Dallas vs Philadelphia (PHI -7.5, 38.5)
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Dallas vs. Philadelphia | Sunday, December 29, 2024
Just a couple of weeks ago, this game would’ve looked like a dud, but with Dallas enjoying a tough victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday Night Football, and the Philadelphia Eagles falling to the Washington Commanders, this is looking slightly more intriguing. Particularly, given that the Eagles might be without their starting quarterback, Jalen Hurts, who is dealing with a concussion.
The Eagles appeared to be storming to victory last week against Washington, until Hurts left the game. Kenny Pickett started nicely, but ultimately couldn’t do enough to close out what should’ve been a straightforward win for Philadelphia, and it has cost them, as they are now on the back foot in the hunt for the NFC One seed. With Hurts likely to miss as he works his way through the concussion protocol, the Eagles look much more vulnerable than we wouldn’t usually expect, particularly against a Dallas Cowboys team that is ranking in the bottom six for both points and yards conceded per game, with 26.9 and 359.6 respectively.
Nevertheless, despite those underwhelming numbers, the Cowboys are on somewhat of a hot streak. They have won four of their last five games, with Cooper Rush doing enough to move the offense, and Micah Parsons returning to massively upgrade the defense. Even without Jalen Hurts, though, there’s still a lot of talent on the Eagles roster that will concern Dallas fans. Saquon Barkley has posted 1,838 yards and 13 touchdowns at 5.9 yards per carry so far this year, powering the Eagles to 187.9 rushing yards per game, which is first in the NFL. His physicality and talent, combined with the Eagles' elite offensive line, means they can run over anyone, and the Cowboys' 27th-ranked rushing defense is not going to scare them.
The threat of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith in the passing game means that there’s only so much extra manpower the Cowboys can assign to stuffing the run, so Philly should still be able to move the ball.
Then, when it’s Dallas’s turn to try and put up points, they will have to do so against a Vic Fangio-run unit that is restricting opponents to the fewest yards in the NFL, with 281.7 per game, and just 18.9 points per game, which is fifth in the NFL. Cooper Rush has played well in relief of Dak Prescott, completing 61.4% of his passes for 1,697 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions. That is exactly what you want from your backup quarterback, who essentially just needs to find a way to get the ball to CeeDee Lamb, who can make magic happen on every play.
The bad news for Rush, is that Philadelphia are conceding the second-fewest passing yards per game, with 178.8. They also rank inside the top 10 for rushing yards conceded per game, with just 102.9, which means this is going to take a good all-round effort from Dallas. They will be hoping running back Rico Dowdle can bounce back after a disappointing 23-yard effort against the Buccaneers on Sunday night, after he had passed the 100-yard mark in each of his previous three outings. It will need to be all hands on deck to put up points on this talented Philly defense, and Cowboys fans will be hoping he has found his form again.
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Cowboys +9