DALLAS — The Cowboys – losers of three straight for the first time in four years – look for a turnaround against familiar division foe Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is a touchdown favorite to beat Dallas. The Eagles stumbled out of the gate, but have their arrow pointed straight up winning five of the last six.
Here are 5 Things To Watch when the Cowboys face the Eagles Sunday afternoon at 3:25 p.m.:
1. Coop's back in the driver seat
Adding injury to the insult of the Cowboys awful start to the 2024 season, now quarterback Dak Prescott is out indefinitely (more on that in a moment).
It's Cooper Rush's team now and for the foreseeable future.
Cooper is competent – sporting a 5-1 record as an NFL starter. But his 4-1 record in 2022 was under completely different circumstances. That Cowboys team had a good ground game with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard sharing the load. And that Cowboys defense gave up a meager 16 points per game in those five contests. That group got pressure on the passer and created turnovers – something that is completely foreign to this year's bunch.
I'll be looking to see how Mike McCarthy schemes to get the ball out of Rush's hands quickly, employing his accuracy in the quick passing game to relieve some of the pressure the Eagles will generate.
Back to the Dak situation.
Sources tell our Ed Werder that Prescott suffered and partial avulsion to the right hamstring. That means that part of the tendon tore off the bone. So, while the Cowboys have yet to put Prescott on the injured reserve, meaning at least a four-week absence, the scary truth is he figures to be out much longer than that.
2. Micah's return
Cowboys all everything defender Micah Parsons figures to make his return from a high ankle sprain this week. He was back in practice in pads in a limited action, but you can expect to see him back on the field, probably with a pitch count.
We're all looking to see just how much Micah can do, but I'm not expecting to see him at his best. Last week, he did next-to-nothing in practice. That means his ramp-up is only going to be five or so days and that's asking a lot for him to return to the all-pro form we expect from this defensive stalwart. Expect “Micah Lite’” as returning to full form would be impossible.
It's a work in progress and the last thing this team needs to see is an aggravation of that ankle, so caution should be the operative mode.
3. Kellen Moore's return to AT&T
When Kellen Moore was fired from his post as Cowboys offensive coordinator, head coach Mike McCarthy made it clear he wanted his team to "run the damn ball": control the clock better and play complementarily football to support the defense.
So, I find it more than a little ironic that Moore will bring the NFL's second best rushing attack with him when he return's to AT&T Stadium. After a slow start to the season, the Eagles have found a firm foothold largely thanks to electric running back Saquon Barkley. His run against the Jaguars that morphed into something from an Olympic floor exercise routine is one of the highlights of the NFL season so far.
Barkley ranks second in the NFL (925 yards) in rushing, behind only Baltimore's Derrick Henry. Once Moore understood how to set up quarterback Jalen Hurts with Barkley's ground chewing ability this Eagles offense clicked back into sync and now ranks at the sixth-best in the NFL.
I don't have to remind Cowboys fans how putrid your team's run defense (30th in NFL) has been this season. Somehow, some way Mike Zimmer has to concoct a scheme to slow down Barkley and Hurts on the ground, or this could be yet another blowout. That would be another crushing blow in a Cowboys season that has seen zero home wins and far too many home blowouts, especially given the current competitive climate in the NFL. (More on that below.)
4. Dowdle's spark need to ignite run-game flame
Finding positives in the Cowboys current state is a reach, but perhaps they've sorted out the running back situation, given that we're nearing the seasons halfway point and it's utterly too late, though. That glaring fact aside, its was good to finally see a Cowboys running back that looked competent on the ground. Rico Dowdle's 75 yards on 12 carries (6.3/attempt) gives some semblance of hope that the Cowboys can make an attempt to balance their attack.
I'll be looking to see if it was a facade, though. Did it work because the Falcons didn't respect the run game or was it the start of the offensive line gelling in the ground attack? The Eagles 5th-ranked rushing defense should give a true test.
5. Protect this house!
The Cowboys home record is inexplicable. This team won 16 consecutive home games in the regular season. They're 0-3 so far this season with two of them being absolute and utter demolitions, losing to the Saints (who just fired their head coach) 44-19 and the Lions 49-7.
To underscore how bad those numbers are, let's interject the current NFL climate. The numbers say we are off to the *most competitive* start to an NFL season ever:
- *75 games decided by seven points or fewer
- *65 games by six points or fewer
(*Both the most in NFL history 9 weeks into a season)
Cowboy fans have to hope their's a pride factor that can at least keep this game competitive. There doesn't seem to be a path, so avoiding a blowout may be the ceiling for this week. I realize that sad, but that mirrors the current state of the Cowboys.
Score prediction: Eagles 31, Cowboys 23