The Athletic has live coverage of Cowboys vs Eagles on Sunday Night Football
You know the saying.
You can throw out the records when rivals meet on the football field.
OK, but when one game separates those rivals in the standings, there’s no sense in doing that. The records in this NFC East rivalry make the rematch that much better.
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The Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) lead the Dallas Cowboys (9-3) in the NFC East standings. The Eagles beat the Cowboys in Week 9 in Philadelphia. The rematch is Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET) at AT&T Stadium. Dallas expects to have coach Mike McCarthy on the sidelines. He was diagnosed with acute appendicitis this week and had surgery Wednesday.
We spoke with The Athletic’s Cowboys beat writers Jon Machota and Saad Yousuf about the game. Here’s what they said:
1. Let’s start with a hard-hitting one. The Cowboys win the coin flip Sunday night. If you’re Mike McCarthy, what do you do?
Machota: I’m deferring to the second half. Let your defense get out there first with what should be a rowdy AT&T Stadium crowd. The Cowboys have had the ball to start the game in five of their six home games. They scored touchdowns twice (against the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams). They kicked field goals twice (against the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks). They managed a 10-play, 74-yard drive against the New York Giants, but came up short on fourth-and-2 from the Giants’ 2-yard line. The Washington Commanders are the only visiting team to have the ball first at AT&T Stadium this season. They got one first down and punted.
Yousuf: I would take the ball to start the game. The Cowboys’ offense has been sizzling and is coming off a game in which it didn’t even send the punter on the field. Defense is the Eagles’ weakness. They rank 30th in defensive EPA, according to TrueMedia. A big story this week for the Cowboys has been the absence of head coach and offensive play caller Mike McCarthy, who is expected to be calling the shots Sunday. With the score 0-0, the Cowboys can stick firmly to their script and dictate the game. With the home crowd behind them, they should be able to get them involved with a few big plays and get the Eagles on their heels by chasing a deficit from the outset.
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2. When the Eagles beat the Cowboys in Week 9, Dallas had more yards (406-292). What can they do better this time?
Machota: They have to capitalize if the Eagles put the ball on the ground. Philadelphia recovered all three of its fumbles the last time they played. Dallas must win the turnover battle. Another potential concern are penalties. Each team finished with 10 penalties in their last matchup, but that’s an area that has been an issue for the Cowboys for multiple seasons. And Dallas needs to run the ball better. Tony Pollard and company managed only 73 yards on 21 carries at Philadelphia. It was the second-fewest rushing yards for the Cowboys this season, trailing only the 57 they finished with at San Francisco.
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Yousuf: They have to be better in the game of inches — literally and figuratively. In the first game against the Eagles, Luke Schoonmaker was short of the end zone on fourth-and-goal and Dak Prescott stepped out of bounds on a two-point conversion attempt. The margins for error are really thin against the Eagles, and the Cowboys have to make sure they make the plays that are there to be made. This also means not committing boneheaded penalties, specifically pre-snap and after-the-whistle infractions. The Cowboys have lined up offside an embarrassing amount of times this season and that should be unacceptable in early December. Finally, McCarthy needs to make sure he continues his aggressiveness but is also prudent, controlling the game, tempo and clock to the best of his ability. All of these little things add up.
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3. What can the Cowboys learn from the 49ers’ win against the Eagles last week?
Machota: I’m not sure they learned anything just because of how well they know the Eagles, but to beat the 49ers you have to be physical. If Dallas is the more physical team Sunday night, that should improve its chances of handing the Eagles their third loss of the season. And against either Philadelphia or San Francisco, the Cowboys can’t afford to settle for field goals in the red zone. The Eagles put together consecutive long drives to start their game last week but settled for field goals both times, building only a 6-0 lead that the 49ers quickly erased on their third possession.
Yousuf: The biggest theme that the Cowboys can replicate is the need to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. Aside from that, the Cowboys and 49ers are both talented teams but built differently in many ways. Deebo Samuel and CeeDee Lamb are talented receivers but are used in different manners. Prescott and Brock Purdy are both MVP candidates but have different styles and requirements of them in the offense. The Cowboys don’t have anybody who can replicate Christian McCaffrey. The Cowboys can take some general themes from the game, but they need to stick to their game plan and beat the Eagles in their style, which they nearly did on the road a month ago.
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4. What do you expect the atmosphere to be like inside AT&T Stadium?
Machota: I expect it to be the best home atmosphere of the season. AT&T Stadium is not one of the loudest venues in the NFL, but the fans have provided a quality presence throughout this season. Players and coaches have praised the fans’ efforts throughout what has become an NFL-best 14-game home winning streak. Any night game with a chance for the Cowboys to climb back atop the division standings should provide a great environment. But throw the Eagles into the mix, clearly Dallas’ biggest rival, it will take things to another level. Outside of hosting a playoff game, this should be the loudest crowd of the season.
Yousuf: I expect it to be rocking. There’s not a whole lot of fan split for the Cowboys in their stadium anyway but even less so with the Eagles being the opponent. I think it helps that this game is coming at this point in the season because fans know exactly what’s at stake, but they also know the teams that are playing in front of them. They know the Cowboys are a legitimate contender this year and they know that beating the Eagles would mean that the Cowboys just beat a top-tier opponent. That should crank the energy up an extra notch, even beyond what comes with this rivalry on “Sunday Night Football.”
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5. Prediction?
Machota: Cowboys 28, Eagles 23. That’s just a flipped-around score from the game in Philadelphia last month. Since the schedule came out, I thought Dallas would lose at Philadelphia but then win at AT&T Stadium. And that was well before I knew Prescott was going to enter this game playing the best football of his career. This is a must-win for the Cowboys if they expect to have any shot at winning the NFC East. They won’t disappoint.
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Yousuf: I expect this to be a close, high-scoring affair. The Cowboys’ offense is no fluke and the Eagles’ defense is not very good. On the flip side, the Cowboys’ defense is good but prone to self-inflicted mistakes, which is hard to consistently overcome against a team that only has to go eight or nine yards for a first down, given its inevitable short-yardage play. Still, the Cowboys sneak it out on a Brandon Aubrey game winner 34-31.
(Photo of CeeDee Lamb: Andrew Dieb / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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