In the NFL’s last 11 seasons, a team from the NFC has won the Super Bowl four times. Half of those wins are from the Philadelphia Eagles, who have won 63% of their games and made the playoffs seven out of eight times since 2017.
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles are the face of their conference and, evidently, their division. But as their longtime rival Dallas Cowboys have taken a step back, the new-kid-on-the-block Washington Commanders have stepped up as a challenger for the divisional crown.
With that said, does this mean the Commanders could surpass the Cowboys as the Eagles’ biggest rival? Is that even possible?
Commanders Trending Up, Cowboys Down
It’s been a while since the Commanders have had momentum like this. Or, really, momentum at all. Coming off a 12–5 season where they fell to the Eagles in the NFC Championship, the franchise won its first and second playoff games since 2005.
The Commanders didn’t just have a lucky run, though. Perhaps to a certain degree, but rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels proved to be a franchise-altering talent. He led a typically anemic offense to the fourth-best expected points added per play (EPA/Play) grade in the NFL.
Daniels’ individual EPA was fourth among quarterbacks, behind superstars Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen.
Washington assembled a team with solid depth, some stars, and a shiny QB to put it all together. The Commanders’ upside was still no match for the brilliantly assembled Eagles, humiliated 55–23 in the NFC Championship Game, but there’s reason to believe this can be the new norm. They’re trending up.
The Cowboys had a similar season in 2016, led by then-rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, but they’ve never reached those heights ever since. It’s been a lot of up-and-down for Dallas, and the latter was true last season. Prescott’s injury didn’t help matters, but a 7–10 finish coupled with a roster that arguably got worse isn’t an inspiring mix.
There’s still likely a bounce-back to be had, but what’s the Cowboys’ ceiling, really? It seems, best-case scenario, they’re second-fiddle to the Eagles or Commanders. More likely, they’re behind both, and it’s not like things are getting any better long-term.
Dallas won championships in the 1990s, but it’s 2025. Their last appearance in the NFC Championship Game came before almost all of the Eagles’ roster was born. Newly acquired first-round draft pick Jihaad Campbell was born over eight years after Philadelphia’s rival down south last made it that far.
There will always be bad blood between the Eagles and the Cowboys. But is the recent success of the former and the ongoing mediocrity of the latter taking away from the rivalry?
Could the rising Commanders take the Cowboys’ place?
Why Eagles-Cowboys Rivalry Will Never Die
The objective truth is, no matter how much better the Commanders are than the Cowboys, the Eagles’ No. 1 rival will always be in Texas. Which teams you dislike is always subjective, of course. But as a whole, the hatred of Dallas in Philadelphia is never-changing.
Sometimes, rivalries are about more than just the on-field product.
I don’t have the numbers on it, but speaking from personal experience, the volume of Cowboys fans that engulf the Philadelphia region plays a part. It was annoying when the Eagles were still the little brother prior to their first championship, but now the roles have reversed. Despite the reversal, the same feelings remain. Why are there so many Cowboys jerseys?
Veteran fans probably won’t let lifelong disdain for the Cowboys get clouded because of a few years where the tables turned, either. Dallas was a dynasty in the 1990s, and they rubbed that in the faces of Eagles fans for decades. Now, it’s time for payback.
Fans of the Birds heard “zero rings” for an eternity. Now that they have a couple and the Cowboys have entered constant mediocrity, it’s not the time to “be the bigger person.” It’s time to rub it in.
Getting away from the fans, the players will always bring the intensity. They know the history, and it’s a privilege to be a part of the modern era of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry.
The fans have never liked each other, the players have never liked each other, and the coaches have never liked each other.
That’s how it’s always been, and that’s how it’s going to be. The Cowboys’ decline is just more fuel for the fire.
With enough success, perhaps the Commanders can become one of the Eagles’ bigger rivals. The history just isn’t there to replace the Cowboys, though. Don’t bet on that changing.
PHOTO: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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