Game Preview – DAL at PHI

Dallas comes to town with a terrible defense, backup offensive line and rookie quarterback making his first start. Eagles fans should be salivating. But there is always the Joe Webb factor.

Back in 2010, the Eagles were 10-4 and seen as a Super Bowl team. They hosted the 5-9 Vikings in a prime time game, with rookie Joe Webb making his first start. The Eagles lost that game 24-14, playing sloppy and looking like anything but a playoff team. Webb avoided mistakes and made just enough plays for his team to pull off the upset.

That was a torturous night and anyone who experienced it will always be on the lookout for the next Joe Webb.

Things are different this time around and that should make a difference. The Eagles are 2-4-1. There is no way this group should be overconfident, which the 2010 team clearly was. That bunch was dreaming of the Super Bowl. This team is desperate to get another win.

The focus in this game will be Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci. He will be playing behind four backup linemen and going against an Eagles defense that is third in the NFL in sacks. DiNucci is a good athlete and Dallas will try to use his athleticism to their advantage.

Dallas does have weapons, but they haven’t been productive in the last two weeks. Zeke, Amari, CeeDee and Gallup weren’t able to overcome backup QBs and backup OL. Dallas scored a total of 13 points in the past two games. They also turned the ball over five times.

The Eagles defense hasn’t held anyone to less than 20 points this season. If not now, when? Avonte Maddox, T.J. Edwards and Malik Jackson are back and all three are needed. Maddox will need to do his best vs Gallup (assuming Darius Slay sticks on Cooper most of the night). Edwards will be key to limiting Zeke’s running. Jackson will be important in disrupting the run and pressuring DiNucci.

This would be an ideal time for the defense to play their best game.

The Eagles offense has a chance for a breakout game. Dallas has made personnel changes in hopes that younger players will play harder, but that unit has major issues at each level. If the OL can give Carson Wentz time, there should be plays to be made. If…

The Eagles downgraded Lane Johnson (knee, ankle) to questionable for tonight’s game.

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) November 1, 2020

We might be moving to Jason Peters at LT and Jordan Mailata at RT. That’s not ideal to be sure. Dallas will be hoping they can win the battle on the line of scrimmage.

One way to avoid that is running the ball well. Dallas has the worst run defense in the league. The Eagles won’t have Miles Sanders so that means Boston Scott and the other runners will need to come up big. Scott’s N-S running style should be effective against Dallas.

I’m wondering if this is the game where Jason Huntley will have a chance to show what he can do. He has big time speed. Dallas allows more yards before contact than anyone else. If Huntley can get going, there will be a chance for big plays.

Jalen Hurts could also be used more tonight. Dallas struggles with pre-snap motion and creative looks. The Cowboys have poor eye discipline and tend to focus on the wrong thing. You want to give them as much to look at as possible.

The Eagles actually have some weapons in this game. Dallas Goedert and Jalen Reagor are back. Travis Fulgham has shown that he is a legit playmaker. John Hightower seems to make a big play each week. Greg Ward remains Mr. Reliable. If one of the RBs will step up, the offense could actually be fun to watch. Wentz’s last 8 TD passes have gone to practice squad alumni. Hopefully that changes tonight.

It will be interesting to see how this game plays out. The Eagles have had a problem with falling behind in almost every game. Dallas is even worse, falling way behind opponents. If the Eagles can play with a lead, that will take a lot of pressure off them and keep it on the rookie QB.

This is a crossroads game. A win keeps the Eagles in first place and helps them to start to get some separation. That would also give them a two-game winning streak. The Eagles would start to build some confidence.

A loss would drop Dallas to 2-6. The noise in Dallas would get even louder.

If the Cowboys can somehow pull off the upset, that would change the season for both teams. Dallas would suddenly have hope and the Eagles would be devastated. It is only Nov 1, but this is a huge game for both teams.

There won’t be much of a crowd to create noise and emotion, but this is Dallas week. There should be plenty of intensity even without the crowd.

https://twitter.com/JClarkNBCS/status/1322917663488811021

This Eagles team is so flawed that it is hard to be overly confident, but if there was ever a week for them to go out and kick some ass and look good, this is it.

Go Eagles!

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