FRISCO, Texas – Only seven games remain now in the 2025 NFL season for the Cowboys, where they hold a 4-5-1 record through 10 games.
If they want any chance at making a playoff run, they'll need to begin stacking wins starting on Sunday against the Eagles. A win over Philadelphia would mark the first time this year that Dallas has won back-to-back games.
How can the Cowboys avenge their Week 1 loss to the reigning Super Bowl champions and try to build some momentum late? We'll discuss some of the things that have to go right in this week's Here We Goooo:
1. Keep Jalen Hurts in contain
In Dallas' 24-20 Week 1 loss to the Eagles, Jalen Hurts did not have to do much in the passing game for Philadelphia. He completed 19 of his 23 passes for just 152 yards and no touchdowns.
Well, why did things work out then? It was because he carried the ball 14 times for 62 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Eagles in rushing for that game and consistently beating the Cowboys defense by scrambling and utilizing his legs.
To get more advanced, Hurts scrambled on 39.4% of his dropbacks against Dallas back in their season opener. On scramble runs (a differently tracked statistic from designed runs), Hurts gained 63 yards and both touchdowns on nine scrambles. Since then, he's only scrambled to run 19 more times for 121 yards and no touchdowns.
What makes the matter more important is that Hurts is running on designed plays for him to use his legs less and less. He's averaging just 1.4 designed runs per game after he's averaged at least 2.3 per game in every other season over the course of his career.
So it's not as much the designed runs as the Cowboys have to worry about, it's getting pressure on Hurts and not being able to bring him down in either in the pocket or when he gets out in space.
The good news? They've got some new key pieces that they didn't have in Week 1. Quinnen Williams will certainly help generate interior pressure for the Cowboys, and Dallas has DeMarvion Overshown and Logan Wilson back at linebacker to help get to the outside and limit Hurts' scrambling lanes. Now, it's just about executing.
2. Load up the box vs. Eagles run game
Another guy who used his legs well in the opener against the Cowboys was Saquon Barkley, the reigning offensive player of the year who rushed for 2,000 yards in his first season with the Eagles last year. He had 18 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown. Not necessarily a eye-popping stat line, but efficient nonetheless.
That's essentially been the way to describe the 2025 season for Barkley as well. He's still carried the ball 175 times for 662 yards and four touchdowns, but is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry.
Still, with how Dallas' run defense has played at times this season, the Cowboys should take all measures possible to make sure that this isn't the game where he finds his footing and explodes for a big day. Which, by the way, he's still very capable of doing.
If Barkley is capable of doing it, how have teams kept him bottled up for the most part this season? For the Detroit Lions last week, the answer was simple: Load up the box.
Barkley went against a stacked box, which includes 8 or more defenders, on a career high 66.7% of his carries against the Lions defense, finishing with 12 carries for 33 yards against that defensive look. He was hit behind the line of scrimmage on 14 of his 18 carries (77.8% of the time), the highest rate over the last six years of his career. All in all, he finished with -2 rushing yards before contact.
Speaking of yards before contact, there was a defense last week that did not allow a single one before contact: The Dallas Cowboys. Before that, the Cowboys were giving up the fourth-most yards per carry before contact with 1.4. They don't necessarily need to not allow a yard before contact again, but if they can significantly limit Barkley and the Eagles' run game, it'd go a long way.
3. Lean on CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens
I know, I know. You read this sentence and say to me, 'Well, duh!'
All season, the two have been dominant for Dallas' offense and part of the reason it works so well is because they're able to open things up for one another.
Dallas is good enough to wear if you double both Lamb and Pickens, they have other pieces like Jake Ferguson that can make defenses pay. At the same time though, Lamb and Pickens are able to win over just about anybody and any kind of coverage.
The biggest challenge on Sunday afternoon at corner will be Quinyon Mitchell, the second-year corner that has excelled to start his career in Philadelphia. He matches up against the opposing team's first or second receiver on 57.3% of his matchups, the 12th highest rate amongst corners with at least 100 matchups. He's allowed just a 41% completion percentage on 61 targets, giving up 25 receptions for 311 yards and a touchdown while breaking up 12 passes.
Outside of Mitchell at corner though, it's been tough sledding. The Eagles traded for former Jets CB Michael Carter before the deadline, but he hasn't played much since Week 10, recording only two defensive snaps. Instead, it's been Adoree' Jackson who has played the most over the last two weeks. In those two games, he's given up seven receptions, a team-high 90 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets.
Going after Jackson was a strategy that worked pretty well for Dallas in Week 1. They targeted a receiver nearest to him seen times, with Jackson allowing five catches for 103 yards. If Dallas can get a favorable matchup of either Lamb or Pickens on Jackson, or really any corner outside of Mitchell, it could bode very well for the offense.
To put a cherry on top of that, Philadelphia's defense has allowed 17.8 yards per attempt on downfield (10+ air yards) passes off play action this season, the most in the NFL. In contrast, Dak Prescott has used play action on a career-high 28.4 % of his dropbacks this year, and has averaged 17.5 yards per attempt when throwing the ball downfield this season, the third-most in the league.
