Cowboys Soft? Eagles to Beat Dallas with 'Toughness', says ESPN Analyst

Despite playing without their star quarterback and being road underdogs in Saturday's game against the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles have ESPN's Rob Ninkovich in their corner - because he believes Dallas simply can't match Philadelphia's level of physicality.

The Dallas Cowboys are set to enter Saturday's battle against the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles as heavy favorites, as the visitors will be playing without injured star quarterback Jalen Hurts.

But ESPN analyst and former New England Patriots outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich isn't sold.

Appearing on "This Just In," Ninkovich picked the Eagles, led by backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, to walk away victorious and secure the NFC East title ... citing Philadelphia's ability to out-tough Dallas at the line of scrimmage.

"You just have to look at the way the Eagles are built," Ninkovich said. "They're built on toughness - their front seven, their offensive line. The Cowboys, they're just giving up way too many yards on the ground."

Dallas has allowed over 100 rushing yards in all but four games and rank No. 25 league-wide in run defense with 133 yards allowed per contest. The Cowboys allowed 192 rushing yards in last Sunday's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars ... which was only the third-most allowed in a game this season.

On the other side, Philadelphia holds the No. 4 rushing offense, posting nearly 160 yards per game. While the Eagles offense will be "hurt" by its quarterback's absence, the unit should become ground heavy - and it's up to the Cowboys defense to rise to the occasion and prove it can out-tough its division counterpart.

Kickoff between Dallas (10-4) and Philadelphia (13-1) is set for 3:25 p.m. CT inside AT&T Stadium.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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