Philadelphia ? Even before Terrell Owens took his big plays and bigger mouth home to Atlanta, the Philadelphia Eagles were a desperate team.

The four-time NFC East champions and reigning conference champs enter tonight’s game against the Dallas Cowboys needing a victory to avoid falling below .500 and further out of the playoff race.

The Eagles (4-4) won’t have Owens because the All-Pro wideout was dismissed from the team last Monday following a series of incidents, including harsh criticism of the organization and quarterback Donovan McNabb.

A once-potent offense certainly will miss its top playmaker, but McNabb and the rest of his teammates are eager to prove they can still have success.

“We just have to come together, pull through, and understand the situation that has happened, and what we need to do in order to get out on this field and get back to playing with a lot of passion, playing with a lot of excitement and playing together,” McNabb said.

Owens was on the field when the Cowboys completely outplayed the Eagles in a 33-10 victory at Dallas last month. The Cowboys jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and never let up. Drew Bledsoe picked apart the defense with 289 yards passing and three touchdowns and Dallas racked up 456 yards.

In that game, the Cowboys’ defense was even more dominant than their offense. They held the Eagles to just 129 yards, while limiting them to only two third-down conversions in 12 chances.

“I think it may have been probably at the top of the list,” defensive tackle La’Roi Glover said. “To get there again, it’s going to take another great effort. You have to know what particular plays they like out of which formations, who they want to get the ball to, down and distance – all those type of things. You have to be on top of your game when you play the Eagles.”

Philadelphia lost 17-10 to Washington last Sunday in its first game without Owens.