3 distinct advantages the Cowboys have over the Eagles in 2022

As much as it pains us to say it, winning the NFC East won’t be a cakewalk for the Dallas Cowboys like it was last year. The biggest reason for that is because Philadelphia Eagles GM Howie Roseman had arguably one of the best offseasons of any team in the NFL. The Cowboys’ bitter rivals sadly had some excellent draft picks, trades, and got a lot of free agent talent that will really revamp their roster for 2022.

In order for Dallas to be the first team to win the division back-to-back since the Eagles did so in 2003 and 2004, they need to outplay Philadelphia. While Philly does have some new weapons, the Cowboys still have advantages over this team that should help them succeed in 2022.

Let’s take a look at some roster benefits the Cowboys have over the Eagles.

3 distinct advantages the Dallas Cowboys have over the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022

1. Quarterback

This advantage rings true for every single NFC East rival this year. Quarterbacks are the key to NFL teams. There’s just no way around it. While Jalen Hurts has shown flashes of potential, he has not been what the Eagles wanted him to be. The reality is that you want Dak Prescott on your team way more than Hurts.

Even though Hurts is labeled as a dual-threat quarterback, his throwing accuracy was subpar last year and his inconsistencies were clear in the team’s embarrassing loss to Tampa Bay in the playoffs. In that game alone he had more interceptions than touchdowns and completed less than 50% of his passes.

Plus, there have been some rumors that he is struggling in offseason programming which is not a good sign for Philly.

Even though the Eagles made some excellent additions to their roster, it’s likely this team can only go far if Hurts performs. A.J. Brown can only do so much with a quarterback who can’t get him the ball. Plus, Hurts’ mobile ways make him more prone to injury.

The question marks in the air surrounding how good or bad Hurts will be in 2022 is a massive advantage for Dallas.

2. Coordinator Mismatch

Kellen Moore may not have had the best year in 2021, but the Cowboys have two amazing coordinators on this coaching staff. That was clearly proven by the fact that both Moore and Dan Quinn got numerous interviews for the nine vacant head coaching positions this offseason. Both are great at what they do.

While Nick Sirianni is a decent head coach, I don’t know that his coordinators can out plan the Cowboys coordinators.

Quinn can likely come up with some kind of scheme or plan for any possible thing that Eagles OC Shane Steichen tries to do. Also, keep in mind that Steichen has a quarterback on his side who isn’t the best or most accurate passer. In June, Steichen revealed that he will be the one calling plays for the Philly offense in 2022, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is seriously benefitting from Roseman’s offseason haul. He now has Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Haason Reddick, James Bradberry, and Kyzir White at his disposal.

However, under his guidance last year, the Eagles allowed an incredibly high completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks, and the DC didn’t seem to have a plan for the more elite passers in the NFL. Players like Fletcher Cox even called him out for his lack of aggressive play calls.

No matter how good of a roster you have, a team must have a proper game plan in place in order to win games. Moore and Quinn do that better than Steichen and Gannon.

3. Depth at Cornerback

While Darius Slay and James Bradberry will certainly help the Eagles defend the Cowboys’ air game, they are only two people. In theory, the Cowboys will have three strong wide receivers to send out against Philly.

If CeeDee Lamb plays in the slot, which he’s expected to for at least some snaps, Avonte Maddox will likely have a hard time containing him. The Eagles cornerback is decent but has limited experience and hasn’t thrived in any of his four years in the league. Maddox may have his moments, but it’s unlikely he will be able to shut down Lamb for a full four quarters.

Maddox is also only 5-9 and 184 pounds. Lamb is 6-2. The size mismatch alone will cause problems for the cornerback. The problem is that if Maddox can’t get it done, the depth behind him isn’t very helpful. Zech McPhearson started one game in 2021 and Josiah Scott hasn’t started a single game in two years.

The hope is that the Cowboys have figured out their wide receiver trio well before Week 6 when they play the Eagles for the first time. Plus, the hope is that Michael Gallup will be healthy and back in the lineup by then as well.