The Philadelphia Eagles have already been on a rollercoaster of a season, and they haven’t even reached the midpoint of their schedule. Now, they host the Dallas Cowboys in a Sunday night battle that will could make or break the Eagles’ year.
Two weeks ago, the Eagles (2-4) seemed to get back on track with a win against division foe Washington that ended a four-game losing skid. A loss there would’ve essentially squashed any hopes the highly-touted Eagles had to even make the playoffs. With Dallas (3-3) coming to town this week, the Eagles actually have an opportunity to make significant headway in what has become a muddled NFC East.
Things may have started to fall in place for coach Andy Reid and the Eagles. Last week’s bye came at a great time. Reid is just 38-38 in his career before the bye week, but he’s 81-36-1 after it – and 12-0 in his career in the game immediately following the bye. The week off allowed the Eagles not only to rest, but to sort out issues they’ve been having – especially on the defensive side of the football.
On top of that, the Eagles are starting to get healthy. A quick scan of the Eagles’ injury report will reveal that no one is listed worse than Probable, almost unheard of approaching midseason. Yes, Antonio Dixon and Victor Abiamiri are on injured reserve and will miss the season. But Brandon Graham, last year’s first-round draft pick, has been activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list and on Sunday will play for the first time this season.
The matchup itself is intriguing, with the Eagles’ top rushing offense in the NFL going against the Cowboy’s top-ranked defense against the run. Certainly, the Eagles’ rushing numbers are helped by quarterback Michael Vick, but running back LeSean McCoy is averaging 5.4 yards per carry and is well on his way to a 1,000-yard season.
As a team, the Eagles are averaging 170 yards per game on the ground, and just under 272 yards per game through the air. But while they’re third in total yards (441.7/game), they’re just 13th in scoring at 24.2 points/game.
On the other side of the ball, Cowboys’ rookie running back DeMarco Murray rushed for 253 yards – the ninth-best single-game total in NFL history – in Dallas’ blowout win against St. Louis last week. He is one of only two running backs on the Dallas active roster, so the Eagles will have to stop him. Opposing backs have had success against the Eagles defense as Philly ranks 27th in the league allowing 4.82 yards per carry. However, the Eagles seemed to correct some things against Washington and held the Redskins to just 36 yards rushing on the afternoon.
The Eagles defense could also have its hands full with the Cowboys’ air attack. Dallas is averaging 295.8 yards/game passing, good for fourth in the league, and quarterback Tony Romo has thrown for over 300 yards in four games this season. The Eagles have had problems with tight ends all season, and the Cowboys’ Jason Witten is one of the best in the league.
Both teams have had trouble keeping leads. Dallas’ three losses have all been after they’ve blown leads, and the Eagles have been outscored in the second half in each of their last five games.
With neither team showing a propensity for keeping leads, the game may ultimately come down to turnovers. While the Cowboys are close to even at minus-1 in turnover ratio, the Eagles are a dismal minus-8.
An Eagles’ loss on Sunday would that things get ugly in Philadelphia. Real ugly.
But a win pulls them even with the Cowboys in the standings, and will provide a flicker of hope that the team may have turned a corner. These days, it’s better in sports to be playing well heading into the playoffs rather than all season. Just ask the Green Bay Packers last season. Or, maybe ask the Philadelphia Phillies. An Eagles’ loss means that things get ugly in Philadelphia.