Christmas has a new twist this year

It's almost here - a day we celebrate the birth of our savior, a day children look forward to opening gifts, a day everyone looks forward to spending with family.

But there is more to Christmas this year. There is a football game between with Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys with first place in the NFC East on the line.

And what a day it will be.

Forget all of the T.O. hype the first time around in October. This time the focus is on one thing and that is taking over the division lead from the Cowboys.

Oh, this game will be different. Both teams have a different quarterback - Tony Romo in Dallas, Jeff Garcia in Philadelphia. This game will be in Dallas. And this game is the biggest of the year for both teams.

It is kind of amazing how we ended up at this point.

Dallas was 3-3 when they made the switch to Romo. Since then they have gone 6-2 to move into first place. The Eagles were 5-6 when Donovan McNabb went down, but they have been 3-1.

In what many considered to be the toughest schedule of any team down the stretch, the Eagles have won two straight games on the road versus division opponents. They will look for the trifecta on Monday.

This game means so much to both teams. A win for Dallas and they clinch the division. A win for the Eagles and they clinch a playoff spot and move into first place.

Many gave up on the Eagles after McNabb went down. But they have been a different team since then.

The Eagles are a team playing without any expectations from outside of the organization.

They are not the best team this year. But like last year's Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, they are getting hot at the right time.

So I will sit back and enjoy. This is probably the biggest regular season game for the Eagles under the Andy Reid era.

This one is for all the marbles.