Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys: 5 Things to Watch, Score Prediction

Can the Philadelphia Eagles bounce back from last week's blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers in a stadium they haven't won in recently?

PHILADELPHIA – For the second straight game, the Philadelphia Eagles will face a team coming off a 10-day rest.

It sure would be nice to have one of those as December unfolds, the way the San Francisco 49ers did last week and the Dallas Cowboys will have this week, but those are the breaks.

What might even be nicer would be to not have to play in Dallas, where the Eagles haven’t won five years while the Cowboys have won 14 in a row at Jerry World.

A win on Sunday night in primetime would make the Eagles 11-2 and drop the Cowboys to 9-4, which would put Dallas two games behind in the loss column with four games to play. 

Essentially, a win probably means the Eagles would become the first team to win back-to-back NFC East division titles since they did in 2003 and 2004. In every single year since then, a different team has won the division.

Here are five things to watch:

BOUNCEBACK. Was last week’s 42-19 demolition at the hands of the 49ers an anomaly or are the wheels coming off the Eagles’ Super Bowl express?

“Usually one loss isn’t a big concern,” said center Jason Kelce. “Typically, when losing starts to affect the mentality of the teams, it’s a consistent basis. You start to lose trust with your coaches and whatnot. We have a lot of really good players in this building and great coaches, so I think when you look at seasons we’ve overcome bad losses – every season is going to have a bad loss, unfortunately for the most part.

“This one was particularly bad, but every season is going to have some type of struggle that you shouldn’t have lost. Good teams, good players, good coaches find a way to just move on the next week, make the corrections, and go about your business.”

The Eagles rarely play two bad games in a row under Nick Sirianni, so my gut tells me this will indeed be a solid bounce-back game. But will it be enough to win?

The Philadelphia Eagles prepare for a Week 14 game at the Dallas Cowboys :: Ed Kracz/SI Eagles Today

DALLAS GOEDERT. The tight end returns after missing three games when he suffered a fracture in his forearm while being tackled by Cowboys’ Markquese Bell in the team’s Week 9 matchup. Goedert was having a nice game until the third-quarter injury, with three catches for 50 yards.

His return can’t come soon enough for an offense that was unable to find any other receiving options other than A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith when Goedert went out.

SHAQ LEONARD. It will be interesting to see what the newly-signed veteran can add to the defense. Many think he can’t be any worse than the options the Eagles had been running out there before signing him on Monday. We’re about to find out if the rangy linebacker can, in tandem with Zach Cunningham, help in defending the pass.

Maybe the addition of Leonard, no matter how many snaps he gets, can help take some of the sting Dallas tight end Jake Ferguson inflicted on Philly the last time, catching seven passes for a career-high 91 yards and one touchdown.

BRADLEY ROBY. The veteran slot cornerback wasn’t available in the Week 9 game due to a shoulder injury, so maybe he will help keep CeeDee Lamb from doing what he did in the last game with 11 catches for a career-high 191 yards. It’s a long shot Roby can do it, but the 10-year veteran is probably a better option than rookies Eli Ricks and Sydney Brown were the last time around.

RUNNING GAME. A few fans showed up outside the team’s facility shortly after sunrise one day this week reminding head coach Nick Sirianni needs to run the ball. There were just 10 carries for running backs in last week’s loss vs. the Niners.

The Eagles were first in the league after the first month of the season but have since slipped to eighth.

“I think we’re very close,” said Kelce. “I think the plays that are being called a lot of times are there. We had a toss crack where if I don’t get undercut by the safety, that’s a huge play. There have been certain games it’s been there.

“The second half of the Buffalo game did really, really well. The first half of the season it was certainly clicking. At times against Kansas City, this week obviously was a rough one, but I do think it’s close for sure.”

PREDICTION: Eagles 35, Cowboys 32

SEASON RECORD: 8-5

Eagles vs. Cowboys Week 14: How to Watch, Betting Odds