Eagles vs. Cowboys predictions: Our writers pick a winner for Week 12
After the defense carried them to wins over the Packers and Lions, how do our writers feel about the possibility of an Eagles sweep in Big D?
The Eagles and Cowboys met to open the NFL season back on Sept. 4 in a game the Eagles won, 24-20.
They meet again Sunday in Dallas, and although the Eagles are running away with the NFC East, this game presents a challenging potential roadblock for the Eagles in their pursuit of the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Here’s how our writers see it ...
Jeff Neiburg
This isn’t your 2-month-old’s Cowboys.
The team that practically gave Micah Parsons away before the season added Quinnen Williams to its defensive front at the trade deadline, and he immediately provided a spark. The Raiders doubled him on half of his 28 pass rushes on Monday and he still put up a season-high five pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, while being credited for 1½ sacks.
Even if center Cam Jurgens clears concussion protocol and plays, the Eagles will have their hands full up front.
If the Eagles are finally going to fix their scuffling offense, it will be a challenge, though Dallas has been very beatable in the air. The Cowboys play a ton of zone, using man coverage just 14.8% of the time, the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL.
If the Eagles are going to figure out their inability to beat zones through the air, Sunday will be a big test, but one they should be able to ace with the right plan.
» READ MORE: Why is A.J. Brown struggling against zone coverage? Here’s what the film says about his inconsistency
Dallas’ offense, meanwhile, is one of the best in the league. The game sets up as a great offense and a bad defense (Dallas) against a great defense and a bad offense (Eagles). The game will probably be decided by who wins the matchup between Dallas’ offense and the Eagles’ defense.
Who has the upper hand? It’s hard to pick against the Eagles right now.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Cowboys 16
Olivia Reiner
On paper, Eagles-Cowboys is set to be a strength-on-strength, weakness-on-weakness matchup.
Vic Fangio declared the Cowboys offense one of the best in the NFL, and the numbers back that up, especially in the passing game. The Dak Prescott-led offense leads the league in passing yards (2,587), ranks second in passing touchdowns (22), and places third in passing attempts.
George Pickens leads the way with 908 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on the season, above CeeDee Lamb (557 yards and two touchdowns in just seven games) and tight end Jake Ferguson (400 yards and seven touchdowns).
But the Eagles defense is playing like one of the best in the league lately, too. The last two games, against playoff contenders the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions, were defensive masterclasses, with the Eagles limiting those opponents to a combined 16 points.
While the Eagles defense ought to be up for the challenge, can the same be said for the offense? The Cowboys defense has been one of the worst groups in the league overall, but they boast a formidable interior defensive line that recently added Williams to the mix.
The offensive line has been solid at pass blocking this year, even when Lane Johnson goes down, but the run blocking has seen a serious drop-off from last season. Though I’m not so sure this will be the get-well game on the ground the Eagles are looking for, they could have a chance to get going in the passing game, given that the Cowboys are conceding 6.9 net yards per passing attempt — No. 29 of 30 teams in the league.
Prediction: Eagles 21, Cowboys 17
Matt Breen
Will the Eagles fix their offensive problems on Sunday? It feels like we’ve been asking the same question for three months. So maybe this is just their offense. And that might be OK thanks to a defense that is suddenly the best in the NFC.
The defensive line is overwhelming, and Quinyon Mitchell is playing like an All-Pro in the secondary. The Cowboys looked good last week, but they won’t be playing the Raiders on Sunday.
Teams have picked apart the Dallas defense through the air this season, but I’ll wait and see if the Eagles can do the same. It’s hard to see the Eagles offense, especially with a banged-up line, suddenly flipping a switch. By now, it’s fair to have a read on who a team is.
But the defense is elite and they’ll carry them again on Sunday. We’ll find out how far that unit can carry them the rest of the way.
Prediction: Eagles 24, Cowboys 10
Nakobe Dean’s value to the Eagles is as clear as the team’s improved defense performance since his return to play. Coming off his best game of the season in last week’s shutout win over the Raiders, the linebacker has made a remarkable turnaround from a serious knee injury that knocked him out of the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX championship run. But what’s Dean’s future in Philadelphia beyond this season? The 25-year old is an unrestricted free agent, and for the first time in what feels like forever, the Eagles have depth in the linebacker rotation. With only three games left before the playoffs, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane looks at the likelihood of the Eagles keeping Dean, as well as several other players whose contracts expire whenever this season ends. Listen here.
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