Titans Eagles Football

Philadelphia Eagles' Josh Huff (11) pushes past Tennessee Titans' Brandon Ghee (38) to return a kickoff for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

(Michael Perez)

PHILADELPHIA — Growing up a Houston Texans fan, Eagles rookie wide receiver Josh Hoff only had the opportunity to watch his team play against the Dallas Cowboys once every couple of seasons.

After being selected by his college coach Chip Kelly and the Eagles, Huff now has the chance to line up against the Cowboys twice every season, beginning with Thursday's Thanksgiving showdown in Dallas.

You can bet he's looking forward to it.

"I've always hated the Cowboys," Huff said after Monday's practice. "It's just a little Houston vs. Dallas thing. I've always hated the Cowboys. There was always so much history there in those Cowboys vs. Texans games in the battle of the state, to see who was better."

Huff, who is slowly seeing an uptick in his playing time on offense, made a statement Sunday against the Tennessee Titans returning the opening kickoff a franchise record 107 yards for a touchdown. He said Monday he hopes to have a couple more of those plays left in the tank ahead of Thursday's game.

"I'm looking forward to the game, having fun and coming out on top," he said. "I'm definitely looking forward to going out and punishing those guys."

Thursday marks the first Eagles vs. Cowboys game that Huff and his fellow rookies will play in. While the rivalry is old hat to many of the veterans, inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks says it will be special for the younger players.

"You know what time it is," Kendricks said. "For our rookies, their first time here, it's probably when they see what it's like in that stadium, they'll get an understanding of what it's like. But for guys like me who have played in this rivalry, we know what our getting ourselves into. We're able to have a more cool, calm and collected way about ourselves."

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