FRISCO, Texas – The 3-5 Dallas Cowboys face a 4-4 divisional rival Philadelphia Eagles’ team on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The two teams have met 118 times, with Dallas leading the series winning 66 and Philadelphia winning 52. Coming off last week’s embarrassing loss to the Titans, the Cowboys’ offense will have to stay ahead of the chains and maximize opportunities in the red zone, against Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s run defense that is ranked second in the NFL.
“ The Eagles are really good up front and they are good at linebacker, “ Jason Garrett remarked. “ They are really good at the back end. They have a scheme they believe in and guys that are playmakers… They play a handful of coverages over the course of the game but they are really good at what they do. They play the strengths of their players and at a very high level. It does not surprise me they are ranked as high as they are with the combination of players they have and the scheme they use. “
The Cowboys will have to revamp their struggling ground game and get something going against Philadelphia’s four-man rush. Against the Titans’ defense on Monday Night, Ezekiel Elliott finished with 17 carries for 61 yards and a 3.6 average. Their run attack was completely shut down by the 30th total ranked defense in the league and 16th against the run.
Elliott described the upcoming challenge against Philadelphia, “ They have great personnel in their front. Great players and it is important for us to go out there and be crisp. We have to go out there and start fast. We have to get this run game going- point blank. We have to figure out how we are going to do that.”
Defensively, the hotboyz will have to gear up for head coach Doug Peterson’s spread offense and the league’s fourth ranked leader in receptions: Zach Ertz. Ertz has amassed 61 receptions for 644 yards, a 10.6 average per carry, and three touchdowns. Ertz is great at finding weaknesses in coverage to maximize yards after the catch and has great speed on routes to create separation. Dallas will need a repeat of Monday Night’s double turnover game by their defense in Sunday’s must win game against their divisional rivals.
Injury Update:
Garrett confirmed left guard Connor Williams will have knee surgery later on today, but the organization is hopeful the injury will be short term. Guard Xavier Su’a-Filo and center Adam Redmond will compete for his starting position in the offensive lineup during practice this week. Linebacker Sean Lee will miss week ten and probably several weeks after due to a hamstring injury. Garrett has not given a timetable to his return, but thankfully the Cowboys’ defense is in a better position in Lee’s absence with the success of rookie Leighton Vander Esch and the explosiveness of Jaylon Smith this season on the gridiron.
