Jerry Jones: Eagles handled Jalen Hurts’ blood clots ‘with complete proficiency’ and more of what the Cowboys are saying
Both teams are mired in losing streaks, but Monday is a chance to escape the Linc with a win. And before the showdown, the Cowboys gave Eagles stars like Jalen Carter and Zack Baun their flowers.
The NFC East last week became the first division in NFL history to go consecutive weeks without one of its teams winning. That likely won’t become three, though, with the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys facing off on Monday Night Football and the New York Giants taking on the 2-4 Houston Texans.
But the Birds and the Cowboys are struggling; the Eagles are on a four-game losing streak, and Dallas has lost its last two, so Monday night’s game is a prime chance for someone to get back on track.
Planning for Tanner McKee
Tanner McKee’s NFL debut came against the Cowboys in Week 17 of the 2024 season, and he completed 3 of 4 passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll now face the Eagles’ division rival in a crucial game.
“I think he’s got a really good feel for what they’re doing from a protection standpoint,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters. “He knows where everybody is. I think that’s one thing when we looked at the game, we saw that he understands he’s going to get the ball thrown quick and throw completions and move the ball forward.”
» READ MORE: It's all Tanner McKee now | unCovering the Birds
Schottenheimer added that McKee is “certainly not the athlete that Jalen [Hurts] is,” but that the backup quarterback is a talented passer who “knows his strengths.”
No extra emotions for Christian Parker
Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker is returning to the Linc for the first time since he left this offseason after two years as the Birds’ defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach.
But Parker said Friday he’s not focused on that.
“It’s just another division game. … It’s another divisional opponent and another task for us as a team,” Parker said.
» READ MORE: If you were Nick Sirianni, how far would you go to preserve your self-respect? | Mike Sielski
Parker’s first year with the Cowboys hasn’t been going great so far. His defense ranks third-to-last in yards allowed per game with 382.5, while the run defense is dead-last, letting up 149.8 yards per game.
Which means the Eagles might be getting star running back Saquon Barkley back just in time to face their archrivals.
“He’s a great back, and he presents unique challenges when he’s out there,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan this week. “That’s all I’ll give him. But when we were putting it together over the last couple of years, really, we had him in mind. We’ve got to be able to play them twice a year, and we’ve got to be able to stop them.”
Scouting the defense
The Cowboys have struggled with their run game this year, often quickly abandoning it and opting to rely on quarterback Dak Prescott and star wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
Schottenheimer knows the Eagles have players up front who can continue to make life hard for running back Javonte Williams and his offensive line.
“They look pretty good to me,” Schottenheimer said. “You guys might have seen [Jalen Carter], [Jordan Davis], two pretty good players inside. Zack Baun, I think, is one of the best linebackers in football.”
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The Cowboys also have struggled against the blitz despite the return of highly regarded left guard Tyler Smith.
Schottenheimer isn’t expecting Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to all-out pressure on Monday, but he also isn’t ruling out that possibility.
“I don’t think Vic Fangio is going to blitz us 50% of the time, but he might,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s a really smart coach. He’s been around a long time. But, again, we will be ready for whatever he brings because certainly every team we play, they blitz us more, as they should. I don’t think that’s a surprise that we’re going to get more blitzes than most people do.”
Jerry Jones’ thoughts on the Hurts situation
Jones was asked whether he believed the Eagles and their medical staff handled Hurts’ situation correctly, as the team allowed him to play against the Jaguars in London after finding a blood clot in his calf.
“There’s not one thing that I’m aware of that was left unturned to make those decisions,” Jones said. “It was handled with complete proficiency.”
» READ MORE: A rough timeline of the Jalen Hurts blood clot event
As for whether players feel pressure to play through injury, such as Hurts did two weeks ago, Jones said that comes from the athlete.
“I think it’s self-imposed,” Jones said. “I don’t know of a player that walks out there and plays this game that isn’t giving it everything that he has to give. I’ve never seen that.”
Even with all the injuries and ineffectiveness through six games, Sean Mannion is still a believer in the Eagles’ offense, saying the problems are “totally fixable.” The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Marcus Hayes have some thoughts on the state of Mannion’s group, as well as a defensive unit that’s also been underwhelming this season. Listen here.
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