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This week’s Philadelphia Eagles game against the Dallas Cowboys is either a must-win or a must-lose depending on your perspective.
If you’re on #TeamPlayoffs, you’ll want to see the Eagles win and the Washington Football Team lose to give Philly a chance at winning the NFC East in Week 17.
If you’re on #TeamTank, you’ll want to see the Eagles lose to make sure they stay ahead of Dallas in the 2021 NFL Draft order.
BGN’s polling results indicate the latter option is preferred:
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The good news for #TeamTank is that the Cowboys have looked a little better recently. They’ve won their last two games!
The good news for #TeamPlayoffs is that the Cowboys still aren’t actually any good, though. They’ve beaten Brandon Allen and Nick Mullens in the past two weeks. Big whoop. This Dallas team still ranks 27th in DVOA and 28th in point differential. The Eagles are slightly better at 25th and 23rd, respectively.
Despite having an awful defense, Dallas held the Eagles to a mere 14 offensive points in the first meeting between these two teams back in Week 8. Carson Wentz turned the ball over four times in that game but the Eagles were able to win anyway because Ben DiNucci isn’t a viable starting NFL quarterback.
Andy Dalton obviously offer more competency for the Cowboys. He’s 3-4 in seven starts this year and he has six touchdown passes to just one interception in his last three games for a 97.4 passer rating. CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper could cause some problems for an injured Eagles secondary, though hopefully Darius Slay might be able to return for this matchup.
With the onus on the offense to score often, it’ll be interesting to see how Jalen Hurts fares in his third NFL start. The rookie quarterback’s first two starts have been encouraging. We’ll see if he continue to build on what he’s shown so far.
An Eagles win this week would give Philly their first season sweep over the Cowboys since 2011. The Birds were aided by Tony Romo hurting his hand early in the second matchup that year, which gave way to Stephen McGee. Prior to 2011, the Eagles hadn’t swept the Cowboys since 2006.
The feeling here is that Hurts will lead the Eagles to just their third sweep in the last 14 years. This Cowboys team isn’t good enough to win three in a row ... right?
What say you?