• Overall Series Record: 17-19-1
• Eagles Home Record Vs. Rams: 13-8
• Last Meeting: Dec. 18, 2005 - Eagles, 17-16
• Game Overview: A dominating defense and a 59-yard Ryan Moats TD run kept the Eagles close, and then Mike McMahon's TD pass to Mike Bartrum sealed the deal.

St. Louis still has all kinds of offensive talent with running back Steven Jackson (1,002 yards in 2007), quarterback Marc Bulger and wide receiver Torry Holt (93 catches, 1,189 yards and seven touchdowns). But the Rams have some problems at the line of scrimmage, notably a slide in performance from veteran left tackle Orlando Pace. He missed last season and Bulger was beaten and battered from the blind side.

Are the Rams a team ready to rebound, or are they sliding into a long down period? St. Louis released wide receiver icon Isaac Bruce early in the offseason and seems to be a team in transition. Still, this is a dangerous group offensively. Defensively, the help must come in the draft.

• Overall Series Record: 43-54
• Eagles Record At Dallas: 18-32
• Last Meeting At Dallas: Dec. 16, 2007 - Eagles, 10-6
• Game Overview: Philadelphia's defense stuffed Dallas and Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook led the way in an emotional win. Brent Celek had a clutch catch to seal things.

Eagles fans always turn out in huge numbers in Big D, and this year should be no exception. From the time former Eagles defensive tackle Jerome Brown mooned the Cowboys fans as the Eagles team bus approached Texas Stadium back in the 1980s, this has been a special place to play for the Eagles.

It looks like a dump from the outside, but inside Texas Stadium has its own special appeal. The Eagles have not only survived in their visits here during the Reid era - they are 6-3 at Texas Stadium under Reid - they have thrived and played some of their most inspired football in this hostile environment.

• Overall Series Record: 46-27-3
• Eagles Home Record Vs. Steelers: 24-8-2
• Last Meeting: Nov. 7, 2004 - Steelers, 27-3
• Game Overview: The Eagles were undefeated entering the game but took a beating in Pittsburgh. The Steelers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions.

They run the ball very well with backs Willie Parker (1,316 yards last year) and Najeh Davenport (499). Pittsburgh takes a physical approach, so the Eagles have to come with that mentality. There are no tricks when the Steelers are on the field. They want to punch teams in the mouth and then let Ben Roethlisberger drop back and find receivers like Hines Ward (71 catches, 7 touchdowns) and Santonio Holmes (52 catches, 8 touchdowns). Tight end Heath Miller is a dangerous weapon in the red zone.

The Steelers run their 3-4 defense as well as any team in the league. Having played Pittsburgh in the past, the Eagle know full well they need to get off to a good start or the Steelers will tee off on Donovan McNabb.

• Overall Series Record: 11-27-1
• Eagles Record At Chicago: 4-15
• Last Meeting: Oct. 21, 2007 - Bears, 19-16
• Game Overview: Chicago drove 97 yards in the final two minutes of the game to deal the Eagles a heartbreaking loss at Lincoln Financial Field.

This year, Chicago has some new pieces. The Bears lost both starting wide receivers, Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad, in the offseason. They retained quarterback Rex Grossman, to the surprise of many. They kept star linebacker Lance Briggs, which a year ago would have been unimagined. And they seem to have put kick return star Devin Hester on the front line as a receiver, too. Clearly, the Bears want the ball in the hands of Hester as much as possible.

So much hinges on Grossman's performance, though. All of those McNabb-to-the-Bears rumors were just nonsense, so once again it appears McNabb has a chance to beat his hometown team in Chicago. The Eagles did it in 2004 as McNabb teamed up with Terrell Owens to win a physical game. The storyline doesn't change too much: Chicago is still led by its defense. The Eagles have to solve that challenge.

• Overall Series Record: 66-76-6
• Eagles Home Record Vs. Redskins: 34-37-3
• Last Home Meeting: Sept. 17, 2007 - Redskins, 20-12
• Game Overview: Donovan McNabb and Co. couldn't convert in the red zone and the Eagles dropped to 0-2 on the season. Four David Akers field goals weren't enough.

This is a very solid team. Aging up front offensively, and lacking that true power pass rusher, Washington still plays excellent fundamental football. The Redskins run the football very well and they force turnovers and limit the big plays they allow.

For the first time in a long time, Washington wasn't the headline-grabber in free agency. That's because the Redskins think they have a team ready to make a run for the NFC Championship. This game will tell a lot about Washington, and a lot about the Eagles.

• Overall Series Record: 9-17-1
• Eagles Record At 49ers: 6-8
• Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2006 - Eagles, 38-24
• Game Overview: Mike Patterson's 98-yard TD return off a fumble was a highlight, as was Brian Westbrook's 164 yards from scrimmage in the road win at Monster Park.

So what are the 49ers? Are they a team on the backslide, again, or are they a team ready to rebound after an unexpectedly poor 2007? San Francisco traded away its first-round draft pick to New England last year, but the 49ers do have the 29th pick in the opening round thanks to a deal with the Colts.

The 49ers have one of the best running backs in the league in Frank Gore, and they will rely heavily on him. The offensive line is young and is a question mark, making Smith an X factor in this game. The Eagles will see former Pro Bowl safety Michael Lewis in this game. Lewis signed with the 49ers prior to the 2007 campaign and is going to be amped to play well against his former teammates.

• Overall Series Record: 14-11-1
• Eagles Home Record Vs. Falcons: 7-5-1
• Last Meeting: Dec. 31, 2006 - Eagles, 24-17
• Game Overview: After clinching the NFL East minutes into the game, the reserves played. A.J. Feeley passed for three TDs and WR Hank Baskett had 177 yards and a TD.

The Falcons added some pieces in free agency by signing running back Michael Turner and placekicker Jason Elam. The defense has the makings of a solid group, but the trade of cornerback DeAngelo Hall to Oakland took away some star power.

This is a team that is clearly in the building process. The Falcons have a lot of draft picks - including seven of the first 103 selections -- and figure to be a very young team in 2008.

After last year's disaster, the Falcons have almost nowhere to go but up. How good they will be is largely dependent upon how they use their slew of draft picks.

• Overall Series Record: 6-5
• Eagles Record At Seattle: 4-2
• Last Meeting: Dec. 2, 2007 - Seattle, 28-24
• Game Overview: Four A.J. Feeley interceptions, including one in the final seconds of the game, cost the Eagles in a crucial loss to their playoff hopes.

The Eagles have some travel this year - West Coast trips to Seattle and San Francisco - and the Seahawks enjoy a tremendous home-field advantage. Qwest Field is loud and decidedly in the Seahawks' favor. Look for the Eagles to be extremely aggressive early to try to take the crowd out of the mix. Seattle has a fast defense that thrives on pressure, so it would not be a surprise to see the Eagles establish some kind of ground game here.

How good are the Eagles? This is maybe their best game against an NFC team - division notwithstanding - and it will be telling.

• Overall Series Record: 68-81-2
• Eagles Home Record Vs. Giants: 39-35-1
• Last Home Meeting: Dec. 9, 2007 - Giants, 16-13
• Game Overview: The offense opened with a down-the-field TD drive. But the offense stalled. David Akers' 57-yd FG attempt bounced off the upright to end the game.

Look for the Eagles to come up with some kind of over-the-top strategy against Burress and make more plays on the ball when Eli Manning throws one up for grabs in Burress' direction. It is a critical component to beating the Giants in what should be a much-hyped NFC East showdown.

Offensively, of course the challenge against the Giants is to keep that front four under control. The Eagles opened in last December's must-win game with a drive right down the field, mixing the run and the pass, getting Brian Westbrook involved. It looked like it was going to be one of those memorable days for the offense with Donovan McNabb back under center after a missing a couple of games. But then the Giants clamped down and the Eagles lost and, well, it was a story typical of a disappointing season.

• Overall Series Record: 3-7
• Eagles Record At Cincinnati: 0-3
• Last Meeting: Jan. 2, 2005 - Bengals, 38-10
• Game Overview: Five turnovers hurt the Eagles as the reserves ended the 2004 regular season poorly. Jeff Blake's TD pass to Freddie Mitchell provided a lone highlight.

Now? Well, the bottom dropped out on the Bengals last year and there has been some disruption there throughout the offseason. Head coach Marvin Lewis is one of those mentioned as being on the "hot seat" as far as wins and losses this season, and with the distractions of wide receiver Chad Johnson, there are some concerns about the direction of the team this year.

There is no denying that the Bengals have as much firepower as any team in the league offensively. Quarterback Carson Palmer is one of the best in the league and he has weapons all around him. The offensive line is big and strong. The Bengals are capable of putting up 40 points on any team. They are also capable of allowing 44 points in a given week.

Weird team, these Bengals. You don't know which team you are going to get, which makes this one of the more fascinating games on the Eagles' schedule this year.

• Overall Series Record: 1-0-1
• Eagles Record At Baltimore: 0-0-1
• Last Meeting: Oct. 31, 2004 - Eagles, 15-10
• Game Overview: A Donovan McNabb TD pass to Terrell Owens provided the winning points in the physical game as the Eagles moved to 7-0 for the season.

 After seeing John Harbaugh in the preseason, the Eagles get a look at him as a head coach when the wins and losses count in the standings. Harbaugh has been a no-nonsense head man, as expected, and the Ravens are reportedly responding. But what kind of team will they be after a seriously-underachieving 2007 season? The defense still has top-shelf talent and will play an aggressive style.

Believe it or not, this is the only time all season where the Eagles have consecutive road games. 

Offensively, Harbaugh appears to be ready to go with the combination of Steve McNair and Kyle Boller. One of them will have to step up in the summer. Many expect Harbaugh to draft his quarterback of the future on April 26.

The big story here is how much Harbaugh's knowledge of the Eagles will impact the game. He worked with Andy Reid and Jim Johnson from day one of their time here. Does that matter? It sure could when it comes time to critical game-day decisions. Tendencies are one thing; having a good feel for how a coach will react in a certain situation can be a huge advantage.

• Overall Series Record: 53-54-5
• Eagles Home Record Vs. Cardinals: 26-26-3
• Last Meeting: Dec. 24, 2005 - Cardinals, 27-21
• Game Overview: In the final NFL game at Sun Devil Stadium, the sloppy Eagles committed 10 penalties and Arizona had 4 QB sacks and an INT return for a TD.

 What a better way to finish off Thanksgiving! First a little turkey, then it'll be time to stuff the Cardinals.

This will be the fifth Thanksgiving game in Eagles history, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame web site. The Eagles are 3-1 with one of their wins coming against Pittsburgh (17-14 in 1939), one against Detroit (12-0 in 1968) and the most recent one against Dallas in 1989 (27-0). The lone loss was against the Steelers way back in 1940 by a 7-0 score. 

Arizona is turning things around under second-year head coach Ken Whisenhunt. The Cardinals need to play more effectively at the line of scrimmage, but there is no denying that they have a powerful arsenal offensively. Quarterback Matt Leinart has shown some flashes of putting it all together throwing to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Running back Edgerrin James churned out 1,222 yards last season. Leinart was hurt much of last season and Kurt Warner came on and threw 27 touchdown passes.

The problem for Arizona has been up front. The offensive line play has been spotty and the Cardinals face too much pressure in the passing game. Defensively, Arizona has some pieces, but the Cardinals gave up too many big plays in their 8-8 2007 campaign.

The Cardinals were quiet during the frenzy of free agency, and still have those defensive question marks after losing standout linebacker Calvin Pace. Who rushes the quarterback on this team? Who makes the plays at cornerback with Antrel Rolle moving to safety?

• Overall Series Record: 68-81-2
• Eagles Record At Giants: 29-46-1
• Last Meeting At Giants: Sept. 30, 2007 - Giants, 16-3
• Game Overview: New York's pass rush overwhelmed the Eagles for 12 quarterback sacks. The Eagles missed five starters and never got untracked offensively.

It is time to wipe that game off the table, then. The Eagles have a bit of a score to settle, but given the scope of this game and where it is placed in the season, last year's result will hardly be a thought by the time the week arrives. In fact, this is the start of a pivotal stretch as three of the final four games are against the NFC East. And two of them, including this grudge match, are on the road.

To beat the Giants at Giants Stadium, the Eagles have to be better in every phase of the game. New York showed a consistent formula to win its Super Bowl - few mistakes offensively, good job on special teams and a defense that suffocated the opposing offense. The Eagles have to get after Eli Manning, slow the running game and make the Giants play from behind.

• Overall Series Record: 14-31-1
• Eagles Home Record Vs. Browns: 8-13
• Last Meeting: Oct. 24, 2004 - Eagles, 34-31 (OT)
• Game Overview: Donovan McNabb threw 4 TD passes and David Akers won the game in OT with a 50-yard FG in a wild one at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Cleveland won a lot of close games last season and played tough, hard-nosed football. A resurgent Jamal Lewis provided a much-needed presence on the ground. Lewis ran for 1,304 yards, averaged 4.4 yards per carry and scored nine touchdowns as the offensive line, led by rookie left tackle Joe Thomas, played very well at the line of scrimmage.

Is Cleveland for real, or are the Browns further away than they think? This is the kind of game, on the road in front of a hostile crowd, that will determine the fate of the Browns. The Eagles have a big one here, and can't let up against a team they know will play hard.

• Overall Series Record: 66-76-6
• Eagles Record At Washington: 32-29-3
• Last Meeting At Washington: Nov. 11, 2007 - Eagles, 33-25
• Game Overview: Twenty fourth-quarter points paved the way in the comeback win. Reggie Brown caught a TD and Brian Westbrook scored twice in the fourth quarter.

 Andy Reid is 7-2 on the road against the Redskins - the losses coming in 1999 in overtime and 17-10 in 2005. Not only have the Eagles won in Washington - or Maryland, specifically - but they have been explosive offensively on the Redskins' home turf. They have scored 23, 20, 37, 31, 17, 21 and 33 points in their road victories over Washington in the Reid era.

Impressive? Yes. But the Eagles will need to build momentum as this is their next-to-last game of the season and it's on the road against one of their NFC East rivals who made it to the playoffs last season.

Amazingly enough, the Redskins and the Eagles split the season series last year for the first time since 2001. Keep an eye on whoever wins that first matchup in October.

• Overall Series Record: 43-54
• Eagles Home Record Vs. Cowboys: 25-22
• Last Home Meeting: Nov. 4, 2007 - Cowboys, 38-17
• Game Overview: It wasn't pretty for the Eagles as Dallas rolled up 434 total yards on offense. QB Tony Romo and WR Terrell Owens had big games in the night outing.

The key is the Eagles defense up front. The addition of end Chris Clemons gives the Eagles more speed off the edge, but Dallas is just as capable of playing smash-mouth football with its running game. In this kind of game, the young Eagles linebackers will be tested for the recognition factor - do they bite on Romo's play-action work? Obviously, Asante Samuel comes into focus here working against superstar wide receiver Terrell Owens.

Hey, it's Dallas and the Eagles. There isn't a better, more bitter, more important rivalry anywhere in Philadelphia. There are plenty of side stories and headlines here, but the bottom line is this: The Eagles have a huge game in the NFC East every time they play Dallas. This is no exception.