The Philadelphia Eagles have a good excuse for their 2-4 start. Injuries have hit hard, and their injured list now includes quarterback Jalen Hurts. That’s not the only reason the Eagles are struggling, but it’s a factor.
The Dallas Cowboys don’t really have many excuses for their 2-4 start. They just didn’t play well. The defense has been bad for most of the season and the offense has had two straight games.
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The Cowboys and Eagles were expected to compete for the NFC East title, but both just want to get back to .500 before midseason. The two disappointing teams meet again Monday night, with the loser headed for more obscurity this season. Since Week 2, the Cowboys and Eagles are a combined 1-7.
The Eagles are decimated before Monday night. Hurts is out and could miss the remainder of the season. He will be replaced by Tanner McKee, who was ineffective in his first start last week. Starting receivers DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks are out, as is passer Nolan Smith. Offensive tackle Lane Johnson retired a few games into the season. Star running back Saquon Barkley has been out since Week 4 with a hamstring injury, but could return against Dallas. He is listed as questionable. Anything would help.
The Cowboys’ injury report is reasonably clear, but they are down. The Cowboys have lost two games in a row and have only scored 29 points in those two games. Dallas realized early in the season that its defense, which gave up the most points in the NFL last season, hadn’t improved much. The Cowboys still managed to outperform many teams, with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Javonte Williams on offense. When the offense has slumped over the last two games, it hasn’t been pretty.
Nothing has been easy for any team in the NFC East this season. One of these two division rivals will sink further in the standings.
Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)
Who needs it most?
No offense to the Eagles, but it’s hard to believe they can stay in the NFC East race without Jalen Hurts. A team this talented shouldn’t practically end its season until late October, but that seems to be the case for the Eagles. The Cowboys might still be able to salvage their season. Although the Giants picked up a nice win in Houston on Sunday to improve to 4-2-1, they are far from unbeatable. If Dallas loses to an Eagles team that is missing several key players to fall to 2-5, not only would their season seem over, but the criticism would be relentless after Dallas presented itself as a Super Bowl contender this offseason. Dallas needs this one badly.
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Key player: Cowboys RB Javonte Williams
The Cowboys passing game has been pretty good, but the running game has been much less productive than last season. Dallas was 31st in rushing yards after Week 6. This affected the offense as a whole.
“Because of the lack of running game, we’re a little one-sided and the best way to be offensive as a unit is to have balance,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said after last week’s loss to the Packers, via ESPN. “So we have to find a balance. And again, there’s a lot of reasons for that. There’s missed blocks, there’s bad calls, there’s missed runs, there’s different things.”
Williams is the key figure in the running game. His yards per carry have gone from 4.8 last season to 3.7 so far this season. An effective running game could also help the defense by keeping the offense on the field. The Eagles have a strong run defense, ranking 13th in yards allowed per carry through six weeks, but Williams and Dallas will need to have some success against it if the offense is to get back on track.
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Betting Market Monitoring, by Ben Fawkes
Well, this MNF game is certainly less appealing than the planners predicted back in May. This game was Eagles -3 this offseason, reopened Eagles -1 on the anticipation line and is now Eagles +4.5 with Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith out, among others for Philadelphia. The Eagles’ injury list reads like a CVS receipt, but at least they can face the Cowboys after a discouraging 23-13 loss to Green Bay. This will be the Eagles’ fourth straight game as an underdog and the third time already this season that Philadelphia is a local dog. If Dak Prescott & Co. cannot succeed in this matchup, it’s going to be a long season in Dallas.
Check out more of Ben’s work at the Yahoo Sports betting center.
We have to be ready for some surprises as this wacky NFC East closes out Week 7. Here are three fantastic themes to follow as the Cowboys and Eagles renew their rivalry.
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1. What version of Saquon Barkley are we seeing? Barkley hasn’t played a full game since late September and he hasn’t scored a touchdown all year. Barkley has less help than usual, running behind an inferior offensive line and tied to an offense missing its quarterback and top receiver. But if Barkley’s hamstring is healthy, it’s a favorable matchup.
2. What is the record of Dallas receivers? We still expect receivers to be the variance position in fantasy, but even with that, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens have posted inconsistent performances this year. Philadelphia’s pass defense has been average.
3. Will a pass catcher step up for the Eagles? With DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks unavailable, this is a key issue for Philadelphia. Rookie Makai Lemon hasn’t done much yet, while Dallas Goedert has been solid between injuries. Keep an eye on Darius Cooper, who somehow manages four touchdowns on just 15 targets. The teams shredded the Dallas secondary.
See more of Scott’s work at Yahoo Sports Fantasy Center.
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