Eagles WR Mack Hollins says beating Cowboys means a lot. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

Talk to any fan or observer and you’ll get the same response. The Eagles last regular season game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday (1:00 PM, FOX) is “meaningless.”

The Eagles have clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NFC playoffs and the Cowboys were eliminated after their loss to the Seattle Seahawks last week.

The game really means nothing right?

“It doesn’t mean anything to y’all,’ Hollins said. “But it means something to us.”

When someone brought up that win or lose, the Eagles place in the standings doesn’t change. Hollins begged to differ.

“It means in the standings we’re going to be 8-0 at home,” Hollins said. “And 14-2 when the season’s done.”

Hollins was asked if he could see the same intensity from the coaches about their game against the Cowboys as he’s seen for the rest of the season.

“I expect nothing less,” the rookie said. “And they expect nothing less from us. “We’re not jogging or relaxing through stuff and they’re not going to treat us that way either.”

Head coach Doug Pederson was asked if this game is almost like pre-season where you want to see ‘X’ number of plays or until you see enough you expect them to go. The coach rejected that idea.

“I’m not using the term pre-season with our guys,” Pederson said. “It’s still a regular-season football game against the Dallas Cowboys. I’ve got to be smart with it obviously. I’m not putting anybody on a pitch count or a number of plays. I just want to see execution by our guys going into the post season.”

Pederson did concede he will be monitoring the game and at some point start taking starters out.

“Well, the idea is just to keep the starters going,” Pederson said. “I don’t want to not play them and then it’s three weeks later that they’re playing a game. I think that’s foolish on my part. I want to make sure they stay into the moment. At the same time, I will be smart with how much they play, how
long they play, and go from there.”

Pederson even answered questions about backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld and if he does get a chance to play (for certain), what are some of the things he wants to see from him?

“Obviously execution with the offense,” Pederson said. “It’ll be interesting to see with him just how much he knows. But at the same time, take care of the football. Don’t turn the ball over. Just execution, number one, and being able to move the team.”

And no one gets hurt…no one.
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More Q&A with Pederson
What’s DE Brandon Graham’s status?
DOUG PEDERSON: Still the ankle. Still day to day. Chances are, right now, he probably won’t play.

CB Sidney Jones, are you going to activate him for this game?
DOUG PEDERSON: We’re going to wait and see. We’re going to get through today. As you know, the physicality of banging, of hitting and stuff, is a little bit of a concern, but health-wise he’s doing well.
We’ll get through today and see.

It sounds like that hasn’t been ruled out?
DOUG PEDERSON: It’s not ruled out, no. There is still a chance and still a possibility. We just got to get through today and tomorrow.

Are you planning on playing left guard Stefen Wisniewski in this game, or do you want to give him a breather?

DOUG PEDERSON: No. Wiz needs to play. He’s had a couple weeks now. I think it’s important that he get out there and gets back into the flow of the game.

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii