by By Jeff McLane; Inquirer Staff Writer , The Philadelphia Inquirer

If you can't judge the Eagles' defense, as the players say, based on its shaky outing against the Saints' top-ranked offense in Week 2, then you can't gauge the success of the unit off five victories over lesser teams.

Like many NFL teams, the Eagles are chock full of unanswered questions a week into November.

However, a test that should provide clues arrives in Philadelphia on Sunday evening. The Dallas Cowboys boast the second-ranked offense in the NFL, one of the most balanced groups, and the sort of challenge the Giants were supposed to present last week but never came close to providing.

"I feel we've played some underrated offenses, but this one is a lot different," Eagles safety Quintin Mikell said yesterday. "They pose a lot of threats.

"They can run the ball well. They have three running backs that can go. They have a quarterback that is playing at a high level. He can throw it everywhere on the field. Everyone is in play. They have receivers that are all big-time playmakers. . . . This is probably the biggest challenge we've had."

That is saying something considering the 48-22 pounding the Saints dealt the Eagles almost two months ago. New Orleans racked up 421 yards of total offense as an unhurried Drew Brees picked apart the Eagles' secondary. But there were several mitigating factors the defense had no control over. Injured quarterback Donovan McNabb was out, and two early second-half turnovers - one on special teams and another on offense - gave the Saints short fields and led to touchdowns.

"It's kind of hard to keep a New Orleans Saints offense out of the end zone from 30 yards out," cornerback Sheldon Brown said.

Since that game, the Eagles have gone 4-1 with the defense holding opponents to 17 points or under during that span. That number has always been the target number of points for a Jim Johnson-coached defense. First-year defensive coordinator Sean McDermott has kept that as a benchmark of defensive success, but four of those results this season have come against offenses in the bottom third of the league.

"I don't think we've had that game where we can say, 'OK, there's our signature game,' " Mikell said. "Even games where we have played well there's a lot of mistakes."

At this point last season, the Eagles were 4-3 and had played a more difficult schedule. Still, the defensive numbers between now and then - for a unit that ended up being considered one of the late Johnson's best - are similar. Both defenses allowed just below 20 points a game - 19.0 this year to 19.6 last year. Both had recorded 23 sacks, and both had kept opposing offenses under 300 yards a game - 287 to 297.

The two differences are with turnovers and third-down conversions. The Eagles have 21 takeaways this season as opposed to 15 last season. But they're having more trouble getting off the field, with opponents converting 33 percent (33 of 100) of the time on third down. Last year at this juncture, the defense held offenses to a 25.8 conversion percentage.

"We had a situation last week where the guy was supposed to be covering the tight end on third down, and he thought the tight end stayed in to block, but he didn't and caught a ball for a first down," Brown said.

Dallas converts 40.7 of its third downs, 14th best in the NFL. The Cowboys are more dangerous on first down, however, picking up 6.62 yards per play. That's second only to the Eagles . A lot of that has to do with a running game that averages an NFL-best 5.4 yards a carry.

"No matter what, you always have to stop the run," Mikell said. "Whatever that takes, our front seven, if we have to put eight in the box."

The danger in keying too much on the run is that Tony Romo will burn you. The Dallas quarterback has been in a groove the last three games, throwing eight touchdown passes and not a single interception. He's especially dangerous when he gets outside the pocket and improvises "those Brett Favre plays," as McDermott called them.

"Yards after breakdown, so to speak," McDermott said. "I don't know if that's a stat, but he does a great job with it, and we have to be aware of it."

Romo still has tight end Jason Whitten at his disposal, but receiver Miles Austin has become Dallas' top receiving threat after Terrell Owens left for Buffalo in the off-season. Mikell thinks no T.O. makes the Cowboys' offense better.

"You don't have a guy that wants the ball every play, one guy that you can key on," Mikell said. "Now [Romo's] spreading the ball around to different guys, and they're running the ball more, and everyone is happy."

Everyone except Roy Williams, who was supposed to be Romo's No. 1 receiver. He recently aired T.O.-like complaints about his lack of touches.

Some things never change.

Contact staff writer Jeff McLane at 215-854-4745 or jmclane@phillynews.com.

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