Eagles-Cowboys player matchups to watch in Week 17

The Eagles (12-3) are hosting the rival Cowboys (7-8) in a Week 17 game at the Linc on Sunday afternoon.

Here are some key matchups to watch:

Eagles defense vs. Cooper Rush

The last time the Eagles and Cowboys played, Cooper Rush was making his first start of the season and it didn’t go well. The Eagles beat up on the Cowboys 34-6 at AT&T Stadium and Rush struggled. He completed 13 of 23 passes in that game for just 45 yards and was mercifully pulled for Trey Lance in the third quarter. 

But if you haven’t been paying attention to the Cowboys over the last month and a half, Rush is playing much better. Since that Eagles game in Week 10, the Cowboys have 4-2 record and have won 4 of their last 5 games. In the last five games, Rush has completed 64.4% of his passes for 1,131 yards (226.2 per game) with 9 touchdowns and 1 interception. He has a passer rating of 100.5 in those games and has been sacked just 6 times for 44 yards.

The Eagles’ defense has been great since the bye week with what we can probably assume was an uncharacteristic blip against a really good rookie quarterback in the fourth quarter in Week 16. Even with how well Rush has been playing recently, this could be a chance for them to get back on track.

Eagles secondary vs. Cowboys without CeeDee Lamb

Despite Dak Prescott’s injury, CeeDee Lamb had a fantastic season and is third in the NFL in receiving yards behind just Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. Lamb has 101 catches for 1,194 yards and 6 touchdowns. But now his season is over. The Cowboys on Thursday ruled out Lamb for the final two games of the season.

Without Lamb, the Cowboys don't have another receiver with over 500 yards this season. Tight end Jake Furguson has 54 catches for 456 yards and receiver Jalen Tolbert has 42 for 482 and 6 touchdowns. But without Lamb, this Cowboys offense will be much different.

Eagles’ edge rushers vs. Cowboys tackles

The Eagles have a chance to get some pressure on Rush in this game on the edges. Since Brandon Graham’s injury, the Eagles have mostly used a three-man rotation with Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat and Jalyx Hunt. But there’s a chance that Bryce Huff could return in this game after having wrist surgery on Nov. 21. Huff’s best play of the season came in the first Dallas game when he had a strip-sack on Rush.

The Cowboys have been starting Terrence Steele at right tackle all season and he leads the team in pressures allowed (36) and sacks allowed (9), per PFF. Just two tackles have allowed more sacks than Steele this season and just nine have allowed more pressures.

Second on the Cowboys’ list of pressures and sacks allowed is rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton, who has dealt with some injuries and was benched last week in favor of Chuma Edoga but then got in the game. No matter who is out there on Sunday, the Eagles’ edge rushers have a chance to do some damage.

Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata vs. Micah Parsons

A couple weeks ago, Lane Johnson had to face T.J. Watt and now he’ll see another top pass rusher in Micah Parsons. While Watt almost exclusively plays over the right tackle, Parsons will move around some so Jordan Mailata will have to be ready. But the majority of Parsons snaps come on the defensive left.

Despite playing in just 11 games this season, Parsons has still managed to have 9 1/2 sacks, 37 tackles, 19 QB hits, 9 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles. He’s not in contention to win Defensive Player of the Year because of his time missed but he’s playing at that kind of level. Parsons is second in the NFL in pressure rate at 19.4% behind just Danielle Hunter at 19.6%, according to NFL NextGen Stats.

Kenny Pickett (?) vs. Aggressive takeaway defense

During the Cowboys’ 4-1 stretch, they have been very aggressive on defense and have been getting a ton of takeaways. They are tied for first in the NFL in takeaways since Week 12 with 12. They’re tied with the Steelers and the Bengals. Of those 12, 7 have been interceptions and 5 have been fumbles.

We’ll continue to monitor Jalen Hurts’ status this week as he moves through the NFL’s concussion protocol but there’s a good chance backup Kenny Pickett will have to play against the Cowboys. What has made Hurts so good since the bye week has been his ability to avoid turning the football over — a 180 from when the Eagles were struggling through the first four games. When Hurts plays clean football, the talented Eagles are hard to beat.

Last week against the Commanders, Pickett was baited into an interception by Frankie Luvu on his fourth passing attempt. After that, the Eagles seemed hesitant to let Pickett be aggressive through the air and went with a run-heavy approach, which the Commanders were able to stifle.

Saquon Barkley vs. a ton of attention

Last week against the Commanders, Saquon Barkley got off to a huge start but then Jalen Hurts suffered a concussion. Once the Commanders began to stack the box, it was tough sledding for Barkley. So it definitely matters who the quarterback is when we look at the Eagles’ rushing offense.

The good news for the Eagles is that the the Cowboys’ have one of the worst run defenses, at least statistically, in the NFL. They are 27th in yards allowed (135.9 per game), 32nd in rushing touchdowns allowed (23) and 30th in yards per attempt (4.8). The last time these two teams played, Barkley didn’t need to do a ton in the 34-6 win; he had 66 yards on 14 carries and got to take the fourth quarter off.

If you’re wondering, Barkley comes into Week 17 with 1,838 rushing yards on the season. He is 162 yards away from a 2,000-yard season and would need 268 to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105. It seems unlikely that Barkley will get this record but he’s definitely within striking distance. He would need an average of 134.0 yards per game in the last two to get it done. The problem is that if the Eagles take care of business in Week 17 they might not have much to play for against the Giants in Week 18.

Eagles kickoff vs. KaVontae Turpin

The Eagles had a kickoff problem last week against the Commanders. They had an average starting spot of their own 38-yard line after kickoffs. Braden Mann really struggled in that game as the kickoff guy but it wasn’t just him. The entire kickoff unit had a bad game. That’s especially notable in this one because the Cowboys’ returner, KaVontae Turpin, is one of the most dangerous return men in the NFL.

Turpin is averaging a league-high 34.4 yards per return among qualified players and took one 99 yards to the house against the Commanders in Week 12 (Turpin also has a punt return touchdown this season). In the first Eagles-Cowboys matchup, Turpin had a 47-yard return and a 36-yard return on kickoffs. 

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