Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles: Know Thy Enemy

What We’ve Seen from Eagles and Possible Offensive Game Plan Against Cowboys

Points Per Game: 29.4

Passing Yards Per Game: 250.4

Rushing Yards Per Game: 158.6

Total Yards Per Game: 409.0

Third Down Conversion Percentage: 47.3%

Red Zone Conversion Percentage: 73.5%

Eagles Offensive Strategy vs Cowboys

The last time the Cowboys and Eagles faced off, Dallas had Cooper Rush under center, who did an admirable job keeping his team in the game. However, he ultimately handicapped the Cowboys’ offense with his lack of mobility and inaccurate throws, which led to three interceptions in Week 6.

This time around, the Eagles will be facing off with Dak Prescott under center, which means they will keep their foot on the gas pedal in order to jump out to an early lead.

You can expect the Eagles to continue with the quick-hitting passes, on which Hurts was averaging 3.1 yards through the air, no matter who’s under center. They’ll repeat their strategy from Week 6 to scheme A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith open in space and get yards after the catch, while also negating the Cowboys’ pass rush that got to Hurts four times.

That, along with the rushing attack led by Miles Sanders, means the Cowboys’ defense is going to have to play ten times better than they showed last week in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, where they surrendered 311 yards through the air and 192 yards on the ground.

If they can stymie the Eagles’ running game early, they will force Philly to have their quarterback drop back, giving Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence more time to get to whichever QB is under center.

Cowboys Defensive Strategy vs Eagles

It’s amazing how much injuries can hamper a defense, and the Cowboys are experiencing that right now with the injuries to Leighton Vander Esch and Johnathan Hankins, as well as the season-ending injury to Anthony Brown.

Last week against the Jaguars, the Cowboys weren’t able to slow the running game, with Vander Esch leaving the game with a neck injury and Hankins missing in the middle of that defensive line. They also had to deal with the Jaguars targeting second-year cornerback Kelvin Joseph, who started in place of Brown.

If the Cowboys want to right the ship, then it’s going to have to start with slowing the Eagles’ running game. Quinton Bohanna needs help, and the Cowboys need to see what newly-signed 350-pound defensive tackle Anthony Rush can give them in that department.

Do that, and also think about putting Micah Parsons and Sam Williams on the same side of the field to rush the passer and let them use their athletic ability and speed to force the offensive linemen to make quick decisions on who to take. That split-second decision should give the Cowboys the ability to get back to racking up sacks.