The Philadelphia Eagles are traveling to AT&T Stadium this weekend to take on the dastardly Dallas Cowboys. With a win, the Birds move very close to officially clinching the NFC East crown in addition to burying their rivals’ already unlikely playoff chances.
In order to preview this Week 12 matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Blogging The Boys. The diligent Dave Halprin kindly took the time took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming battle. Let’s take a look at the answers.
[For my answers to Dave’s questions about the Eagles, stay tuned to BTB.]
The biggest differences are basically on the defensive side of the ball. The Cowboys defense had been abysmal this year, but through trades and players coming back from injury, there is finally hope that they can do enough to allow the high-powered offense to win games. The good thing is that there were significant moves at all three levels of the defense. On the defensive line, the most-important change has been the addition of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. He came in with a reputation as one of the best and he surely looked like that against an over-matched Raiders offensive line. The Cowboys pass rush looked about as good as it has all year.
Additionally, the Cowboys got back DeMarvion Overshown and traded for Logan Wilson at linebacker. Overshown is a rising star, and would probably already be one if not for his string of injuries. He is excellent at running down ball carriers who stretch plays to the edge, and his pass rush ability is top-notch. He just needs to be healthy and he’s only had one game back this season (Raiders game). Wilson was brought in to give us some leadership on the defense and to upgrade the all-around talent level. He’s not spectacular, but he helps.
The Cowboys also have Caelen Carson and Shavon Revel back from injury at corner. Carson is in his second year and has flashed some ability but has been slowed by injuries. The last two weeks he has played well. Revel was a third-round pick this year who may have had first-round talent but slid because of his ACL injury. He got his first run last week and in the small sample of plays he looked skilled.
It’s both. There is no doubt that adding Quinnen Williams into the mix fundamentally changed the defense. He wrecked the Raiders backfield and had 1.5 sacks plus around five hits on the QB. You can just see his speed and power on display. He was drawing double teams and freeing up the rest of the line and they all feasted. Plus the other additions noted above on defense made that side of the ball credible, at least for one night. The offense got back on track to what we’ve seen them look like much of the year. The Cowboys came out of the bye with a renewed purpose and played extremely well.
But, yes, it was the Raiders. And they had some injuries along the offensive line that also helped. They also didn’t even really try to use Ashton Jeanty to pound the Cowboys defense, instead they went all-in on Geno Smith. It was a bad bet. So both things were true. The Cowboys defense looked like it has changed for the better, but the Raiders just lack talent on their roster.
3 – Do Cowboys fans still feel like this team can go on a run this season?
As with any fanbase, the opinions are all over the place. I think with the recent changes and all, there is a sense that this is a better team now and could be competitive. The problem is the team has dug itself a pretty big hole. When you do the math on the probability of getting into the playoffs for Dallas, it doesn’t look good. It feels like they would almost have to win out to get there, or at least win almost all of them. Personally I think they are going to pull off some upsets along the way and also beat teams they should beat, but I just don’t know if it will be enough to make the playoffs. So yes, it’s very possible they go on a really good run, and still end up short of the playoffs.
4 – Which Eagles player do you wish played for the Cowboys instead?
Right now the Cowboys have an issue at offensive tackle. I’m willing to give Tyler Guyton a little more time because he’s young and seems to be improving, but Terence Steele has a problem with pass protection. Since Lane Johnson is laid up, Jordan Mailata might be a good call. But the Cowboys need help on defense more than anywhere. Before Quinnen Williams got here, I might have looked at one of the interior tackles. OK, just kidding. All of that preamble was just to make things interesting, in the end the answer has to be Quinyon Mitchell. The Cowboys seem to be headed for a divorce with Trevon Diggs, and while they have other talent that is developing alongside DaRon Bland, Mitchell would dramatically change things and upgrade the secondary.
I’m going with the Cowboys for a couple of reasons. One is that their offense is always much more potent when they play at home. We are averaging roughly 10 more points per game at home than on the road. That is meaningful when the offense is always trying to cover for the defense. But now, the defense might be ready to contribute. It’s hard to describe the transformation of the Cowboys defense against the Raiders, they actually looked competent. The problem is we are just not sure how much of that was Dallas and how much was the Raiders as referenced in a question above. We’ll see this week against a much tougher opponent. Final score: Cowboys 27 – Eagles 23.
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