The Philadelphia Eagles are hosting the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
In order to preview this Week 17 NFC East battle, I reached out to our enemies over at Blogging The Boys. The dashing Dave Halprin kindly kindly took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming tilt. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers about the Eagles, stay tuned to BTB.]
1) The Cowboys are 4-1 over their last five games. What’s gone into the turnaround?
One of the biggest things is they have gotten healthier in some key spots. That has helped the defense in a big way as the return of Micah Parsons has really energized the pass rush, putting much more pressure on opposing offenses. Besides just better play overall on defense, it has led to turnovers which are fueling this offense that is hampered by a suspect offensive line and a backup quarterback. Besides Parsons, the defense got DaRon Bland back. There is also a long-held belief about Mike Zimmer defenses that says they will look lousy while learning his scheme, but once they get used to it they will be very effective. That seems to have held true here.
Cooper Rush has also taken a few games to get going but has looked more comfortable lately. He’s working behind a patchwork line, but one that has looked better than they should based on continuity and past performance of some of the players. They have helped create a viable run game with Rico Dowdle that has been able to sustain drives and help cover for Rush’s shortfalls. So put all those things together and you have a team that is much more capable than the one they rolled out earlier in the year. Plus, the schedule got easier.
2) How are Cowboys feeling about the recent success? Does it inspire more hope for next year? Or is it just a matter of too little, too late that results in a worse draft pick?
It is really hard to say, mainly because we are not sure about who will be here coaching the team in 2025. It has definitely helped in some aspects, like CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons stepping up more as team leaders with guys like DeMarcus Lawrence and Dak Prescott out with injury. Parsons and Lamb are the Cowboys future so seeing them step up more in a veteran leadership role should pay dividends down the line. We are also seeing the growth of some younger players who are gaining confidence with each win. There is definitely a sense that the roster was not as bad as it looked earlier in the year, and the recent wins have shown that to be true. But these types of things are so hard to defenine, especially as it relates to next year’s coach.
3) Should the Cowboys extend Mike McCarthy’s contract? Why/why not?
Personally I would not extend his contract. The Cowboys need to develop an offense that is more in line with today’s style of heavy motion pre-snap, the use of players in non-traditional ways, and better scheming to create separation for pass receivers. McCarthy seems to try some of this stuff in bits and spurts, but it is just not in his DNA. He is what he is. He’s done fantastic work lately by holding together a team that had so many issues, some self-inflicted and some just bad luck. He deserves credit for rallying this team to a 4-1 record over the last five games, but it would be in the Cowboys best interest to try something new.
Having said all that, there is a distinct chance that Jerry Jones does bring him back. Plenty of NFL insiders seem to think that he will be back. Hopefully we’ll know something pretty quickly after the season ends.
4) Outside of the obvious (no Dak Prescott), what are some of the Cowboys’ biggest weaknesses right now? What should the Eagles be looking to exploit?
Literally as I was writing these answers, we learned the Cowboys will be shutting down CeeDee Lamb with his nagging shoulder injury. So that opens up a big line of attack for the Eagles. Don’t let Rico Dowdle run wild and force Cooper Rush to throw to win the game. Brandin Cooks isn’t the type of receiver who will take over the game, and his only other help would be TE Jake Ferguson. The Eagles should stack the box, take away the run game and underneath throws and force Rush to go intermediate-to-deep to win the game. That’s not his strength. On offense, run the ball, as you guys already do. We have a pass rush once again, and DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis are pretty good corners, but our run defense is suspect. And that also limits Micah Parsons’ ability to really affect the game.
5) Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as 6.5-point home favorites, what’s your score prediction?
The Eagles should win as long as you can get some decent QB play if Jalen Hurts is out. Without CeeDee Lamb on offense, Dallas doesn’t have a true weapon on that side of the ball still playing who can take over a game. And our run defense versus your run game is a scary proposition. Eagles 27 – Cowboys 17.
