The NFC East is always a tightly contested division. Heading into this season, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles were considered the two teams most likely to win it. Through six games they are locked in a tie for first place. However, both have to be disappointed with their equal 3-3 records to start the 2019 NFL season.
The Cowboys won their first three games of the season and looked like an early Super Bowl contender. The offense was clicking thanks to the trio of Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper. The defense had an abundance of athletes who could make plays from sideline to sideline. The opposite was the case for Philadelphia. They got off to a rocky start and were facing a must-win game in their Week 4 Thursday Night Football road game against the Green Bay Packers who were undefeated at the time. The Eagles were able to pull off the upset and keep their season alive. Entering tonight’s game both teams have had stretches of inconsistent play keep them from taking the next step. Dallas is coming off a miserable showing against the New York Jets last week. Philadelphia suffered an embarrassing loss as they were blown out by the Minnesota Vikings on the road. This game is huge not just for divisional standings but the winner could use it as the catalyst to springboard them back to the top of the conference.
This is a critical game specifically for Dallas. They might be without Amari Cooper (game time decision) once again so their offense might take a slight hit. Yet, the Cowboys schedule is about to get a lot tougher. The record of their remaining opponents—not counting the two Eagles game and the finale against the Washington Redskins—is 27-16-1. Compare that to the record of the teams in their first six games (14-23) and you can see why a win tonight would be very crucial to their attempts to get back into the playoffs. Elliott has yet to have his signature game so there’s a chance that he has a big performance tonight at home.
Philadelphia has its tough stretch of games upcoming as the Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, and Seattle Seahawks will all make trips to the City of Brotherly Love within the next five weeks. However they still have games against the Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, and New York Giants (twice) left to make up any ground they may lose in games against the upper echelon of teams. Jordan Howard has been key in rejuvenating the run game for the Eagles and they’ll likely try to establish this early on in the game tonight. If they are able to get that off the ground then Carson Wentz could have a field day picking apart Dallas’ secondary.
PREDICTION: Cowboys 31 , Eagles 20
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