FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys would like to think of themselves as a threat on the same level as the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Dak Prescott even says as much.
"I feel like we compete with the Eagles and beat them, for the most part, when we play them,'' Prescott said recently. "I don't want to say 'Check the record' when they're the guys holding the trophy right now, so credit to them. They earned it and they deserve it, by all means.
"But yeah, very close."
And there is some substance there; Prescott's personal record against his NFC East rival is an impressive 9-4. (In 2024, the Eagles beat the Cowboys by a combined score of 75-13 margin with Prescott sidelined for his hamstring surgery).
But the biggest threat to the Eagles in the East isn't Dallas; it's the Washington Commanders, who opposed them (and who got slaughtered) in the NFC Championship Game.
And in the NFC overall?
The league might be surprised by having not noticed ... but Philly has. ...
Because it's the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have owned the Eagles in recent years.
This has remained true whether Tom Brady or Baker Mayfield quarterbacked them. ... so true that Tampa Bay has won six of the last seven games against Philadelphia.
We know: That doesn't "feel'' right.
But the Bucs success has even included two playoff blowouts. In 2021, the Buccaneers knocked off the Eagles 31-15. Two years later, Tampa Bay overwhelmed Philly by a 32-9 final score.
Add in a blowout win during the 2024 season, and the Buccaneers are one of the few clubs that can say they have the Eagles' number ... in a way not even Dak can claim.
"To see (the Eagles do it) in such a dominating fashion, credit to them," Prescott said on Philadelphia's Super Bowl win. "It's our turn (in 2025), and it's on us."
Maybe. But the Buccaneers would argue that when it comes to beating the Eagles, it's their turn. Because it almost always is.