The Philadelphia Eagles can deal knockout blow to the Dallas Cowboys
By Jon Dove
The Philadelphia Eagles have a chance to deliver a major blow to the Dallas Cowboys playoff hopes this week.
Tonight’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys has a lot of playoff implications. A loss by the Cowboys would put them at risk for falling completely out of the race. It would also pretty much give the Eagles the NFC East title.
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As it stands the Eagles have a three game lead in the division with only seven games remaining. The way they’ve been playing makes it hard to see them going on a long losing streak.
Dallas currently sits a game behind the Seattle Seahawks for the final Wildcard spot. Based on the standings the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons all have a slight edge on Dallas in the Wildcard race.
Another loss would dig a deeper hole for the Cowboys. That hole is harder to climb out of without Ezekiel Elliott in the lineup. His absence is a major problem for a team that has leaned on him all year.
Their matchup against the Eagles doesn’t look pretty with Elliott out of the lineup, but looks worse with Tyron Smith also expected to miss the game. Dallas offensive line is going to have a tough time keeping the Eagles pass rush in check.
Byron Bell is replacing Chaz Green at left tackle which doesn’t really move the needle much. The Cowboys are going to have to find a way to provide Dak Prescott with more time in the pocket. A strong running game would help, but that has proven difficult without Elliott.
Dallas’ defense is also dealing with some injury. The secondary has been a problem for most of the year and they now need to find a way to shutdown Carson Wentz. Things don’t look promising for the Cowboys to pull off an important win tonight.