Philadelphia Eagles Expecting Pair of Key Players to Return From Injury vs. Dallas Cowboys

With a crucial showdown against the Dallas Cowboys looming, the Philadelphia Eagles appear set to welcome back a pair of important contributors.

Even though they are 10-2, the Philadelphia Eagles will need to defeat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday to retain sole possession of first place in the NFC East, and to hold onto the top spot in the NFC playoff picture as a whole. Fortunately for coach Nick Sirianni, it appears that reinforcements are on the way. 

According to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the expectation is that both tight end Dallas Goedert and linebacker Zach Cunningham should be active for the Sunday Night Football showdown with the Cowboys.

Goedert sustained a fractured forearm during the first meeting between the Eagles and Cowboys back in early November, a game that the Eagles won 28-23. However, the Eagles have since had their bye week and matchups with the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. A month's worth of recovery time seems to have been enough for Goedert, who will be a welcome addition considering the Eagles have proven to have very little pass-catching depth behind star receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. The 28-year-old Goedert had 38 catches for 410 yards in parts of nine games before getting injured.

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert should return for the Eagles in Week 14.  / USA Today

McLane adds that "from what I'm hearing" the belief from the Eagles is that Cunningham will also be ready to return from a hamstring injury that prevented him from playing in a 42-19 loss to the 49ers last week. 

Clearly, the Eagles defensive back seven will have to be a focus for general manager Howie Roseman to address this upcoming offseason, with a lack of linebacker depth and cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry both on the wrong side of 30. But with the return of Cunningham and this week's addition of former All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard, there's hope that the Eagles will have enough to make it through a deep postseason run without their defense being a liability. 

Eagles Open As Underdogs vs. Cowboys