What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 7 vs. the Cowboys

Whichever direction the Eagles take for the rest of the season, they will likely do so without Jalen Hurts.

The Eagles franchise quarterback could miss the season after the team and Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, announced on Monday that he had been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in both of his lungs. He will be prevented from participating in contact sports, football included, while undergoing treatment including blood thinners.

Everything, football included, is secondary to Hurts’ long-term health. The Eagles and Lynn said in the statement that Hurts is expected to make a full recovery and that he shouldn’t have any long-term effects.

» READ MORE: Roger Goodell says the NFL welcomes a review of how Eagles handled Jalen Hurts' blood clots

In the absence of Hurts, the Eagles are expected to turn to Tanner McKee as their starting quarterback going forward. Behind an inexperienced offensive line, he had a shaky showing in the 25-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers last Sunday, going 26-for-45 (57.8% completion) for 215 yards and a touchdown (77.5 quarterback rating).

McKee, the 2023 sixth-rounder out of Stanford, will likely have another opportunity to start against the 2-4 Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. Could he fare better in his second go-round, especially if Saquon Barkley (hamstring) returns?

Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles going into their Week 7 matchup:

In the lead-up to the season opener against the Washington Commanders, offensive coordinator Sean Mannion likened the process of constructing the Eagles’ new offensive system to building a library.

He said the new scheme contained a library of formations, motions, protections, run schemes, etc., including plays of Eagles offenses past. With the season just beginning, Mannion said he found himself pulling different books off the shelf when crafting the game plan for the week.

Is it time for Mannion to grab a different book?

Regardless of the quarterback lining up under center, the Eagles have not been able to execute the elements of the offense that were supposed to be at the foundation of Mannion’s West Coast-inspired scheme.

The offense couldn’t execute the passing game from under center last Sunday. On five under-center snaps, McKee took two sacks (including the first play of the game) and threw three incomplete passes. Both of those sacks came on unblocked pressures.

His experience is part of a larger trend for the Eagles this season. According to Penn professor and Eagles stats guru Deniz Selman, the Eagles have a 15.2% success rate on under-center drop backs this season, the lowest rate in the league. The next closest team is the Denver Broncos at 30.3%. The NFL average is 49.5%.

» READ MORE: Eagles not making ‘earth-shattering’ offensive changes after Nick Sirianni endorsed Sean Mannion as play-caller

When the Eagles are lining up under center, they’re typically either running the ball or executing a play-action pass. Without a run game — the Eagles have 57 rushing yards over their last two games, their lowest total in a two-game span since the 2005 season (43 yards), per Stathead — it’s hard to build a convincing play-action passing game.

And it’s especially hard to do anything with those unblocked pressures. Former Eagles analyst Ryan Paganetti shared that the Eagles lead the league in percentage of pass plays allowing an unblocked pressure at 20.7% (next closest team is the Miami Dolphins at 13.8%). That shortcoming is magnified with a less-mobile quarterback in McKee, who can’t evade pressure as well as Hurts.

Nick Sirianni said after the loss to the Panthers that “everything’s on the table” as they seek a spark on offense. Do those answers include abandoning aspects of the scheme they hired Mannion to install? Or does he remain confident in the scheme, especially if Barkley, center Drew Kendall (knee), and left guard Landon Dickerson (knee; injured reserve) return to action?

Even with the offense in a state of disarray, the Eagles are still in NFC East contention. Well, every team in the division is still very much in contention for the crown.

Over the last two weeks, not a single NFC East team has won a game. The four teams have a combined 0-6-2 record in that span. According to ESPN, the NFC East is the first division in league history to be winless in consecutive weeks in which all teams played a game. The 3-2-1 New York Giants are the only team with a winning record.

The Eagles begin a three-game divisional stretch this week, starting with their Monday night game against the Cowboys. The anti-marquee matchup in the game will be the Eagles offense (28th in scoring) against the Cowboys defense (25th in scoring).

Christian Parker hasn’t been off to a strong start in his first season as Cowboys defensive coordinator. Last week, the team brought Doylestown native Mike Pettine out of retirement to serve as a senior defensive assistant, providing Parker with a mentor that has ample defensive play-calling experience.

» READ MORE: Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio offers explanation for Cooper DeJean’s sudden tackling woes

The Cowboys’ result with Pettine involved wasn’t any different, as they lost their Sunday night game to the Green Bay Packers, 23-13. But on paper, the defense fared better. They gave up a season-low 4.5 yards per play. The Cowboys defense was fairly aggressive, blitzing on 29.5% of drop backs (their second-highest rate of the season, per Next Gen Stats) and generating pressure on 45.5% of drop backs (their highest rate of the season).

The Cowboys defense has some stars. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who had been off to a slow start this season, was one of the best players on the field (one sack, two tackles for a loss, one pass breakup). Recently acquired cornerback Joey Porter Jr. lacked discipline at times, incurring a pair of penalties, but he also made plays against the Packers’ top receiving tandem in Matthew Golden and Christian Watson.

The unit is still a work-in-progress, but the Eagles of all offenses shouldn’t underestimate them.

The Cowboys defense is taking steps in the right direction, the offense seems to be doing the opposite.

Through the first four games, in which the Cowboys went 2-2, quarterback Dak Prescott combined for eight passing touchdowns and one interception. Over his last two games, in which the Cowboys went 0-2, Prescott has thrown two touchdowns and four picks. Two of those interceptions came in the first half against the Packers.

The Cowboys were shut out in the first half, and their pair of touchdowns in the second were too little, too late.

Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who once held the same title with the Eagles, seemed to flummox Prescott all night with disguises and blitzes (on 37.5% of drop backs, per Next Gen Stats). The latter isn’t typically Vic Fangio’s M.O., although he dialed up the blitz at a season-high rate last week (35.7%) in the absence of Jalyx Hunt and with Nolan Smith Jr. (concussion) going down in the first half. Could he take a page from Gannon’s book on Monday?

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The news keeps getting worse. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will likely miss the rest of the 2026 season with a deep vein thrombosis blood clot, as well as bilateral pulmonary emboli. Moments after the story broke, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Marcus Hayes reacted to the news, looking at what the diagnosis means for the Super Bowl MVP, how the Eagles handled the situation dating back to their trip to London, and whether backup Tanner McKee is ready to take the helm on a full-time basis.  Listen here.

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