On Sunday Night Football in Week 7, the Philadelphia Eagles had the opportunity to take control of the NFC East by defeating the Dallas Cowboys. The game turned into a 37-10 blowout in favor of Dallas. After losing two games straight, the 3-4 Eagles will face the 5-1 Buffalo Bills in Week 8.

While Philadelphia has the talent to win the NFC East, the team has underperformed against relevant opponents. The Eagles only have one win against a team with a winning record this season. The team even found a way to lose to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. That matchup is Atlanta's only win this season.

The Bills might have a strong defense and a solid record, but they're vulnerable. Week 8 is the perfect chance for Philadelphia to rebound from a disheartening loss and pick up a meaningful win.

4. Advantages in playmakers

While the Bills have a noticeable advantage defensively, Philadelphia's offense is more than capable of matching Buffalo's. Specifically, the Eagles have better skill players and playmakers than the Bills.

While Philadelphia's receiving corps without DeSean Jackson is mediocre, Buffalo has even fewer threats at wide receiver. The Bills don't even have a player that approaches the level of tight end, Zach Ertz. Philadelphia's backup tight end Dallas Goedert is good enough to be Buffalo's starter.

At running back, Frank Gore has been incredibly productive for Buffalo. However, the Eagles have two solid running backs in Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders. The Bills rely heavily on Josh Allen for rushing yards. Rooking running back, Devin Singletary is finally healthy for Buffalo, but he's coming off a poor performance against Miami. It's hard to tell how he'll factor into the Week 8 matchup.

3. Fletcher Cox is finally healthy

The All-Pro defensive tackle hasn't been as effective this season as fans anticipated. Cox, who has made the last four Pro Bowls, had a career year in 2018. He posted 10.5 sacks and was selected as a First-Team All-Pro alongside Aaron Donald. While Cox has created opportunities for his teammates this season, he has personally struggled to match his production from last year.

Cox, who failed to even appear in the box score of Philadelphia's Week 3 loss to Detroit, has hit his stride these past few weeks. In Weeks 5 and 6, Cox recorded five tackles. Then, in Week 7 he finally got his first sack of the season.

It took a while, but Cox is rounding into mid-season form. As the team's best defensive player, it's Cox's responsibility to set the tone on his side of the ball. The Eagles need him terrorizing quarterbacks and setting up camp in opposing backfields again.

2. Josh Allen's silly turnovers

Buffalo's second-year quarterback may have a promising arm and good mobility, but he makes some terrible decisions. This season, Allen has thrown seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. As a rookie, he threw ten touchdowns and 12 interceptions. While he's completing a higher percentage of passes and winning more games this season, Allen is still a raw player that defenses can exploit.

Allen's completion percentage has risen from 52.8% last season to 62.4% this year. However, his interception percentage, the percentage of times a player is intercepted when attempting to pass, has only decreased a little. Last year, 3.8% of Allen's passes were intercepted. 3.7% of his attempts are still being picked off this year.

Philadelphia doesn't have a good secondary, but the New York Jets intercepted Allen twice in Week 1. New York doesn't have a good secondary either, yet they still created turnovers. Philadelphia will have a shot to capitalize on Allen's mistakes in Week 8.

1. Desperation

The Cowboys are only one game ahead of the Eagles and they hold the tiebreaker. That's a slim gap considering Dallas is also prone to underperforming in the spotlight. However, after facing the Bills, Philadelphia will take on Chicago in Week 9, New England in Week 11, and Seattle in Week 12. Things get significantly easier after Week 12, but this will still be a grueling four-game stretch. It's conceivable Philadelphia could lose all four games.

The Cowboys will have to face all of those teams, except for Seattle, at some point this season. Dallas will lose some games, but it would be a nightmare situation for Philadelphia if their divisional rivals won several tough matchups. The Eagles and Carson Wentz cannot settle into a position behind the Cowboys. Chasing from behind for the rest of the season is just a bad idea. Philadelphia needs to draw even with Dallas.