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Eagles-Cowboys key pregame statistics | Paul Domowitch

The Eagles' blitz hasn't been very effective lately. Their run-pass balance is out of whack. And they are coming off a game in which they converted just 1 of 14 third-down opportunities. But they are 13-2.

In their last two games, the Philadelphia Eagles have averaged 2.1 yards per carry on first down.
In their last two games, the Philadelphia Eagles have averaged 2.1 yards per carry on first down.Read moreYong Kim/Staff Photographer

Yes, today's game is meaningless. But these statistics aren't:

Rushing

— The Eagles haven't had a rushing touchdown in the last five games. Despite being second in the league in rushing, they have just nine rushing touchdowns this season, which is the ninth fewest in the league. Just two of the teams with fewer rushing touchdowns are ranked higher than 21st in rushing — Houston, which has seven and is ranked 12th, and Denver, which has eight and is tied for 13th.

— Last year, LeGarrette Blount led the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 18. Through 15 games, he has two.

— The Eagles have rushed for more than 108 yards once in the last four games (139 against the Rams).

— In games 3 through 11, the Eagles had a 51.5 run-play percentage. Averaged 34.2 rush attempts per game in those nine games. In their last four games, the Eagles have a 37.1 run percentage and have averaged just 26.5 rush attempts per game.

— In their last two games, the Eagles have averaged 2.1 yards per carry on first down. Jay Ajayi has rushed for 24 yards on 13 carries on first down, Blount 11 on four carries, Corey Clement five on two carries. In their previous 11 games, they averaged 5.17 yards per carry on first down.

Give and take

— The Eagles have just 18 giveaways this season — eight interceptions and 10 lost fumbles. If they can manage to play turnover-free Sunday, they will break the franchise record for giveaways. The current record is 19 in 2013.

— With their five second-half takeaways against the Raiders on Monday night, the Eagles increased their season total to 30. That's the third most in the NFL behind Baltimore (33) and Jacksonville (32).

— The Eagles are fourth in the league turnover differential (plus-12). That's their third highest turnover rate since 2000. They were plus-15 in '09 and plus-14 in '02. They also were plus-12 in '13.

— The Eagles have 19 interceptions, which is the third most in the NFL behind Jacksonville (21) and Baltimore (22). Their nine interceptions on third down are the second most to the Ravens' 10.

Personnel groupings

— A breakdown of the Eagles' personnel groupings this season: 11 (1 RB, 1 TE, 3WRs) — 64.8 percent; 12 (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WRs) — 23.1 percent; 13 (1 RB, 3 TEs, 1 WR) — 8.3 percent; others — 3.8 percent.

— Nick Foles has an 85.4 passer rating with 11 personnel (37-for-61, 340 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) and a 100.5 rating with 12 and 13 personnel (14-for-24, 127 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs).

Third and…

— The Eagles converted just one of 14 third-down opportunities against the Raiders. Their 7.1% conversion rate was their lowest in a game since November 17, 2004, when they went 0-for-8 on third down in a 27-3 loss to the Steelers. As you probably recall, they ended up going to the Super Bowl that year.

— Foles completed just one of 11 third-down pass attempts against the Raiders last week.

— Nelson Agholor leads the Eagles in third-down receptions with 21. Fourteen of them have resulted in first downs. He had just nine third-down catches his first two seasons with the Eagles. Alshon Jeffery is second on the team in third-down catches with 19.

— Tight end Trey Burton has five touchdown receptions. Three of them have been on third down.

— Eagles quarterbacks have thrown a league-high 15 touchdown passes on third down — 14 by Carson Wentz and one by Foles. Detroit is second with 12. The Rams are third with 11.

— The Eagles have 96 third downs of eight yards or more. That's the sixth most in the league. The five teams with more have a combined record of 23-52. So, how have the Eagles managed to win 13 of 15 games with all of those third-and-longs? Well, they've converted them. Their 33.3 conversion rate on third-and-longs (eight yards or more) is the best in the league.

— The Eagles have converted 18 of 22 third-and-ones (81.8%). That's the sixth best in the league. Oddly, the 0-15 Browns have the league's best third-and-one offense. They've converted 86.4%.

— The Eagles' defense has the league's third best third-and-one stop rate. Opponents have converted just seven of 15 third-and-ones (46.7 percent) against them.

— Overall, the Eagles are third in the league in third-down defense, holding opponents to a 32.1 success rate. That's their best third-down percentage since 2002 (31.0). They've allowed more than four third-down conversions in a game just four times this season. But two of those games have come in the last four weeks (six to Seattle and 10 to the Giants).

— Opponents have just a 61.5 passer rating against the Eagles on third down. The Eagles have allowed just 47 first downs on 156 third-down pass attempts (30.1%)

What's the rush?

— The defense has just eight sacks in the last five games. Brandon Graham has 3 1/2 of them and Chris Long has two.

— The blitz, which was extremely effective earlier in the season, hasn't gotten the job done in the last four games. In the Eagles' first 11 games, opponents had a 51.9 passer rating when the Eagles blitzed, including a 44.7 completion percentage. In the last four games, opponents have a 118.5 passer rating (64.0 completion percentage) when Jim Schwartz has sent extra rushers. Four of the nine touchdown passes the Eagles have given up in the last four games have come on blitzes.

Run-stuffing

— The Raiders rushed for 137 yards on 33 carries last week. Both were season-highs against the Eagles. They still are first in the league against the run, allowing just 75.9 yards per game. They've also been run on the least (20.3 attempts per game). The Raiders were just the fourth team to run the ball 25 or more times against the Eagles this season.

— In their first 12 games this season, the Eagles held opponents to 3.0 yards per carry on first down (411 yards on 137 carries). In their last three games, opponents have averaged 3.9 yards per carry against them on first down (45-176).

— The Eagles have given up 16 rushing first downs in the last three games. They allowed a league-low 40 in their first 12 games.

This and that

— The Eagles and Rams are involved in an interesting battle for the league scoring title. Through 15 games, the Rams are first with 465 points (31.0 per game) and the Eagles are second with 457 (30.5). The Eagles need to score 45 points against the Cowboys today to break the franchise scoring record. The '48 Eagles scored 376 points in 12 games, which is 31.3 per game.

— The Eagles have run 68.9 percent of their plays out of shotgun this season. They've used it more in Foles' two starts — 74.0 percent. The Eagles have averaged 5.2 yards per carry out of shotgun and 3.8 from under center.

— The Eagles have committed 23 offensive holding penalties this season. That's the 11th most in the league. Just two of the 10 teams with more — Kansas City (25) and Pittsburgh (24) — have qualified for the playoffs.

— The Eagles have outscored opponents in the first quarter this season, 106-48. They've outscored teams in the first three quarter, 350-192.

— The Eagles have scored on their first possession in seven of 15 games, but just once (vs. Giants) in the last five games. They've scored eight times on their second possession. They have averaged 6.5 yards per play on their first possession and 4.6 on their second possession.

— The defense has given up first-possession touchdowns in two of the last three games. In their first 12 games, they didn't give up any (four field goals).

— Opponents have scored on their second possession just three times this season — one touchdown (vs. the Giants) and two field goals (vs. Carolina and Dallas).

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