Chip Kelly on Thanksgiving game: 'It's not like we're going to have a cornucopia and turkey'

The Philadelphia Eagles square off against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday in a pivotal division matchup. It's just another game to head coach Chip Kelly, though.

"I don't really ... just tell us when we're going to play," Kelly said when asked about the significance of playing on Thanksgiving, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. "We don't really read much into it or wax nostalgic. It's not like we're going to have a cornucopia and turkey on the sideline. We're just going to go play football."

While Kelly isn't overly excited about playing on a holiday, his players are looking forward to it. This will be the Eagles' first Thanksgiving game since their 48-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in 2008, and their first Thanksgiving road game since blanking the Cowboys at Texas Stadium in 1989.

"I remember as a kid watching them taking the pieces of turkey in the Dallas game," Eagles linebacker Trent Cole said. "I can remember all that. And you look at it now like, 'I'm here. I'm actually here and playing in that game.' It's just like, wow. I never thought back then I would be in the NFL playing."

The Eagles and Cowboys are tied atop the NFC East at 8-3, but Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker because of its better division record. Kelly downplayed the rivalry between the two teams, saying the game is more exciting because of how well they're both playing. 

"I don't get into the 'because they're in the division.' ... Obviously it's the division, it means a lot more because of what’s at stake," he said. "Because division records are the first thing you look at in terms of ties and other things, but the excitement is when you get a chance to play against a really good team and Dallas is a really good team."