Game Preview – PHI at DAL

Eagles at Cowboys is always an interesting game. This one has about a million storylines. Can the Eagles bounce back from a butt-kicking by SF? Would a big game by Dak Prescott put him in front in the MVP race? What will we see from the Eagles defense? Can Dallas get their first win of the year against a good team?

If I’m Nick Sirianni this week, my message to the team is to stress the need to be physical. Last week the Niners were the more physical, more aggressive team. That cannot happen two weeks in a row.

I think back to Sean Desai talking about the Miami game and preparing for their speed.

“We are going to have a long discussion about that today as a staff. I wouldn’t say it’s a mismatch but one thing that we always want to pride ourselves on defense is playing physical. And in my experience, even going back to my days at Temple and coaching special teams, speed can hurt you, but physicality can hurt speed. We want to be able to counteract that and we want to be able to swarm the ball carriers and run and make sure we are around the ball as much as we can be, and bring in a lot of bodies around the ball and try to get back to create some turnovers and getting the ball out as well.”

The Eagles need this game to be a brawl, not a track meet. You want O-linemen firing off the ball and hitting Micah Parsons, not Parsons chasing Jalen Hurts in the backfield. Defenders need to fly to the ball and punish runners and receivers. The good news is that the Eagles beat the two fastest teams they already played, Miami and Dallas.

Most of the attention will be focused on the Dallas offense/Philly defense. The Cowboys have scored 41 or more points in 3 of the last 4 games. Prescott and their offense are red hot. They haven’t played good defenses recently, but they are still putting up crazy numbers.

Can the Eagles slow them down? They did in the first meeting, giving up 406 yards, but only 23 points. It would be great for the Eagles to play their best game of the year and shut Dak and the fellas down. That isn’t necessary to win. The Eagles need some key stops and to make some key plays. This defense has enough talent to do that.

Zach Cunningham is back after missing last week. He’s the team’s best LB so having him will certainly help. We’ll have to see how much Shaq Leonard plays. I don’t think he’ll be out there a lot, but he has coverage skills so maybe he can help in certain packages.

CeeDee Lamb destroyed the Eagles in the first game, going 11-191. Bradley Roby missed that game, but will play on Sunday. He doesn’t have the ability to shut down Lamb. Roby does know how to play the nickel position and he will do a better job of covering than what the Eagles did in the first game. Lamb was wide open way too much. He’ll still make plays, but the Eagles need to make it more difficult. And if Roby can make a play, that will help.

Kevin Byard played in the first game, but he was still learning the defense. He’s played better in recent weeks and could help in this game. TE Jake Ferguson has been hot so maybe Desai will match up Byard on him in some looks.

The Eagles wore out RT Terrence Steele in the first game.

JOSH FREAKING SWEAT!!! pic.twitter.com/1eGqWMx2Yv

— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) November 6, 2023

They will need to do that again if they are going to make some plays and slow down the Cowboys. Prescott used his legs to avoid pressure in the first game. The Eagles need to have a better plan for dealing with his scrambling.

I’m curious to see what the Eagles do offensively. They struggled to run the ball a month ago, even though they won. D’Andre Swift was just 18-43 in that game. There will be one big difference this time. Rookie Tyler Steen was the RG that day. Cam Jurgens is healthy and is back at RG. He is a much better run blocker than Steen right now.

I could see Sirianni coming out running the ball. He wouldn’t do that to appease the fans/media calling for it. Sirianni would run so that the OL can set the tone for the game and win some battles up front. The OL struggled with run blocking last week. I’m sure those guys are hungry to get the run game going.

Dallas Goedert will be back for the first time since he got hurt against Dallas last month. He will offer help to the run game and the pass game. The Eagles have definitely missed him.

Hurts needs to play well. He did not have a good game last week. Hurts needs to make good reads and smart decisions. He needs to get the ball to his playmakers and let them do the work. Brian Johnson called some really good plays in the first game. He and Hurts were on the same page. The players executed really well. Johnson needs to figure out how to get Hurts going early. You don’t want to fall behind Dallas with the way they are playing right now.

Special teams is always important against Dallas. KaVontae Turpin had a 48-yard KOR and a couple of good PRs in the first game. The Eagles have played well on STs this year, but they will need to be especially good on Sunday night.

This game is huge as far as the NFC East goes. A win practically guarantees the Eagles are division champs. A loss gives both teams 10-3 records and means the division is wide open. It would also put tremendous pressure on the Eagles. Hurts hasn’t lost two games in a row in more than two years. Then again, these are a pair of incredibly challenging games.

This will also be a huge test for Dallas. Their best wins are over the Rams and Seahawks, hardly juggernauts. The Cowboys need to show they can beat a good team.

I’m sure the Eagles are desperate to flush last week’s game into history. A showdown with Dallas gives them a great opportunity to do just that.

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What challenges will the #Cowboys present the #Eagles on Sunday night?

Dallas has made a bunch of changes over the course of the season. Here's what the film and numbers show from this evolving offense and what it means for #FlyEaglesFly

READ: https://t.co/Mi9JHT2vMv pic.twitter.com/SW38wEKRlC

— Fran Duffy (@EaglesXOs) December 8, 2023

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