Game Preview – Cooper vs Kenny

The Eagles host the Cowboys on Sunday. If the guys in Kelly Green win, they will take the NFC East title for the season. This is also a big game because it allows us to explore the age old question – is Kenny Pickett better than Cooper Rush?

Joking aside, Rush is playing okay this year. He has started 7 games and gone 4-3. He’s got 11 TD passes and only 3 INTs. Rush only averages 6.1 yards per attempt and only completes 61 percent of his passes. That’s not ideal. If you throw a lot of short passes, you want to be in the upper 60’s in completion percentage.

Rush was very conservative early this year but has been more aggressive in recent weeks. He has been willing to throw down the field and take some chances. I don’t know how easy that will be without CeeDee Lamb in the game. Lamb is a great target and also impacts the defense even when the ball doesn’t come to him.

Pickett will be making his first start of the season. He was up and down last week. He’ll be better prepared this time out, but will also face a tougher defense.

Since Micah Parsons returned from injury in Week 10, the #Cowboys lead the NFL in takeaways (15) and sacks (28). pic.twitter.com/gmJ1EVfiNE

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) December 24, 2024

Washington had success by blitzing Pickett. Dallas will blitz him a ton. Kellen Moore needs to have schematic answers for this. Pickett also needs to make quick reads and smart decisions. You cannot hold the ball against the blitz. Find an open guy and get the ball to him quickly. Or throw it away. You just don’t want to take sacks.

Dallas has a lot of injuries in their secondary so the smart approach might be spreading them out and attacking with the pass. Think about what the Eagles did to open the game against Pittsburgh. If you do that, stopping the blitz is harder because you have less people to help block. The Eagles have options because Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson are such good OTs.

The X-factor to all of this is Saquon Barkley and the run game. If the Eagles are able to run the ball consistently, they can pick and choose when to throw. One great way to slow down a pass rush is to pound on them and make them play the run. Dallas has struggled with run defense this year.

Jalen Hurts is a key part of the Eagles run game, but they can run without him. The OL has to block well and so do the other skill players. The blocking last week got sloppy after the first quarter. Barkley didn’t have much room to run. There is a lot of talk about whether he can break Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record (2,105). I’m more interested in securing the division and having him healthy for the playoffs. If he has a huge game, great.

The Eagles made some moves on Saturday.

We have signed QB Ian Book to the Active Roster, activated DE Bryce Huff from the Injured Reserve List, elevated RB Tyrion Davis-Price and LB Dallas Gant for the game, waived DE Charles Harris, and placed WR Britain Covey on the Injured Reserve List. pic.twitter.com/4WaZ0eg8i7

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 28, 2024

Book will be the emergency QB on Sunday. I’m curious to see if Huff plays or is active more as an emergency move in case Josh Sweat has an ankle issue flare up. TDP will be the #3 RB with Will Shipley out due to a concussion. Gant is there to help on STs with Nakobe Dean likely out and Oren Burks needing to play on defense.

The Eagles defense will be facing a tougher version of Dallas than the first game. Rush has gotten into a groove and looks a lot more comfortable than he did back then. Dallas is running the ball much better. Still, take Lamb away from the Cowboys and they don’t have a lot of firepower on offense. This is a game where the Eagles defense needs to play well. While Dallas has been better recently, they weren’t facing good defenses. This should be a different story.

Dean has had a strong season so he will be missed (assuming he’s out). Burks can be an adequate short term replacement. Zack Baun is still the key LB. Dean is helpful in getting everyone lined up (including Baun) so Burks will have to help with that.

Eagles STs much play much better this time out. KaVontae Turpin is a dynamic returner who has burned the Eagles in past games. The STs did not cover well last week. They better improve or Turpin will make plays. We’ll see how much of a factor the weather is. Temperature won’t be an issue, but rain is possible.

I think the Eagles will be focused after a sloppy performance like last week. They’re at home and playing a key rival. This is the kind of game they should win, with or without Hurts.

A sweep of the Cowboys would be a nice late Christmas present for Eagles Nation.

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