (on injured reserve), and with a rookie QB running the show. Rookie RB Bryce Brown was impressive in his first NFL start last week against Carolina when he rushed for an Eagles rookie record 178 yards, but the Cowboys know he’s the main man now and they’ll stack up to stop him. So look for the Eagles to try and get the ball in his hands with lots of screens and short passes to the flat where he can use his speed and size to get past the Cowboys’ second line of defense.

Stats you should know:Alex Henery Tony Romo has thrown more interceptions (15) than any QB in the NFL this season, but the Eagles have just three of them in their last 10 games after intercepting four passes in the season opener against Cleveland rookie Brandon Weeden.

Looking ahead: The Eagles return home to play a team that looked like an easy ‘W’ when the NFL schedule came out in April, but not any more -- Tampa Bay is 6-5 and solidly in the NFC playoff hunt. Then the Eagles play their final AFC opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, before finishing the season with a couple of NFC East games against Washington and the New York Giants.

Prediction: Cowboys 31, Eagles 17

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow @CBSEagles.