The Dallas Cowboys visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, and I’ve got a few final thoughts before kickoff. The biggest one is simple: This is the most important game of Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer’s career.

1. Schottenheimer can’t let this one slip

The NFC East is still weak. But it suddenly has a clear-cut front-runner, and that would be the 4-2-1 New York Giants.

The Giants just pulled off a double-digit upset of the Houston Texans as underdogs of more than 10 points. They also looked good doing it. Meanwhile, the Cowboys sit at 2-4, and I’m not sure they’ve played a single complementary game like that one all season.

That’s why this matchup matters so much. Dallas gets a banged-up Philadelphia squad without its starting quarterback, because Jalen Hurts is on injured reserve. The Eagles are also down two starting wide receivers in DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, and they’re working with a reshuffled offensive line. Even when Philly was healthy, it wasn’t moving the ball efficiently.

So there’s no excuse on the Dallas side of things. Good coaching staffs take advantage of banged-up teams like this one.

Does Schottenheimer have answers against the blitz this time? Can he get the run game going? And does the defense show up ready to face a backup quarterback? The Cowboys didn’t handle that well in Week 5 against undrafted rookie QB Jalon Daniels and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Doing it against a division rival on the road is a fair question.

2. Can Dallas finally run the football?

Schottenheimer has blamed the scoreboard for the Cowboys’ struggles on the ground. He believes falling behind has kept them from running the ball consistently, and that they need more attempts to find a rhythm.

I expect the run game to be a point of emphasis on Monday. With all of Philadelphia’s injuries, this should be a closer game, which means Schottenheimer gets the chance to prove his point.

I’m not so sure he will, though. If you ask me, Dallas’ rushing problems go beyond the scoreboard.

For starters, the Cowboys look more predictable running out of 11 personnel (three wide receivers on the field) than they did last season. Additionally, the split between their shotgun and under-center production is glaring. Dallas ranks 19th in EPA per play when running out of the shotgun, but jumps to fifth in rushing EPA per play from under center.

That matters. The Cowboys have struggled against the blitz in the last couple of weeks, and a functional ground game is one of the best ways to counter it.

3. The secondary has no excuse

I can’t believe I’m saying this about this Cowboys defense, but Monday should be a dominant game against the pass.

Eagles QB Tanner McKee struggled for most of last week’s game against the Carolina Panthers. Now he’s without two of his starting wide receivers. This should be the game where the Cowboys secondary finally shows up.

CB Joey Porter Jr. has played lights out in his first couple of games in Dallas, and he was a shutdown corner against the Green Bay Packers’ explosive offense last week. Now the Cowboys get Cobie Durant back at cornerback, making this the healthiest the secondary has been since Week 1.

That also frees up Caleb Downs to move around. Maybe Dallas uses him as a big nickel or lines him up over a tight end. We’ll find out Monday night.

On paper, the Cowboys shouldn’t give McKee easy access to his receivers. They should simply be better than the players across from them. If they’re not, and there’s a good chance they’re not based on what we’ve seen this season, I’d seriously worry about a coaching staff that isn’t putting its defensive players in a position to win.

Score prediction: Cowboys 26, Eagles 20

I’ve got the Cowboys winning this one. It won’t look pretty, because nothing has looked pretty for Dallas this season.

The Cowboys have to beat a severely injured Eagles team. And the fact that nobody feels overly confident they will say plenty about their troubles.

I’m going with a lower-scoring game because the Eagles defense still has plenty of talent. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio knows QB Dak Prescott well. I fully expect Fangio to borrow from what other opponents have done to slow the Cowboys offense in recent weeks, mostly by sending aggressive blitzes. I expect that to work, too, because we haven’t seen Dallas adjust in a good while.

Give me the Cowboys, 26-20. A win is a win in the NFL. And they need it, pretty or not.