Friday, October 30, 1998

Cowboys/Eagles game capsule

Monday, Nov. 2 DALLAS (4-3) AT PHILADELPHIA (1-6) 7 p.m., ABC

OPENING LINE - Cowboys by 8.

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Cowboys 3-3; Eagles 3-3.

SERIES RECORD - Cowboys lead 45-29.

LAST TIME MET - Eagles beat Cowboys 13-12 on Oct. 26. 1997 at Philadelphia.

LAST WEEK - Cowboys lost to Bears 13-12 in Week 7. Eagles lost to Chargers 13-10 in Week 7.

LAST WEEK'S STARS - Cowboys QB Jason Garrett was 14-for-26 for 136 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Eagles DE Hugh Douglas tied team record with 4-1/2 sacks.

COWBOYS OFFENSE - RUSH (No. 6), PASS (No. 12), OVERALL (No. 4)

Garrett, fourth in NFC with 87.5 rating, steps aside after going 3-2 as Cowboys starter. Troy Aikman, who missed 5 games with broken left collarbone, will start. RB Emmitt Smith, fourth in NFC with 699 yards rushing, had 78 yards on 16 carries. WR Michael Irvin had 5 catches for 62 yards. Garrett missed Irvin on 2-point conversion in third quarter, which was difference in game. Irvin is tied for second in NFC with 38 receptions and is second with 578 yards receiving. TE David LaFleur had 1-yard TD reception.

EAGLES OFFENSE - RUSH (No. 25), PASS (No. 27), OVERALL (No. 30)

QB Rodney Peete was 22-for-39 for 232 yards, but threw 2 INTs. RB Charlie Garner had 12-yard TD run, but finished game with 8 yards on 9 carries. RB Duce Staley had 41 yards on 14 carries. WR Russell Copeland had 6 catches for 69 yards. WR Irving Fryar had 4 catches for 44 yards, but has yet to score TD this season. WR Jeff Graham had 3 catches, but left game with strained right hamstring and is probable.

COWBOYS DEFENSE - RUSH (No. 6), PASS (No. 17), OVERALL (No. 11)

LB Dexter Coakley had 7 tackles with 1 sack and INT. S Omar Stoutmire had 8 tackles and forced fumble. LB Fred Strickland had 7 tackles. DE Kavika Pittman had 5 tackles with 1 sack. CB Kevin Mathis had 1 sack. CB Kevin Smith and DT Chad Hennings each had 6 tackles and 1 pass defensed. LB Randall Godfrey had fumble recovery to set up Cowboys' first score.

EAGLES DEFENSE - RUSH (No. 27), PASS (No. 3), OVERALL (No. 16)

Had 6 sacks and held Chargers to 28 yards passing. Douglas, who had 7 tackles, is tied for second in NFC with 8-1/2 sacks. He was NFC defensive player of month. LB William Thomas had 5 tackles with 1 sack. DT Hollis Thomas had 6 tackles with half-sack and 2 passes defensed. CB Troy Vincent had 6 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Cowboys K Richie Cunningham had 2 first-half FGs and is third in NFC with 52 points. Cowboys rookie LB Darren Hambrick had 3 special teams tackles and forced fumble. Eagles KR Allen Rossum returned 3 kickoffs for 81 yards and 2 punts for 24 yards.

KEY MATCHUPS - CBs Deion Sanders and Smith vs. QB Peete; RB Smith vs. LBs Thomas, James Willis and James Darling.

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Last 2 meetings decided by total of 2 points. ... Teams' sixth Monday night meeting in last 7 seasons. ... Cowboys are 7-2 after bye weeks. ... Cowboys are 31-23 on Monday night, including 4-1 vs. Eagles in 1990s. ... Cowboys' 31 Monday night wins tie San Francisco for NFC lead. ... Smith has 1,756 yards rushing in 16 games vs. Eagles, most vs. any team. ... Smith has at least 1 100-yard rushing game vs. Eagles in 6 straight seasons. ... Smith needs 3 TDs to pass Walter Payton (125) for fourth on career list, and 4 to pass Jim Brown for third. ... Aikman has thrown 15 INTs vs. Eagles and has been sacked 42 times by Philadelphia, most by any opponent. ... Eagles are 6-3 after bye weeks. ... Eagles have won just 1 in last 10, and have gone 0-12-1 on road since 1996, including loss to San Diego. ... Peete is 15-8 as Eagles' starting QB. ... Garner has 3 TDs rushing in last 3 games. ... Fryar has started 95 consecutive games, most of any active WR.