Saturday afternoon's divisional showdown between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles had a lot more teeth before the Cowboys fell three games behind Philly for the NFC East lead with an overtime loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Add to that equation the absence of Jalen Hurts due to a sprained shoulder and suddenly the Cowboys' Week 16 game becomes a fairly benign occasion. It's still Cowboys-Eagles, however, which means bragging rights are on the line. Perhaps it's only fitting that the Eagles should take on the Cowboys with Gardner Minshew in Dallas after Cooper Rush got thrown to the wolves in Philadelphia earlier this season. Even if Saturday isn't the winner-take-all divisional battle that it could have been, there are some storylines to watch. Here are some Cowboys Week 16 predictions for the rivalry game against the Eagles.
*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
The Eagles will have a chance to win even without Hurts
The first thing to consider here is that there are about two dozen backup quarterbacks in the NFL worse than Gardner Minshew. It was only three seasons ago after all that Minshew Mania swept the country as the Washington State product threw 21 touchdowns to six interceptions in 12 starts for the Jaguars. Surround him with the best offensive line in football, elite tools on the outside like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and a defense that won't require a ton of points to get him a win, and suddenly it doesn't seem so impossible that the Eagles pull out a win without Hurts at the helm.
Hurts deserves credit for the jump he has made since his rookie season. Philadelphia undoubtedly is a better team with him than without him. There is still something to be said for the situation that the Eagles' front office has put him in, though. Minshew is now set up to succeed in that same situation with the same playmakers that Hurts has benefited from having all year. If the Cowboys were planning on cruising to a home victory against a backup quarterback, they better make other plans. There will be a point in this game when the Eagles make a play to put themselves in position to steal a win on the road. The Cowboys have to be ready to make a play of their own.
A new face emerges in the secondary
The Cowboys' trip to Jacksonville revealed a lot of problems in the secondary and few solutions. The Kelvin Joseph experiment feels just about over in the absence of Anthony Brown. Dan Quinn has held an open competition at practice all week with a mix of in-house youngsters like Joseph and Nahshon Wright, plus some veteran newcomers such as Kendall Sheffield and Trayvon Mullen.
It doesn't seem likely that Joseph or Wright showed Quinn anything over a week of practice that could trump the disaster that has occurred in the secondary since Brown went down. DaRon Bland has made a name for himself as a nickel corner, but moving him to the outside just creates another hole for the Cowboys to fill. Enter Sheffield and Mullen, a pair of options who have more experience than either Joseph or Wright. Mullen was a second-round pick for the Raiders in 2019 and made 31 starts in three years. Mullen was then traded to Arizona this past summer but never really found a place in their defensive scheme. After the Cowboys claimed Mullen off waivers, the cornerback finds himself with a real opportunity in the Dallas secondary.
It's pretty clear at this point that Kelvin Joseph isn't the solution for the Cowboys' depleted secondary. Dallas should be looking for other options on Saturday against a backup quarterback. Mullen might be the frontrunner to emerge as a potential impact player for Dallas' defense down the stretch.
Tyron Smith provides stability to the Cowboys' offensive line
The Jacksonville game was supposed to be something of a ramp-up outing for Tyron Smith as he returned from injury. Instead Smith was the Cowboys' primary right tackle and did an outstanding job. Now that his season debut is behind him and he appeared to handle a larger-than-expected workload rather well, the Cowboys should be ready to take the training wheels off. Dak Prescott suffered from uneven pass protection even before Terence Steele was injured. The addition of Smith with another Hall of Fame tackle on the other end of the line in Jason Peters will do wonders for the Cowboys' trench men from a consistency standpoint. That will come in handy against Philly's formidable front seven.
Both Philadelphia and Dallas have defensive fronts capable of taking over a game. Without Smith, the Eagles could have their way with Prescott. The prospect of Smith playing without a pitch count should do wonders for Prescott's confidence. Expect that to show Saturday afternoon in the Cowboys' Week 16 matchup.
Follow Us
Subscribe