Eagles open as home favorites in their big Week 6 game against the Cowboys

The Philadelphia Eagles are 5-0 after beating the Arizona Cardinals.

5-0.

That record should be more exciting than it feels right now with the Eagles coming off an ugly win in the desert.

But while there are certainly some areas of concern worth highlighting, one shouldn’t make too much of the Birds not playing their best brand of football.

The Eagles have looked very good more often than not this season. They’re not always going to be perfect.

And they have the opportunity to quickly put their Week 5 performance behind them with a strong showing in arguably the biggest matchup of the entire 2022 NFL season thus far: a Week 6 home game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.

The Eagles opened as 5.5-point favorites against their top NFC East rival, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. That line has since shifted to Philly being favored by five points. It’s quite possible it’ll continue to trend in the Cowboys’ direction, especially depending what happens their quarterback situation. It’s currently unclear if it’ll be Dak Prescott returning or Cooper Rush making another start under center.

While obviously the better player when healthy, it might actually be preferable for the Eagles to face Prescott. The Cowboys might rush him back too soon for this very important game. Prescott struggled in Week 1 PRIOR to getting hurt so one can only wonder what he’ll look like as he tries to come back from a thumb injury on his throwing hand.

If the Eagles face Rush instead, they can hardly assume Week 6 will be a walk in the park. Rush is 5-0 as a starter thus far. Of course, it’s not like he’s carried them on his back to victory. The Cowboys’ offense has averaged just 20.8 offensive points per game in his starts. For context, the Jacksonville Jaguars rank 16th in offensive points per game this year with 20.8. To his credit, Rush has largely avoided turning the ball over except for one interception.

But, really, it’s the defense that has been driving Dallas to victory. The Cowboys are averaging four sacks per game, which ranks second in the NFL. They’ve been able to generate pressure in no small part to Micah Parsons being an absolute menace. The Eagles’ banged up offensive line being tasked with blocking the Cowboys’ pass rush is a worrisome proposition.

All told, this should be a really good prime-time matchup. Though it’s only Week 6, the stakes are high. The winner of this game will find themselves in a great place not only in the division but the NFC playoff picture as a whole. This battle could potentially be a deciding factor in which team gets the No. 1 seed when all is said and done.

The Eagles will need to put forth a much more inspiring performance than they did against the Cardinals to win this one. Are they capable? Absolutely. Though hardly infallible, the feeling here is the Birds have earned some benefit of the doubt. This game might be close but I think they’ll find a way to get it done.

What say you?