November 17, 2017
The Eagles' first game out of the bye will be an important divisional matchup against the Cowboys, the teams' first meeting of the season.
The Birds are sitting pretty at 8-1 and currently hold a three-game lead on the Cowboys for NFC East supremacy, and a win on Sunday night would all but assure the Eagles of a division title and would simultaneously deliver a massive blow to Dallas fans still hoping for a shot at the postseason.
Moreover, the Eagles need to keep winning in order to hold onto the top spot in the conference. With several two-loss teams nipping at their heels – and a tough road trip awaiting them to start the month of December – wins over the Cowboys and Bears in the next two weeks would go a long way.
That's right, we've reached the part of the season where it's OK to start talking about playoff seeding; the regular season is going to be over before you know it.
We'll have our full staff predictions posted later today, but in the meantime, here's a look at how the rest of the local and national media sees this one playing out:
• Jimmy Kempski, PhillyVoice: Eagles cover.
I thought the Eagles matched up well against the Cowboys even with Ezekiel Elliott, in that I trusted their top-ranked run defense to neutralize the Cowboys' potent rushing attack. With Elliott out, that task should be made significantly easier, as I expect the Birds to make Dallas one-dimensional, at which point they can pin their ears back and try to get after Dak Prescott.
• ESPN staff: Eight of their 10 panelists have the Eagles winning.
• Elliot Harrison, NFL.com: Eagles 30, Cowboys 25
The Cowboys will have their hands full this Sunday night -- well, unless whoever is at LT fails to get his hands on the Eagle version of Adrian Clayborn. Even in the strength-on-strength department, Fletcher Cox has given All-Pro Zack Martin fits in the past. Then again, Martin has answered. Which is why Dallas must run behind the right guard and center Travis Frederick. Buck it up in there.
• Paul Domowitch, Philadelphia Daily News: Eagles 30, Cowboys 22
No Ezekiel Elliott. Probably no Tyron Smith. No Sean Lee.
No chance.
Dak Prescott is a talented, young quarterback. But I don’t think he’s capable of putting the Cowboys’ offense on his back and single-handedly beating the Eagles.
• Les Bowen, Philadelphia Daily News: Eagles 27, Cowboys 17
This week, Dallas plays at home, and plays for its season. Prescott is going to get the ball out fast, or take off. I am picking the Eagles to win and to cover, mostly because I still don’t see how a defense I don’t like all that much — even with Sean Lee — is going to stop the Eagles without him. But this might not be the romp lots of Eagles fans seem to envision.
• Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Eagles 31, Cowboys 23
In terms of the NFC East title, the Cowboys’ backs are up against the wall. They trail the Eagles by three games and a loss on Sunday with six games to go would all but kill their chances of defending their crown...
Dallas has more to lose, but the Eagles have the advantage in several key matchups.
• Zach Berman, Philadelphia Inquirer: Eagles 27, Cowboys 21
Dak Prescott is a really good quarterback and can keep the Cowboys in contention. You saw what happens when Tyron Smith is absent, so his health will be important to monitor. The Cowboys have a much better chance if he’s in the lineup. But their running game suffers without Ezekiel Elliott and the Eagles’ pass rush should be able to generate pressure.
• CBSSports.com staff: All eight of their NFL experts believe the Eagles will win on Sunday night.
• FiveThirtyEight: The computers actually think the Cowboys will win this one. They give Dallas a 53 percent chance of winning and actually have them as a one-point favorite.
• OddsShark: This computer, however, sees a 26-20 win for the Birds.
• Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk: Cowboys 27, Eagles 24
It’s desperation time for Dallas, and sometimes desperation is the difference. The Cowboys find a higher gear and secure a hard-fought win, delaying (but not preventing) the inevitable clinching of the division by the Eagles.
• Michael David Smith, ProFootballTalk: Eagles 24, Cowboys 17
The Cowboys are reeling, and the Eagles coming to town isn’t going to make life any easier.
• Chris Simms, Bleacher Report: Eagles 24, Cowboys 23
The Eagles are the better team. Even if the Cowboys come out in desperation mode and Philly is a bit sloppy out of the bye, it should be able to pull out the win.
• SBNation staff: Seven of eight are picking the Eagles to win.
• Bleeding Green Nation staff: All seven of their writers are picking the Eagles.
• Blogging The Boys staff: Over at BGN's Dallas counterpart, six of their 10 writers are picking the Cowboys to win.
• Dallas Morning News staff: All nine of their writers are picking the Cowboys Eagles to not only win but also to cover the spread.
• NJ.com Staff: Five of their seven experts think the Birds will cover. [NOTE: This pick was against the spread]
• Turron Davenport, The Eagles Wire: Eagles 28, Cowboys 20
The Eagles will impose their will on both sides of the ball in the trenches against Dallas. Philadelphia’s front four will continue to play at a high level as they harass Dak Prescott. The offensive line will come out firing off the ball as the Eagles rushing attack dominates the Cowboys.
• Rest of The Eagles Wire staff: Each of the other four writers picked the Birds to beat Dallas.
• David Steele, Sporting News: Eagles 27, Cowboys 13
The debate in Dallas is about who the team misses most: Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith, Sean Lee or Dan Bailey. That all four could miss this one makes the outlook pretty bleak. The Eagles are due for a good test of how they handle success, but odds are they won’t get it in this one. Dak Prescott better brace himself.
• Vinny Iyer, Sporting News: Eagles 27, Cowboys 20
Carson Wentz was the MVP favorite going into his bye week, and he’ll build on that case in this game. He’ll be well-rested, and his talented supporting cast gets an extra boost with Jay Ajayi ready to step into a full feature role. The Cowboys will get better play from Dak Prescott without Ezekiel Elliott, assuming Tyron Smith is back. But the loss of Sean Lee will open things up for the Eagles to go to town more consistently in the running and short-to-intermediate passing games.
• Benjamin Hofmann, NY Times: Eagles win and cover. [NOTE: This pick was against the spread.]
Now Dallas will be dealing with a Philadelphia defense led by Fletcher Cox that is infinitely more terrifying than Atlanta’s, while Dallas’s defense, which had shown some improvement, will be stuck trying to slow down Carson Wentz and the Eagles’ offense. It looks like Dallas is headed back to .500.
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