LANDOVER, Md. — The path to this point was circuitous and weird, but it always was going to come down to this.

Eagles vs. Cowboys, Week 16, for all the NFC East’s marbles.

If the Cowboys win, Dallas wins the division. If the Eagles win, they don’t clinch it yet but put themselves in position to bring it home.

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These were two teams purported to be Super Bowl contenders. Instead, they’ll just be stumbling into the postseason.

“We know what next week is," Eagles running back Miles Sanders said. “I don’t gotta say too much.”

However they got here, Sunday’s game should be an exciting one, especially since the Eagles narrowly avoided an embarrassing upset to the Redskins on Sunday, winning 37-27 at FedEx Field.

With that, here are six thoughts off that Eagles win and looking ahead to next week’s showdown in Philadelphia with the Cowboys.

1. Carson Wentz’s poise: Look, the Eagles should not be in close games with teams like the Giants or Redskins, but that’s just where this team is in 2019. It will never be easy.

Still, it’s at least promising to witness Carson Wentz gutting out two straight impressive fourth quarter/overtime performances to lead the Eagles to wins in games they probably should have lost.

In the fourth quarter/overtime of the last two games, Wentz has completed 80 percent of his passes (28 of 35) for 284 passing yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 138.6 passer rating. He has 307 yards and one touchdown total in the six other quarters.

That’s part of the problem (slow starts) but keep in mind: Wentz is only now getting production out of weapons in his passing game, and that’s a group that includes two players who spent most of the season on the practice squad (Greg Ward and Boston Scott). This is the worst wide receiver group in the NFL.

That doesn’t excuse some of Wentz’s inaccuracy, but now that he at least has trust in some of his weapons not-named Zach Ertz, you’re seeing a much better version of Wentz.

He bounced back from a bad lost fumble in the fourth quarter, too.

“The team’s resilient,” Wentz said. “We realize our backs are against the wall just like last week. It’s do or die right now and make or break and guys stepped up and kept making plays. Guys — the good, the bad, and the ugly — just kept believing. I had the fumble and everybody was cheering me up and getting me going. We kept believing, saying we got this and we got it done.”

Wentz’s forward momentum was never more true than his stellar touchdown pass to Sanders.

If he can turn his fourth quarter play into four-quarters play, the Eagles can beat the Cowboys and maybe even upset someone in the postseason.

2. Miles Sanders: The rookie running back is Exhibit A in why it’s important to give rookies time to develop. He clearly wasn’t ready to be a bell cow at the start of the season. He is now.

Sanders was simply stellar on Sunday. He was decisive in his cuts, quick in his decisions and, most importantly, explosive. He’s doing less dancing in the backfield, hasn’t fumbled since Week 3, is a legitimate pass-catcher (he’s averaging 8.3 yards per target and has 443 receiving yards) and improving pass protector.

“There’s a lot on his plate, especially as a rookie,” Wentz said. “He’s big in blitz protection, he’s running the ball, he’s catching screens, he’s wrapping people up in the backfield. He does it all so well. You see, game in and game out, he’s a big play machine for us and he keeps getting it done. I’m so proud of the kid.”

He averaged 3.49 yards per carry over the first seven games with one touchdown; he’s averaged 5.4 with four total touchdowns.

Sanders had a stellar 56-yard run in the fourth quarter and that aforementioned receiving touchdown.

If Jordan Howard returns against the Cowboys, it might be a split backfield. By 2020, Sanders should be the workhorse.

“I’m working my way to be that,” Sanders said. “I’m still a rookie, still learning, still trying to get better each week. But this game is special.”

3. Greg Ward: Not to beat a dead horse, but why wasn’t this guy on the team much, much sooner?

It wouldn’t be a hot take to say that he’s the Eagles’ best wide receiver, even if/when Nelson Agholor returns. He had seven catches on nine targets, including the game-winning 4-yard touchdown. Agholor hasn’t had seven catches since Week 3 and only has one game with nine targets in that stretch.

Ward should be here in 2020.

Sunday, Wentz lit up when he was asked about the impact Ward has made. About trust: Wentz might trust Ward more than any receiver he’s played with this year.

“Gosh, I can’t say enough good things about Greg,” Wentz said. “For him to just keep coming up big late in the game like that, they went man coverage a couple of times and he beat his guy. He was part of the progression and he kept making plays, making plays. And for him to go up and get that ball and play that big in the red zone like that to seal the deal was sweet.”

4. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside: As mentioned with Sanders, it’s important to give young players time to develop. It’s just painfully obvious that Arcega-Whiteside is still a ways away from being able to make a real impact.

He played most of the game and still finished with two targets and zero catches, including one dropped potential touchdown. He also had a holding penalty and on more than a few occasions looked lost.

Arcega-Whiteside just hasn’t gotten better. In a perfect world, he wouldn’t be playing yet, but in their current situation, the Eagles have no choice.

5. The secondary: Another rough day for the cornerbacks. Avonte Maddox was at fault for two touchdowns, including the long Terry McLaurin touchdown. Jalen Mills had a rough night, too. Ronald Darby wasn’t really heard from, but the Redskins have a bad receiving group.

The Cowboys do not.

Dwayne Haskins, a rookie that had struggled for most of the season, was nearly perfect for most of the first half and finished 19 of 28 for 261 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, adding a 23-yard rush.

Dak Prescott is better than Haskins.

Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb are better than the Redskins receiver group, by a lot.

Things could get difficult next week.

6. The Cowboys: So, about the Cowboys: they stopped the bleeding from a skid of four losses in five games and seven of 10 in a straight up demolishing of the Rams. They beat Los Angeles 44-21, and that’s a team that is noticeably more talented than the three teams — Dolphins, Giants, Redskins — that the Eagles have struggled against the last three weeks.

The Cowboys quite clearly have the more talented collection of weapons than the Eagles, and their defenses are equally inconsistent.

All things being equal, the Eagles might need a Cowboys meltdown to pull this one off. The Eagles simply can’t afford to try and pull a late-game comeback against a team with as much, if not more, talent.

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Also, keep in mind: The Cowboys beat the Eagles 37-10 in Week 7, and it’s not as if the Eagles have become more talented in that stretch.

As always, though, Doug Pederson and the Eagles are at their best with their backs against the wall.

Game on.

“We try to not change anything,” Wentz said. “That’s one of the biggest things: Just try to be the same. Win, lose, draw, whatever the circumstances are, we prepare the same. For us, that’s going to stay the same this week. We realize what this week it is, we realize what’s at stake.”

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Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZackBlatt. Find NJ.com on Facebook.