Eagles Are Happy For High Stakes In December
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Many teams around the NFL are already looking ahead to next year. The Eagles are happy to not be one of those teams.
For the second year in a row, the Eagles are in the middle of the regular season's most important month with plenty to play for. It continues Sunday night as they Eagles and Cowboys collide in a first-place showdown at the Linc. Players such as Nate Allen were part of an Eagles team which finished 4-12 two years ago, and Allen isn't taking this opportunity for granted.
"I've been at the opposite end where this time means absolutely nothing," said Allen. "It's fortunate. We know we've worked hard and we're sitting where we want to be."
Last season featured a December to remember for the Eagles. Victories last December over the Cardinals, Lions and Cowboys helped pave the way to a playoff birth as well as the NFC East crown. Connor Barwin understands the importance of big-game experience, but the veteran linebacker knows it still comes down to execution.
"It's good to have that experience," Barwin said. "But it doesn't mean you're going to win. You've still got to execute, but it's good to have guys that understand the importance of these situations and understand how hard it is to get to meaningful December games."
As the Eagles get set for arguably their biggest game of the season, other matchups this weekend featuring the likes of the Jets-Titans and Redskins-Giants mean nothing as far as they playoff chase. Eagles Cornerback Bradley Fletcher is grateful to be on the opposite end of the NFL spectrum.
"It has to be hard to be at this time of year and not play for something," said Fletcher. "You're not playing to go to the playoffs and you're not playing for any aspirations that you may have. Right now, we're in a situation where when we go out, we're going to play a tough team like Dallas and we have everything in front of us."
December separates the contenders from the pretenders in the NFL. It also gives players the opportunity to shine in the spotlight with their team's season on the line. Eagles Quarterback Mark Sanchez doesn't mind taking center stage during the most important time of the season.
"You've got to want the ball with a few seconds left on fourth down," Sanchez said. "Kids don't talk about throwing the pitch and it's 1-1 in the middle of the second inning. Nobody practices that. Everybody says bottom of the ninth, full count and there's two outs. You want the ball in you hands."
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