OnOff
FRISCO, Texas – Coming off their third straight loss, the 3-3 Dallas Cowboys prepare to host the 3-3 Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The two division rival teams have met 120 times, with Dallas leading the series 68 to 52. The Cowboys have won the last three matchups.
Offensively, Dallas has to eliminate penalties and capitalize on opportunities in the red zone with touchdowns not field goals. The Cowboys only scored points on three field goals (9) in the first half of the past three games combined. The team needs to get into a rhythm early on against the Eagles’ four-man rush and zone coverage in the backfield. Malcolm Jenkins is the greatest weapon in Philly’s secondary. He can play safety, nickel corner, and linebacker. In addition, he has been a pro bowler in three of his past four seasons and is a nightmare for opposing offenses. Both Randall Cobb and Amari Cooper missed practice on Wednesday and Dallas will need all hands on deck come Sunday in the receiving core to kick-start the passing game.
“ They do a great job mixing it up and giving us tough looks,” Blake Jarwin remarked to me. “ So it will be interesting…27 is a great player” (Malcolm Jenkins).
Defensively, Dallas needs to create more pass pressure, create turnovers, and eliminate penalties. Carson Wentz is a mobile quarterback with the ability to extend plays and the Cowboys’ defense needs more interior penetration on the QB through A-gaps. Philadelphia uses a lot of two tight end sets benefiting Zack Ertz and Dallas Goedert. Last week, Jets’ TE Ryan Griffin had his best game against the Cowboys’ defense averaging nine yards a reception and the previous week, Packers’ TE Jimmy Graham averaged 10 yards a catch. The defense has to do a better job tackling in space.
I spoke with Jason Garrett on containing Ertz and Goedert, he stated, “ Both tight ends are really good. They are complete tight ends. They are good route runners, but can also block. So it makes it that much more difficult for you as a defense to handle that personnel group…the quarterback loves to throw to them and it is easy to see why. They make a lot of plays for them.”
It will be a battle as old as time on Sunday night as the NFC East rivals go head-to-head for first place in the division.
