By Paul Macrie, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
For the third consecutive season, Week 17 will provide no meaning for the Eagles. Even though the Cowboys will be headed to the playoffs, they have nothing at stake this week either.
It will be a bonafide preseason-type atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field on New Year's Day.
One team can't wait for its offseason to begin, the other team is hoping to escape the game without any injuries as it prepares for a potential deep Super Bowl run.
A year ago at this time, owner Jeffrey Lurie decided to pull the plug on the Chip Kelly experiment. The Eagles were 6-9 at that point, with one game left in the season. Fast forward to now, and not much has changed. Philadelphia is 6-9 heading into its last game of 2016, and first-year head coach Doug Pederson has provided mixed results in his first season at the helm. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have gone from a four-win team in 2015 to a top seed in the 2016 NFC playoffs. What a difference a year has made for the chief rival organization.
It remains imperative for the Eagles to play inspired football this week despite nothing to gain in the standings. They have done an admirable job of playing with more grit and determination in recent weeks, and it finally resulted in a victory last Thursday night against the Giants. With one game to go, beating the Cowboys always has a good ring to it, regardless of what is at stake.
The Cowboys are the top seed in the NFC playoffs, entering this week with a record of 13-2. It is their first 13-win or more season since 2007 — the season they lost to the Giants in the divisional round of the playoffs. Dallas approached its last game as business as usual, and it paid off with a 42-21 win against the Lions on Monday Night Football.
There is a likelihood that the Cowboys' second unit will get a lot of run on Sunday.
The Eagles will see very little of Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Dez Bryant in this game, and it is possible they don't see the trio on the field at all. Owner Jerry Jones said it is best that Tony Romo remains on the bench at this time, but don't rule out seeing him for the first time this season — keeping in mind if Prescott sustains an injury in the playoffs, Romo's name will likely be called and he needs game reps. Don't forget, Romo has barely played in the past two seasons.
Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith had an injury scare on Monday night. After sustaining a knee injury late in the game, he didn't return — though the early prognosis is encouraging for his availability this week, and more importantly, the playoffs. It will be wise to sit Smith this week to get him fully healthy for the divisional round. Even though oft-injured Sean Lee has played every snap on defense this season, it will be smart to sit him as well. Dallas can't take any chances with their leader on the defensive side of the ball.
Meanwhile, there is no reason for the Eagles to sit any of their players, barring an injury in practice this week. Carson Wentz has a great opportunity to finish the season on a positive note, while maybe (just maybe) one or two of the receivers, including Nelson Agholor can show some encouraging signs heading into 2017, but no one should be holding their collective breaths that it occurs.
A handful of Eagles players have uncertain futures with the team, including Agholor, Ryan Mathews, Bennie Logan, Connor Barwin, Mychal Kendricks, Nolan Carroll and Leodis McKelvin. These are only some of the names that might not be back with the team in 2017 and beyond.
Even if they give their best efforts in the season finale on Sunday, it might not be enough to solidify a spot on next year's team, but it can't hurt as it might be an audition for another organization.
Sunday's game will be tough to watch for many reasons. It will likely have very little juice to it and can be compared to a August preseason contest. The previous two Week 17 finales ended with wins, both on the road against the Giants. The Eagles will try to make it three years in a row with meaningless wins on the last day of the season.
Whether this can be a springboard for success in the future remains a huge unknown. Normally these type of meaningless games aren't indicative of future outcomes.
