Dallas heads into Philadelphia for Monday Night Football with both NFC East rivals sitting at 2-4 and desperately needing a win. The Eagles have lost four straight and will again be without Jalen Hurts, while Dallas arrives after back-to-back defeats of its own. This feels like a game where whichever struggling offense finds answers first will take control.
Philadelphia should try to take as much responsibility away from Tanner McKee as possible. McKee threw for 215 yards and a touchdown in his first start against Carolina, but the Eagles produced only 35 rushing yards without Saquon Barkley. Barkley is expected to return from his hamstring injury on Monday, and that immediately becomes Dallas’ biggest concern. The Cowboys have allowed 899 rushing yards at 4.7 yards per carry so far this year, so Philadelphia should test that weakness early rather than asking its backup quarterback to throw the ball 40-plus times again.
Dallas’ plan should be almost the opposite and crowd the line of scrimmage to control Barkley and force McKee to beat them. DeMarvion Overshown’s return is important because his speed gives Dallas more ability to cover running backs and tight ends while Dee Winters will miss time with an Achilles strain. Once Philadelphia reaches obvious passing situations, Christian Parker can become more aggressive with disguised pressures against an inexperienced quarterback. Dallas has only eight sacks through six games, so this is a matchup where the front needs to finally turn pressure into results.
Dallas needs to change what it has been doing. The Cowboys have scored only 29 points across their last two games, and Green Bay pressured Dak Prescott 21 times while Dallas managed only 48 rushing yards. Too often the offense has become predictable, with Prescott dropping back while receivers run longer-developing routes and the defense already knows pressure is coming. Brian Schottenheimer needs more motion, quick throws, screens and route combinations designed to get CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens the football in space. Philadelphia has only eight sacks this season, so Dallas cannot allow another pass rush to suddenly look dominant.
Javonte Williams also needs to become part of the answer. Dallas threw 54 passes at Green Bay and almost completely abandoned the run after Williams scored in the third quarter. Philadelphia is allowing four yards per carry, so there should be enough opportunity to maintain balance and prevent the Eagles from simply attacking Prescott. Lamb and Pickens still give Dallas the biggest individual advantage in this matchup, but the play design has to help them rather than asking Prescott to constantly solve everything after the snap. If Dallas uses tempo, motion and shorter concepts to make Philadelphia hesitate, the explosive plays should eventually follow.
Now onto the predictions from your BTB writers…
It’s hard when l have so little faith in the Cowboys. I think it’s going to be a low scoring error filled contest. Dallas is desperate for a win. I’ll risk picking them. DAL 19 PHI 16
The Cowboys are at a crossroads moment in their season. Get a win, and it steadies the ship for at least a week and makes people take them a bit more seriously. If they lose, this team might be more broken than we realize.
Playing in Philadelphia is never easy, but the roster is so beaten up and vulnerable that this Dallas team should still be able to take advantage.
I think we’ll see them lean on the run game a bit more and show more balance on offense. The Cowboys showed last year on opening night. They weren’t afraid to play a primetime game in Philly. The Cowboys are just a better team than Philly right now, so I have them winning 24-19.
Finally a get right week where Dallas actually gets right. The Cowboys offense rebounds with a balanced attack against a defense that won’t stack the line of scrimmage like we saw against the Buccaneers and Packers. The defense plays it’s best game of the season. Dallas takes care of business against a horrible Eagles team, 31-17.
The Eagles look like a mess both on and off the field, but the Cowboys don’t look much better. After how bad they’ve been the past two weeks I have no faith in Dallas coming into this matchup. I see Philly’s defense holding down this struggling Cowboys’ offense leading to a low-scoring matchup that the Eagles win. Give me Philadelphia, 20-17.
I’m taking Dallas to finally stop the slide on Monday night. Philadelphia has lost four straight, Jalen Hurts is out, and Tanner McKee will be making only his second start of the season. That gives Christian Parker a very clear defensive plan to load the box against Saquon Barkley, make McKee beat you through the air and become aggressive on obvious passing downs. Let’s go Cowboys to win 27-17.
