Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) at Dallas Cowboys (8-3)

Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET, at AT&T Field, Arlington, Texas – TV: FOX

*TV announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews

*Keys to the game: Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis presents many of the same challenges to Tony Romo and the Cowboys’ offensive line as the Dallas team faced in a 20-17 loss to the Redskins. Namely — he’ll blitz his pants off and dictate the way the Cowboys must win the game.

The Eagles are not whole since losing ILB DeMeco Ryans at Houston three weeks ago and big plays are becoming all too common. Still, Davis plays with fire and, with 21 sacks allowed, thinks he can scorch the Cowboys’ vaunted front five.

Stacking the line takes away some of the basic off-tackle and stretch-read plays the Cowboys utilize with DeMarco Murray, who averages 5.1 yards per carry. But rolling up the safeties gives Romo larger windows to find WRs Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams in man-up coverage.

QB Mark Sanchez had two more interceptions in a 43-24 win over Tennessee to run his career total to 97 turnovers in 66 games. At more than a turnover every two quarters, Sanchez is too loose with the ball but the Eagles are confident their high-tempo offense will get the job done regardless. The Cowboys are short on sideline-to-sideline speed, and susceptible to short throws to the flat to RBs LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, who’ve both had career days against the Cowboys in recent years.

The Eagles are huge at receiver with rookie Jordan Matthews stepping up and TE Zach Ertz causing problems in the red zone, a potential problem for the Cowboys’ pesky crew of cornerbacks.

*Matchup to watch – Cowboys TE Jason Witten vs. Eagles LB Mychal Kendricks: The best athlete on his defense, Davis deploys Kendricks in multiple ways but expects him to erase possession-receiver tight ends like Witten, who has 18 catches for 243 yards in the past two meetings.

*Player spotlight – Eagles OLB Connor Barwin: His NFC-leading 12.5 sacks, including two last week, are enough to get Barwin’s name in highlighter on the Dallas game plan. When teams use “max” protection, the Eagles overloaded inside gaps, which was effective for the Redskins in their October upset.

*Fast facts: The Eagles are 5-0 all-time on Thanksgiving, the NFL’s best winning percentage on the holiday. … Romo has a 6-1 career record with an NFL-record 18 touchdowns on Thanksgiving. … The Eagles are 1-3 in the past four meetings.

WHO WILL WIN AND WHY

Bend-don’t-break defense is a recipe for a beatdown against the Eagles, who wear down teams unable to get to the quarterback with perimeter passing. The Eagles have knockout ability on defense if they can contain Murray.

*Our pick: Eagles 31-25