Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys: Complete Week 13 Preview for Dallas
The Dallas Cowboys will face off against their division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. Both teams come into the game with identical 8-3 records, and this game will go a long way in deciding who will win the NFC East.
The Cowboys are coming off a hard-fought 31-28 win over the New York Giants. The Cowboys needed a touchdown with 1:01 left in the fourth quarter to beat their division rival.
The Eagles had a much easier time as they beat the Tennessee Titans 43-24. The Eagles proved to be too talented for the Titans as they overwhelmed them throughout the game.
This will be the first of two games between the two teams in a span of 17 days, which will likely determine who will take the division crown.
The Cowboys' offensive line may have its toughest matchup of the season against the plethora of pass-rushers on the Eagles. This game will come down to how well the Cowboys keep Tony Romo on his feet.
Read on for some news and notes, injury information and players to watch on Thursday.
Cowboys' Week 12 Recap
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The Dallas Cowboys (8-3) came out of New York with a 31-28 win against the New York Giants (3-8). The Cowboys needed this win as they have an extremely tough schedule this week as they travel back home for a game on Thursday.
Romo put together another fantastic game as he led the Cowboys to a game-winning score with just one minute, one second left in the fourth quarter. Romo will be the reason why the Cowboys make or miss the playoffs.
DeMarco Murray had a productive game as he had to fight hard for every yard he got. It wasn't flashy, but Murray got the job done.
Odell Beckham Jr. dominated the defense in the first half, but it did a much better job keeping him in check. Orlando Scandrick had his worst game of the season as he struggled to cover Beckham throughout the game.
Jeremy Mincey was the only player who could get constant pressure on the defensive line, which has proved to be one of the biggest weaknesses on the team. The Cowboys need to get much more pressure on opposing quarterbacks down the stretch.
Rolando McClain put together one of the best performances from any inside linebacker this season. He did a great job of filling against the run throughout the entire game.
Dwayne Harris finally made an impact in the return game. He consistently got the Cowboys in good field position, something he has yet to do this season.
The Cowboys will now look forward to Thanksgiving Day, when they face the Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) on a short week.
News and Notes
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Eagles Talk Smack
Eagles defensive lineman Bennie Logan may be the only person in the NFL who doesn't think the Cowboys' offensive line is that great. He said, "They’re OK," per Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com. "Yeah, they’re OK. I don’t really know what’s great about them," according to Frank, (via ESPNDallas.com's Calvin Watkins).
When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter if Logan is impressed or not; he will still have to face off against the Cowboys" offensive line on every snap he is in the game on Thursday. The Cowboys' offensive line has been dominant at times, and Logan will line up for a large portion of the snap against the Cowboys' best offensive linemen, Zack Martin.
Logan may be singing a different tune after he has to deal with the likes of Martin for 50 snaps Thursday.
Tony Romo Practices
Thus far this season, it has become sort of a tradition that Romo misses his customary Wednesday practice. However, that won't happen with the short week this time around, per ESPNDallas.com's Todd Archer.
While Romo still won't be taking a lot of physical reps, he will be stressing the mental side of the game, as a full week of planning is crammed into four days. Some may worry that Romo may not have enough time to recover from the Sunday game; however, he didn't take many hits against the New York Giants, so this was as good of a week as any to take a short week.
Jason Garrett Talks Tyron Smith
Tyron Smith had been the best offensive lineman for the Cowboys the last couple of years. However, this year his performance has dipped a tad, as Martin has been the best offensive lineman for Dallas this year.
In regard to Smith's performance, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said, per ESPNDallas.com's Jean-Jacques Taylor:
"Tyron has played well. He's gone against some really good rushers like he always does and done an excellent job neutralizing them. He's improved as a run-blocker and a leader. His play is consistent, but having said that, he can always play better. He's still a young player and technically he's still improving.
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Even though Smith hasn't been as good as he was last year, he has still been in the upper echelon of offensive tackles this year in the NFL. Smith's problems have mostly been due to inconsistencies in his footwork and balance, but the Cowboys still have much bigger worries than Smith on their team.
Injury Report
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| Josh Brent (groin) | DT | Probable |
| Tony Romo (back) | QB | Probable |
| Tyrone Crawford (knee) | DT | Questionable |
| Tyler Patmon (knee/ankle) | CB | Doubtful |
| Doug Free (foot) | OT | Probable |
| Nick Hayden (shoulder) | DT | Probable |
| Rolando McClain (knee) | LB | Probable |
| Jack Crawford (thumb) | DE | Doubtful |
| Jeff Heath (thumb) | SS | Questionable |
| Dekoda Watson (hamstring) | LB | Questionable |
| Terrance Williams (finger) | WR | Questionable |
The Cowboys are one of the luckier teams in the NFL as none of their core contributors have injuries that will cause them to miss time. Jeff Heath could be a significant loss because of his impact on special teams and sub-packages on defense. However, none of the other injuries look to be too worrisome at the moment.
All injury information comes from the Cowboys' official team website.
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X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
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Cowboys Offensive Line vs. Eagles Front Seven
The biggest matchup in this game is not an individual matchup but a collection of matchups in a particular facet of the game. The biggest deciding factor in this game will be how the Cowboys' offensive line does against the vaunted Eagles pass rush.
The Eagles are second in the NFL in sacks, and the Cowboys have done a great job of protecting their quarterbacks so far this season. The Eagles have players such as Fletcher Cox, Trent Cole, Brandon Graham and Connor Barwin, who can all put significant pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
The Cowboys' offensive line will have to deal with the wide variety of looks and blitzes that the Eagles send at opposing offenses. The offensive line will have to be in sync and play fundamentally sound for it to have success against the numerous pass-rushers the Eagles will throw at them.
Overall, expect the Cowboys to do a great job containing the Eagles' pass rush as they play as group with sound fundamentals.
Rolando McClain vs. LeSean McCoy
LeSean McCoy is one of the shiftiest backs in the NFL as he frequently makes opposing defenders whiff in their attempts to tackle him. The man who will be primarily tasked with tackling the slippery McCoy is Cowboys "Mike" linebacker Rolando McClain.
McCoy has had a down year this year, but he is still very hard to bring down, and he can be extremely dynamic, especially in the open field. McClain has been one of the surest tacklers in the league as he showcased against the New York Giants.
McClain has great instincts, and he closes extremely fast on ball-carriers. If McClain doesn't have to fight through many blocks, he should be able to contain McCoy throughout the day.
X-Factor of the Week: Rich Bisaccia
The Philadelphia Eagles have the best special teams unit in the league. The man responsible for scheming against them is the Cowboys special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia.
The Eagles lead the NFL in punt- and kickoff-return touchdowns, and the Cowboys can afford to let them add to either of those totals.
The Cowboys have to at least draw even in the special teams aspect of the game because these two teams are too closely matched for the Cowboys to give up anything in special teams.
It will be up to Bisaccia to devise a plan to utilize his player's strengths in the right way so that they can stop the Eagles' talented special teams.
Prediction
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On paper, these two teams are very evenly matched. The Cowboys have the better defense, while the Eagles have the better special teams and pass rush. It will come down to which team has dealt with the shortened week better.
Since the Cowboys are the home team, it would seem plausible that it would be an easier transition for them. However, they had the tough task of playing a night game in New York and then having to fly all the way back home that same morning.
If the Cowboys can nullify the Eagles' pass rush, then they should be able to put up enough points to win this game. Mark Sanchez is the type of quarterback who will give defenses three or four opportunities to force turnovers. It will be up to the Cowboys to take advantage of those chances when they come.
On offense, Tony Romo is playing at an extremely high level, and DeMarco Murray has been the most productive running back in the NFL. Nothing on the Eagles defense suggests that it will be able to stop Murray or Romo.
Overall, the Cowboys should be able to impose their will and control the clock on offense enough to lead their team to victory.
Prediction: Cowboys 27, Eagles 24
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