Cowboys: The monumental reason why a win isn't guaranteed vs. Eagles
The Dallas Cowboys won't be facing QB Jalen Hurts on Saturday and the game doesn't matter nearly as much now for any of the two teams involved following the Cowboys' recent loss to the Jaguars. But don't be fooled by the quarterback news out of Philadelphia. Even though they'll be facing a backup quarterback, this […]
The Dallas Cowboys won't be facing QB Jalen Hurts on Saturday and the game doesn't matter nearly as much now for any of the two teams involved following the Cowboys' recent loss to the Jaguars.
But don't be fooled by the quarterback news out of Philadelphia. Even though they'll be facing a backup quarterback, this game is far from a guaranteed win for the Cowboys.
The reason why is pretty simple.
The Cowboys defense is struggling. That's not because they've faced top-tier offenses or have been caught in a few bad matchups lately. If that was the case, you could chalk it off as a bad week or two and expect them to bounce back strongly next game.
But the issue is that some of the injuries they're dealing with will be very tough. Kelvin Joseph has proven to be an issue at outside cornerback and there's serious concern Dallas doesn't have someone to make up for Anthony Brown's absence.
In the second level of the defense, Leighton Vander Esch was clearly missed versus the Jaguars after he was ruled out of the game. The Jaguars started attacking the Cowboys defense with plenty of eye candy, motions, fakes, and underneath passes once the starting middle linebacker was off the field.
Just consider the numbers below noted by The Athletic's Nate Tice. The Cowboys literally become one of the worst defensive teams in the league without LVE.
Add to that uncertainty surrounding an injury report featuring Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, and Dorance Armstrong as questionable.
The Eagles can run the heck out of the football, in large part because they have the best offensive line in the entire league right now. Miles Sanders ranks 1st in running back efficiency as measured by Football Outsiders' DYAR metric.
Now, granted, Sanders is helped out by the fact that Hurts is a rushing threat and the Eagles are always playing a plus-one game with a dual-threat quarterback. But that group of five upfront will challenge a Cowboys' banged-up front seven.
Since Week 10, the Cowboys have gone from #1 defense in DVOA to #13. That's not the end of the world, certainly, but this is clearly not the same unit as it was at the beginning of the season.
Whether or not it matters for playoff seeding anymore is irrelevant. The Cowboys must win this game as they've got three more regular season weeks to show what they're really about.
But it won't be easy even with Hurts ruled out. The Cowboys better bring their A-game, especially on offense as the defense will likely need some help.
For more on this, check out my nightly show over at A to Z Sports Dallas!
Featured image via Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
