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Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles - Week 16
The situation
It has felt like this would be the only game that really matters in an NFC East race for the last month or so now – even if the two contenders have been moving at the speed of snails for most of it. Compared to some other of these late-season finishes, where some teams have gotten really hot later on, the Cowboys and Eagles have trumped each with lowlights.
Dallas got embarrassed at home on Thanksgiving only for Philly to lose at Miami a few days later. Then the Cowboys followed that up by making Mitch Trubisky look like an MVP candidate on Thursday night, while it took the Eagles until overtime to grab their first lead over the Eli-Manning Giants, who were losers of nine straight at that point.
This last weekend both teams got back to their winning ways, but in every different fashion – the Eagles struggled with the Redskins until the final seconds of that game, while the Cowboys finally beat their first opponent with a winning record all year in a 44-21 beatdown of the Rams. The Cowboys would clinch the division with a win this weekend, while the Eagles would also have to win at MetLife the following week.
Introducing both teams
The Cowboys have given us plenty of ammunition to make fun of their fans for years now, but when you think about their 2019 season, you almost have to feel annoyed for them. They come out of the gate looking like a juggernaut against some bad teams and then lose to all six teams with a winning record, before pulling out a dominant performance against the surging Rams, where they finally look like the ultra-talented team we thought they were before the year kicked off.
Their speaking captains not even knowing the general language on a coin toss was the climax for a badly coached team. I like some of the things OC Kellen Moore has done with motions and different formations to scheme open receivers, but this defense has given up 82 combined points to Sam Darnold, Jeff Driskel and Mitch Trubisky and some of their situational decisions and awareness have been mind-boggling.
With that being said, the O-line looked like the best in the league with Zeke going off for 160 yards and two TDs while producing twice as many sacks defensively as they surrender and coming up with a couple more turnovers.
For the Eagles, this has been a very underwhelming season altogether. They have given their fans hope with a Thursday Night win at Lambeau Field and dominant showings against the Jets and Bills, but had no chance in their first meeting with the Cowboys, looked lifeless against the Seahawks and messed up that trip to South Beach.
What I thought was one of the more talented rosters in the league has been hampered by injuries and they simply haven’t played a complete game in a couple of months now. Only six teams have dropped more passes than their guys, only rookie Daniel Jones has fumbled the ball more than Carson Wentz and the defense has allowed a touchdown of more than 40 yards in each of the last four weeks.
Last Sunday, former Houston quarterback Greg Ward was the only receiver to catch a pass for the Eagles. The one guy that has really flashed recently is running Miles Sanders, who I said one of the top candidates for Offensive Rookie of the Year before the season kicked off. Outside of him, Carson Wentz has been dragging his team to wins these last two weeks despite no dependable receivers and Jim Schwartz surrendering easy touchdowns by calling cover-zero blitzes on third & long.
The Xs and Os
Looking at how these two teams match up, the Cowboys have a clear advantage with their offensive skill positions against that Philly secondary. For a team that struggled to slow down Washington last week, facing Dallas’ number one ranked total offense, which already put up 37 points against them in their first meeting, is scary.
The biggest gamebreakers will be those two explosive backs on either side, who both looked as good as they have done all year this past Sunday. However, to me what will decide this game will be the battle at the line of scrimmage and the turnover race. The Cowboys O-line looked amazing against the Rams, but Fletcher Cox has given them some trouble through the years and their starting left guard is now on IR.
The Eagles front, on the other hand, has been hit quite a bit and will face a pretty strong Dallas pass rush, but those guys have disappeared in a lot of their big games. Lincoln Financial Field and the Eagles health could the X-factors here. We know that the Philly fans don’t shy away from booing anybody – including their home team – but if things go right for their home team, that atmosphere can have an effect on the opposition.
Moreover, Jordan Howard, Lane Johnson, and Nelson Agholor could all return this week and if they are on the edge, there is really nothing they should save themselves for. Based on the starters on either side of the ball, the Cowboys should clearly be the favorites, but we have seen both Dallas come up short in the prime matchups and Philly shock people as underdogs.
