The Dallas Cowboys are headed into Monday Night Football of Week 3 against their biggest rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. This game contains hatred, tons of history, and, whether other teams and fans like it, a huge amount of TV ratings. The Cowboys and Eagles each need a win to get to 2-1 so I fully expect both teams to come out swinging.
In this new weekly outlook on each game, I want to provide a weekly combination of history, weather outlook, and game analysis as we head into the weekend. The first two sections will be some fun history on the teams along with what the weather is looking like.
The other two sections are more analytical as I dive into one “under the radar” player or scheme for each team and then cap it off with my gut prediction. Look forward to hearing your guys’ thoughts on this but let’s get into it!
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys History
All-Time Records: 70-54 (3-1 postseason), both in favor of the Dallas Cowboys
NFC East Division Titles: Cowboys 20, Eagles 11
Most Recent Result: Cowboys 37, Eagles 17 on December 27, 2020
The Cowboys come into this matchup holding nearly an entire season’s worth of wins over the Eagles. While that points to a pretty sizable margin, neither team has won more than four consecutive games since the 2003 season. The team’s trade blows in the matchup quite often.
While some fans, including myself, don’t believe the blue jerseys are cursed or bad luck, this matchup is where that stigma began. Back in the 1980 NFC Championship, the Eagles forced the Cowboys to wear their navy-blue jerseys on the road which ended in a 20-7 defeat. This loss is where that curse was born for those that believe in it.
More recently, the Cowboys and Eagles have both been on a bit of a rollercoaster. Both have seen success such as the Cowboys’ multiple playoff wins and the Eagles topping that with a Super Bowl win. But the success hasn’t been sustained for each team as neither of them has been able to repeat as a division champion since 2004, 16 seasons ago.
It appears there is a high likelihood that the division winner comes from one of these two teams and this week is a gigantic early season matchup. In a division where wins against divisional opponents often are the deciding factor, the Cowboys and Eagles know an early victory sets up for a season of forcing the other to play catchup.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys Weather Outlook
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Stadium Type: Retractable dome
Predicted Forecast: High of 89, low of 68, partly sunny, winds of 8-9mph with gusts up to 15-16mph
Luckily, for the Cowboys’ offense, this week’s weather really won’t have too much of an impact on their ability to throw the ball and hopefully get things going. The only thing that could have any sort of effect on this game would be if the roof is open at AT&T stadium. The little wind gusts could come into play within the kicking game if they choose to keep the roof open.
Alternatively, playing on a fast field like Dallas’ is one that the Eagles have to look forward to. Their first-round draft pick, wide receiver Devonta Smith, is a burner and I am sure the Eagles will have some explosive plays drawn up for him to get open deep. The NFL wants offensive firepower and points scored and that is exactly what I expect in AT&T stadium with pristine conditions for these two offenses to go to work.
This section will have much more effect on games as the season goes on and the Cowboys hit the road, but if we can worry about one less external factor, I think that is a win in our book. I fully expect the forecasts between Washington, New York, and Philadelphia to give us some questionable rain and snow as we hit the final stretch later this year.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys “Under the Radar” Players
Dallas Cowboys: Dalton Schultz, TE
Philadelphia Eagles: Dallas Goedert, TE
On most other teams, I think Dalton Schultz is a second or third target for a quarterback. On Dallas, he is a bit deeper down the line. The tight end has reliable hands, seems to understand where the first down sticks are, and has proven a great outlet valve for quarterback Dak Prescott to get the ball to.
The Eagles will be keying on receivers Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb this week, as any team should. I think that opens up the seam for Schultz in a big way. The Eagles’ secondary is a little suspect at the strong safety spot. Veteran, Rodney McLeod was inactive last week rehabbing a torn ACL and comes into this week questionable. McLeod’s backup, Marcus Epps, is going through concussion protocol after exiting Week 1 early.
If the Eagles are forced to start their third-string safety, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has a sizable mismatch with his athletic tight end, Dalton Schultz in between the hashes. Heck, I am even going to say Schultz finds the end zone for us this week.
Isn’t it a bit ironic that the Eagles chose a player named Dallas? Anyways, I think this is an area the Eagles could hurt the Cowboys. Dallas Goedert is a large man coming in at 6’5″ and weighing 256 pounds. He also split time with Zach Ertz.
Eagles fans have been critical of the lack of tight end involvement and I think that noise gets to first-year head coach Nick Sirianni resulting in some plays designed for the tight ends. Is it just my bad memories of previous NFC East tight ends eating up the Cowboys that lead me to this pick?
It could be the ghosts of Jeremy Shockey, Brent Celek, Chris Cooley, Jordan Reed, and many others that have caused me pain. But I think quarterback Jalen Hurts looks to Goedert early and often. The Cowboys will need a secondary performance like last week to thwart any success.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys Gut Prediction
Prediction: Cowboys 31, Eagles 20
Simply put, I don’t see a way that a banged-up Eagles’ secondary slows down Dak Prescott & Co. The offensive mismatch is just too big and one the Cowboys should be able to expose early and often. I expect offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to have some unique stuff up his sleeve as the Cowboys take the field in their home opener.
Running backs, Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott, each had a great outing last week. Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, tore his Achilles last week and is done for the year. This is a big loss against a Cowboys team that has a proven aerial attack and found some rhythm on the ground last week.
Defensively, the Cowboys are figuring out a way to get it done. I think turnovers are the perfect definition of “creating your own luck” and that is what this team is doing. The secondary is playing opportunistic and there is something to be said about a confident group.
The defense bends most of the game with one or two breaks, but I think they hang in there and do enough the keep things manageable for the Cowboys’ offense to win this game with a solid output.
The Cowboys and Eagles are always a game to tune into and I expect this one to be no different. Things may stay close for a little while, but I think we are leaving Monday night 2-1 and, at worst, a share of the NFC East title with a huge early-season victory.