8:15 PM EST, ESPN – Line: Cowboys -5, Over/Under: 43
Before the longest regular season in the history of the National Football League comes to a close tomorrow, there are a pair of matchups carrying playoff implications with them today, as the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles renew bitter acquaintances tonight from Lincoln Financial Field, before both sides embark on what they hope to be a lengthy postseason run. After missing out a year ago, the Cowboys (11-5, 1st in NFC East) are indeed back in the playoffs, having clinched their first division title in three years, though there is mounting pressure to deliver this franchise its sixth Lombardi trophy and first since 1995. Make no mistake, simply getting into the postseason isn’t good enough for Dallas, who are desperate to live up to their reputation as America’s Team, and one would figure that they have as good as shot as any side in the NFC to advance to Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles. With that said, where does (Head Coach) Mike McCarthy’s troops rank within a very top-heavy conference, you ask? Well, as it stands heading into Week Eighteen, the Cowboys know that they cannot ascend to the no. one seed, which means that home field advantage is out of the equation. Currently owning the fourth seed in the NFC, they could potentially rise as a high as no. two, but that would entail not only a win tonight in the City of Brotherly Love, but some help from other teams; Dallas trails both the Rams and Buccaneers by one game in the standings and would need one (or both) of those teams to lose tomorrow to have any shot of climbing into the second or third seed. Why is that significant, you ask? Well, if the playoffs were to begin this weekend, then they would be hosting the Arizona Cardinals on Wild Card Weekend, which following last Sunday’s 25-22 defeat isn’t a desirable matchup at all. It was yet another slow start for McCarthy’s charges, finding themselves in an early 13-7 hole at halftime before the visitors extended their lead heading into the fourth quarter. Ater punting on their first drive, the hosts would miss a 43-yard field goal on their next possession, followed by a disappointing three and out. (Pro-Bowl Quarterback) Dak Prescott (68.4%, 4,154 YDS, 6.71 NY/A, 32 TD, 10 INT, 50.1 QBR) would then lead them on a stellar 11-play, 77-yard drive culminating in a 21-yard touchdown strike to (young Receiver) Michael Gallup (35 REC, 445 YDS, 12.7 Y/R, 2 TD), only to follow that up with back-to-back three and outs. Meanwhile, Arizona scored on five of their first six possessions of the afternoon, forcing the home side to operate with a sense of urgency in the final stanza, with Prescott going thirty-one yards in eight plays with a short pass into the end zone to (young Wideout) Cedric Wilson (40 REC, 483 YDS, 12.1 Y/R, 4 TD) cutting the deficit to one possession. After forcing a second straight punt, the Cowboys were building momentum until fate revealed its hand, with Prescott fumbling away the football on a brief scramble up the middle of the field from his own 35-yard line, with the Cards pouncing on possession at the 44-yard marker Settling for a field goal to make the difference 25-14, the visiting side could do very little to slow Prescott & Co from marching seventy-five yards downfield in eight plays, as the Quarterback went 7-of-7 passing with a four-yard touchdown toss to (Pro-Bowl Receiver) Amari Cooper (63 REC, 786 YDS, 12.5 Y/R, 8 TD) immediately followed by a successful two-point conversion to Wilson cutting the deficit to three points. And then came the most significant play of the contest; with 2:51 left to play, (Cardinals Quarterback) Kyler Murray tossed a short screen pass to (Tailback) Chase Edmonds, with his target stripped of the football barreling to the sideline, though as Dallas appeared to have recovered possession, Edmonds was ruled down by the officiating crew and McCarthy was unable to challenge the play due to a lack of timeouts. Murray would then tuck the football and scamper nine yards on the ensuing play and allow Arizona to take a series of knees ultimately ending the affair altogether. At the end of the day, the Cowboys were outgained 399-301 and only managed to possess the football for a scant 25:18, while also being penalized ten times for a loss of eighty-eight yards in a matchup that snapped a four-game winning streak. Furthermore, they struggled mightily on third down (3-of-11), forcing them to go for it on fourth down on three occasions, thanks in large part to being unable to run the football with a season-low forty-five rushing yards on seventeen attempts. This contest served as reminder that while they are formidable, Dallas remains as flawed as any of the contenders within the NFC. Though he’s been stellar this season after missing all but five games in 2020 with a broken leg, Prescott has struggled early in games since returning from a calf muscle strain two months ago, which when coupled with (Offensive Coordinator) Kellen Moore’s knack for abandoning the run game has placed this unit in trouble on occasion. The Cowboys did not emerge from that fateful meeting with Arizona unscathed either, unfortunately losing the aforementioned Gallup for the rest of the campaign with a torn ACL. Another issue that has plagued this group has been penalties, for no team in the NFL has been flagged more frequently than Dallas, who has been hit for 122 penalties and a loss of 1,059 yards, with thirty-one of them resulting in a first down for the opposition. To put that into perspective, McCarthy’s team has averaged 7.6 penalties per game for a loss of 66.1 yards. Ironically, while they’ve routinely shot themselves in the foot with these mistakes, they’ve also made quite a living on exploiting those of their opponents, logging a league best THIRTY-THREE takeaways this season. (Defensive Coordinator) Dan Quinn has returned this unit to its familiar Seattle Cover-3 scheme, and the results have been outstanding, as his troops have forced multiple turnovers in all but four of their games thus far, including three or more on five occasions. (Sophomore Cornerback) Trevon Diggs (52 TKL, 11 INT, 21 PD, 2 PD) has been the posterchild for their playmaking ways, leading the NFL with ELEVEN interceptions, while (Rookie Linebacker) Micah Parsons (84 TKL, 20 TFL, 30 QBH, 13.0 SK, 3 FF, 3 PD) is the clear-cut frontrunner for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, with thirteen sacks, twenty tackles for loss, and thirty hits of the Quarterback despite being deployed largely out of position on the edge. Unfortunately, the Cowboys won’t have Parsons to count on tonight after the twelfth overall pick in last Spring’s Draft entered the league’s COVID protocols earlier this week. Tonight’s encounter with the Eagles is the second this season, with Dallas having hammered them on Monday Night Football back in late September, 41-21. The home side dominated time of possession (34:51) by rushing for 160 yards on forty-one attempts, with (Tailbacks) Ezekiel Elliott (219 CAR, 915 YDS, 4.2 Y/A, 10 TD) and Tony Pollard (130 CAR, 719 YDS, 5.5 Y/A, 2 TD) combining for all but five of said yardage, as the former led the way with ninety yards and two scores. Prescott was an efficient 21-of-26 passing for 238 yards and three touchdowns, while the defense picked off (Eagles Quarterback) Jalen Hurts (more on him shortly) twice, including a 59-yard interception return to the house courtesy of Diggs.
Meanwhile, after cratering to a 4-11-1 finish in 2020 there wasn’t much optimism for the Eagles (9-7, 2nd in NFC East) heading into 2021, and given how they started this campaign, their inclusion in the postseason is all the more remarkable. Indeed, (Head Coach) Nick Sirianni’s introductory press conference left many in the City of Brotherly Love scratching their collective heads, and after winning just two of their first seven games it appeared that the fan base was ready to run him out of town. However, following a 33-22 loss at the Raiders back in late October, Sirianni unloaded another peculiar press conference, in which he equated his charges as a flower that required plenty of patience, care, and attention to detail in order to promote growth. Well, it appears that the 40-year-old must have been onto something for Philadelphia has gained a head of steam in winning seven of their last nine outings, clinching a spot in the playoff field with a game to spare. So, what in the name of Ron Jaworski has happened, you ask? Well, instead of turning this offense into something it isn’t, Sirianni and his coaching staff have doubled down on what they do well, which is run the football down their opponents’ throats. It’s a wonder how many avenues open up when you run successfully (on both sides of the football for that matter), as these Eagles have been soaring of late. During this stretch, Philly is churning out a whopping 194.3 yards per game via the rush on 5.0 yards per carry, while dominating time of possession on the strength of attempting nearly FORTY carries per contest (39.2), which is unheard of in today’s pass-happy NFL. Even with (young Tailback) Miles Sanders (137 CAR, 754 YDS, 5.5 Y/A, 0 TD) sidelined with a broken hand, the catalyst in this regard has been (Sophomore Quarterback) Jalen Hurts (61.3%, 3,144 YDS, 6.54 NY/A, 16 TD, 7 INT, 48.7 QBR), who leads the team and all players at his position with 784 rushing yards and ten touchdowns, 423 of which coming over the last nine games along with five scores. It would have been easy for Sirianni to try to force Hurts into becoming a prototypical pocket passer, and in that case the Eagles almost certainly wouldn’t have come close to sniffing the postseason, instead simplifying the passing game by building off of his ability to extend plays with his legs, while incorporating play-action when possible. Just like the flowers he referenced in that aforementioned press conference, this approach has allowed the passing attack to grow organically, with his Quarterback developing a solid rapport with (Rookie Wideout) DeVonta Smith (61 REC, 875 YDS, 14.3 Y/R, 5 TD). With their success on the ground, Philadelphia has exceled on third down (44.8%) and in the red zone (62.1%), ranking fifth and seventh overall in those respective categories, frequently facing short down and distance. When we last saw them, they swept the season series with division rival, Washington, besting them for the second time in three weeks in a hard-fought 20-16 victory at FedEx Field last weekend. The visitors found themselves in an early hole as the hosts scored on each of their first four drives of the day, leading 16-7 at halftime. Fortunately, (Defensive Coordinator) Jonathan Gannon’s troops tightened up when Washington approached the end zone, relegating the Football Team to three consecutive field goals following an opening touchdown drive. However, the second half was all Philly, with the away side opening the third quarter with a 14-play, 75-yard drive taking nearly eight minutes off the clock, culminating in a one-yard jaunt into the end zone by (veteran Tailback) Boston Scott (87 CAR, 373 YDS, 4.3 Y/A, 7 TD). After punting on their next possession, the Eagles went right back to bleeding the clock with a 9-play, 33-yard drive followed by a 10-play, 28-yard series ending in a pair of field goals, shaving off another 9:18 between the third and fourth periods. Conversely, Washington could do nothing when they had the football, punting on their first two possessions of the second half, before turning it over on downs at midfield and being picked off in the end zone with thirty seconds left to play, effectively ending the affair altogether. In the end, the Eagles only had 330 total yards on eighteen first downs, while converting just 4-of-12 of their third downs. With that said, they found success on three of their four attempts on fourth down, while sticking with the ground game after a slow start, rushing for 118 yards and a pair of touchdowns on thirty-four carries. Hurts managed the game well in completing 17-of-26 passes for 214 yards, but made his biggest impact with his legs, rushing for forty-four yards on seven carries, including a key fourth and one to keep their penultimate possession alive, setting up (Kicker) Jake Elliott’s second field goal late in the final stanza. Scott led the team with forty-seven yards and both touchdowns along with four receptions for thirty-nine yards, while (veteran Tailback) Jordan Howard (86 CAR, 406 YDS, 4.7 Y/A, 3 TD) added another twenty-six yards on eleven attempts. Defensively, the Eagles pressured (Washington Quarterback) Taylor Heinicke ten times, hurrying him on half of those occasions and sacking him thrice, with (veteran Safety) Rodney McLeod (58 TKL, 2 INT, 4 PD) calling game on that interception. Though they won their fourth consecutive outing, which is coincidentally their longest winning streak since late 2019, it’s impossible to acknowledge that this stretch of success over the second half of the season hasn’t come against one of the weaker gauntlets in the league; over the past nine games, only one has come against an opponent with a winning record, with this group’s win percentage checking in at a listless .345, including sweeps over both Washington and the New York Giants along with comfortable wins over the Lions and Jets. In fact, Philadelphia is winless against teams over .500 this season (0-6), having been outscored by an average of 9.6 points with a minus-1 turnover differential. Of course, one of those defeats came at the hands of the Cowboys, who embarrassed them in a 41-21 drubbing at AT&T Stadium back in late September. This one was never close, folks, as the hosts raced out to a 20-7 lead at halftime, with the Eagles’ only score being a fumble recovery in the end zone courtesy of (Pro-Bowl Defensive Tackle) Fletcher Cox (35 TKL, 7 TFL, 12 QBH, 3.5 SK, 2 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD). After being intercepted on his third play of the night, Hurts could muster just four straight punts before being picked off once again on his third pass of the second half, with the aforementioned Diggs returning it for a score. With a pair of turnovers on downs, Sirianni’s charges posted arguably their ugliest offensive performance of the campaign, with four turnovers and 303 total yards, including a season-low sixty-four rushing yards on a scant twelve carries.