The Philadelphia Eagles (2-4) get set to host NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys (2-4) in primetime on Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
The energy surrounding “Dallas Week” is not nearly as palpable heading into this edition of the rivalry game due to the Eagles being decimated with injuries and how poorly the offense has looked all season.
However, for those who don’t want the team to tank with the division within reach, a win Monday could potentially put win back in the sails. A loss where the offense doesn’t look to make any changes or improvements even down key pieces and it could mark rock-bottom for the Eagles and Howie Roseman may become a seller with the trade deadline approaching in two weeks.
Here are five key matchups to keep an eye on:
Barkley is trending in the right direction to play in this one, marking the first time the star running back has taken the field since Week 4 when he injured his hamstring at the Linc on the second drive of the game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Hamstrings can be tricky, especially for running backs, but if Barkley is as close to fully healthy, then Nick Sirianni, Sean Mannion and the offense need to feed their workhorse.
Entering the week, the Cowboys allowed the most rushing yards on the ground allowing 149.8 yards per game and ranked 27th in yards per carry at 4.7.
The best path for the Eagles to earn the victory is a heavy dose of running the football. If the Eagles come out with a pass-heavy offense, it’ll either be a terrible game play, or it’ll throw the game script off which is something the team has struggled with all season.
This could potentially be the difference maker in this game.
The Cowboys have one of the best wide receiver duos in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Lamb is commanding a career-high 32.4% target rate this season which is the fifth-highest among wideouts this season, per NextGen Stats. Last season, he had 110 yards receiving in the season opener in South Philadelphia on seven catches and posted a 75-yard game in the second meeting in Dallas last November.
After a slow start to the season where he failed to reach 50 yards in each of the first two games, Pickens has had 70 or more receiving yards in each of the last four games, averaging 90 yards per game during that stretch.
Here are the overall numbers for the dynamic duo:
CeeDee Lamb: 69 targets, 48 catches, 577 yards, 4 TDs
George Pickens: 52 targets, 33 catches, 428 yards, 1 TD
Quinyon Mitchell, Riq Woolen and Cooper DeJean, who will see Lamb a good amount in the slot, will all need to put together strong games to limit the explosive playmaking ability Lamb and Pickens possess.
Under former Eagles’ coach Christian Parker, the Dallas defense has been awful against the run and not much better defending the pass. This season, the Cowboys rank 31st in yards per attempt with an average of 7.4.
Last week in his first meaningful start, McKee threw for 215 yards and a touchdown but attempted 45 passes in the loss to Carolina, which is way too much.
McKee shouldn’t throw the ball more than 30 times in this one, or it means the Eagles got off of what should be a run-first attack. However, the backup quarterback had eight days to prepare with the coaching staff and his targets in Makai Lemon, Darius Cooper and possibly Dallas Goedert as the main options.
If the offensive line affords McKee enough time to get the ball out quickly, McKee could do enough to manage this game and put Philadelphia in a position to squeak out a win.
Carter is always circled as a key player in every game when he is taking the field because he has the talent and skill to be an impactful disruptor at any given time. The Eagles will desperately need the highest-paid defensive tackle in the league to step up and make Dak Prescott uncomfortable.
He will line up against the Cowboys center who has been very good this season in protecting his quarterback.
It’s fair to wonder if the Eagles will have much of a pass rush even against a Cowboys offensive line that has struggled to limit pressures on the outside with left tackle Tyler Guyton allowing 19 pressures and right tackle Terence Steele giving up 13 this season.
Greenard, listed as questionable dealing with a nagging ankle injury which forced him to miss time last week. However, if he’s healthy, what a week it could be for him to have his first signature game as an Eagle after signing a hefty $100 million contract in the offseason after being traded for.
This season, Greenard has generated a pressure rate of 12.5%. Most likely a game-time decision, if he’s able to play, the Eagles could really use a big performance by their key EDGE rusher with Nolan Smith out (concussion) and Jalyx Hunt also questionable (ankle).
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