The Eagles will travel to Dallas this weekend to face the Cowboys in their penultimate game of the season. It’s all-or-nothing for the Philadelphia outfit, who know that anything less than a win will see their playoff hopes evaporate inside the stadium of their most hated rival. With that in mind, here are five bold predictions ahead of the grudge match.
Take off your pants and Jacquet
Michael Jacquet may not have been perfect in his first NFL start, but there were plenty of positives to take. Whether it was his impressive forced fumble on a blitz, passes defensed against DeAndre Hopkins, or 7 tackles, there was a lot to like.
With Darius Slay back in the lineup, there’s a good chance that Jacquet will get to another heavy dose of snaps against a very dangerous Dallas receiving corps. He’ll likely be posted up on rookie CeeDee Lamb now that Michael Gallup has been green-flagged to return. Lamb posted 85 yards in week 15, but with the Eagles in absolute desperation mode, I feel like Jacquet would be able to him to less than his highest receiving total since week 5.
My first bold prediction is that Jacquet keeps Lamb to less than 60 yards and a touchdown. Building on the experience from last week will do wonders for his confidence, as will running alongside Darius Slay.
Run Eagles, Run!
The Eagles’ rushing offense has flipped on its head in recent weeks. Overall, they are averaging 120 yards per game on the ground, but over the last three, they’re averaging 160 – good enough for 4th best in the NFL.
A lot of this can obviously be attributed to the breakout of Jalen Hurts, but having an explosive home-run hitter in Miles Sanders, who is finally being utilized properly, really doesn’t hurt.
If there’s one thing the Eagles need to do in order to beat the Cowboys, it’s absolutely bully them up the middle. They rank 32nd in yards allowed, 31st in yards per attempt, 25th in rushing touchdowns allowed, and 32nd in rushing attempts against. In fact, they’ve given up 100+ yards on the ground in 12 of 14 games this season.
After combining for 117 yards last week against the Cardinals, I’m predicting the Eagles will at least double that total – ending this Sunday’s matchup with 234+ yards and at least 2 rushing touchdowns.
Stopping Tony Pollard
Tony Pollard has done a nice job filling in for Zeke Elliott in recent weeks, but his 69 rushing yards and 63 receiving yards against the Niners, in their 41-33 win, were a warning sign for the Eagles. Pollard can be lethal out of the backfield as a passing-option and that’s going to put some strain on the Eagles linebackers.
The good news is, Alex Singleton exists. The former CFL star has 11 tackles in each of his last 3 games. A stout run-defender, the chances of Pollard being able to find success by running up the gut will be minimal.
I’m predicting Singleton to punch in 2 TFL, 1 QB hit, and 8 tackles in what promises to be his 4th strong game in a row!
Eagles flip the tables
If we rewind back to the last time these teams met, it was an absolute trainwreck. Ben DiNucci was the starting QB for the Cowboys, while Wentz threw for a poultry 123 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. It’s time to flip the script.
Darius Slay is back in action and after holding Amari Cooper to just one catch for five yards in their first meeting and playing similarly well against him as a member of the Detroit Lions, it should be enough for Andy Dalton to look elsewhere.
Dalton threw two touchdowns along with 209 yards last week, and hasn’t thrown a pick in the Cowboys’ last two games, which have both been wins. He’s looked much better since returning from injury, but he now faces a potent Eagles pass-rush that made life horrible for DiNucci, and just about every other QB the group has faced this season, with the team averaging 3.1 sacks per game.
If the Eagles can pressure Dalton early and often, and the run is taken away, then I’m predicting Dalton to throw for under 250 yards and turn the ball over at least once.
The Hurts express
Jalen Hurts has been nothing short of excellent since being given the starting role in Philadelphia, and a putrid Dallas defense shouldn’t stop that momentum from rolling. Hurts has 198 rushing yards in 2.5 games and there’s a strong chance that the Cowboys experience an absolute barrage on the ground, with the Eagles showing an intent to run a heavy amount of play-action and build their passing game off of the run. They spent the majority of time in 12 personnel last week and I can’t see that changing tomorrow.
I’m predicting Hurts to rush for at least 100 yards and add another rushing touchdown to his resume, while the Eagles (literally) build their gameplan from the ground up.
What are your predictions? Let us know in the comments!
Photo by Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire
