IRVING – Bradie James avoids the word revenge. But the Cowboys linebacker doesn't want to fool himself or anyone else, either.

He admits the team's 44-6 loss in Philadelphia to end last season is incentive as the Cowboys prepare to return to the scene of the crime. More important, James believes this game will speak volumes as to where the team stands at the midway point of the season.

"We know," James said. "We know what happened last year. This is a different team, a different season, but we haven't forgotten.

"The only way we can right that wrong is to go out there and win, whether it's ugly, sexy, it doesn't really matter. We've got to go out there and find a way to win.

"We'll definitely know where we are as a team after we play this game."

The Cowboys and Eagles are tied atop the NFC East at 5-2. The Cowboys have a three-game winning streak, having beaten a good Atlanta team at Cowboys Stadium along with wins over Kansas City and Seattle –teams with a combined record of 3-11.

"I'm curious," James said. "A lot of guys are curious to really know what we are. You want to beat the teams that are good. You've got to beat good teams. That's the only way you can get to where you want to go.

"This is a chance for us to get over the hump, I would say. It's a division game. We're tied for first place and have got some stuff on the line.

"I want to see how we will respond."

The Roy Williams saga: Receiver Roy Williams again answered questions about his inability to click with quarterback Tony Romo.

"Yeah, I'm disappointed, but we're 5-2," Williams said. "I'm going to continue to work, and it's got to pay off at least one of 16 games."

Williams patiently answered questions for close to 20 minutes and deflected repeated attempts to blame Romo – at one point, he say the two were "not even close" to being on the same page – or offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

"I'm the No. 1 receiver, but things are just going the No. 2's way," Williams said of Miles Austin.

But wouldn't he like more balls?

"I like winning," Williams said.

Barber improving: The slow but steady improvement of Marion Barber continues as the running back works his way back from a strained quadriceps.

"I noticed again today, he's got a little more juice," coach Wade Phillips said after Wednesday's practice. "It's an injury where you lose strength. It's not an injury where you're going to get injured again, but he lost a little bit of the power in that one leg."

The numbers: Barber had 32 carries for 203 yards (6.3 average) before he suffered the injury in the second half of the team's loss to the New York Giants. He has 54 carries for 194 yards (3.6 average) in the four games he has played since.

Phillips said Barber looked better against Seattle than he has in any game since the injury.

"More and more," Phillips said, "I think we'll see the Marion Barber that we know and love."

Eagles' Westbrook expects to play: Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is set to return Sunday after missing last week's game against the Giants because of a concussion sustained a week earlier in a victory over Washington.

Coach Andy Reid said Westbrook, who practiced Wednesday for the first time since the injury, should be "good to go" against the Cowboys and will not need to undergo further testing.

Briefly: Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb believes his team's 44-6 win over Dallas motivated the Cowboys during the off-season, but will have little impact on Sunday's game.

"I think if you continue to dwell on something, then it will begin to affect the way you play, affect your decision-making and obviously affect the results," McNabb said. "For us playing each other twice, you really don't need much more motivation than that."

Return specialist Allen Rossum (hamstring) didn't practice Wednesday and isn't expected to play Sunday.