With the division title suddenly back in play for both teams, the Dallas Cowboys' Week 14 clash with the Philadelphia Eagles has the implications to be the biggest regular season game each NFC contender has played in a long time. Hurts' Eagles came out on top Week 8 in Philly, but Prescott and the Cowboys are riding a hot streak into Sunday's home rematch.
The Cowboys have a chance to force a tie at the top of the division at AT&T Stadium come Sunday evening. Here's what to watch for as the two NFC titans wage war for NFC East supremacy and our Week 14 Dallas Cowboys bold predictions.
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DaRon Bland and Micah Parsons leave their mark
Hurts' lack of pocket presence didn't hurt the Eagles much in 2022, but it has caught up to them this season. NFL's Next Gen Stats clocks Hurts' average time to throw at 3.07 seconds, the third-slowest mark in the NFL this season behind Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud.
Hurts' penchant for camping out in the pocket has led to an increase in both sacks and interceptions in 2023. The Cowboys happen to employ two of the best players in football with regard to sacking the quarterback and grabbing interceptions: Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland.
Sunday is going to be an uncomfortable evening for Hurts, especially on the heels of a heavyweight beatdown at the hands of San Francisco in Week 13. How Hurts handles that discomfort remains to be seen, but the rest of the league has succeeded so far in forcing Hurts to make mistakes this season. More mistakes than he made a year ago, at least.
Expect Micah Parsons to reach his target at least once as Dan Quinn dials up plenty of pressure for Hurts, and expect Bland to capitalize if an errant ball is thrown his way as a result.
Darius Slay, Eagles' pass rush limits CeeDee Lamb
The Cowboys' top target turned in a career-high 191 receiving yards at Lincoln Financial Field when the Cowboys and Eagles first met this season. That performance was part of a larger hot streak that has helped CeeDee Lamb take his game to the next level in 2023. So why shouldn't Lamb be in line for another monster evening on Sunday in Dallas?
He very well could be, but if defensive coordinator Sean Desai has one priority after Deebo Samuel took down the Eagles almost single-handedly last week, shutting down Dallas' top receiving threat would probably be it.
Darius Slay is likely the player who will bear the brunt of that task, and he's more than capable as one of the top coverage corners in football. The strong push that Philadelphia generates up front will be a factor as well.
Desai and the Eagles will likely commit to stopping Lamb and the Cowboys' passing game overall in hopes that Dallas' middling rushing attack won't be enough to win. Lamb won't disappear completely, but the Eagles' best efforts to remove him from the game script should be on display Sunday night.
Cowboys win in a shootout
Predicting a victory for a team already favored to win at home might not sound very bold, but the Cowboys have struggled to pull out big wins over NFC contenders recently. In eight meetings with the Eagles and 49ers since 2021, the Cowboys are 2-6. Each of those two wins came against the Eagles, but it has been rough sledding for Dallas in games that matter most. So what's different this time around?
For starters, the best quarterback in the rivalry right now wears silver and blue. That was true when the Cowboys and Eagles met in Philly in Week 8, and it remains true in Week 14 as Dak Prescott has vaulted himself into the MVP race while Hurts may be playing himself out of it.
The Cowboys also have the advantage of playing at home and preparing with all that tape the 49ers gave them in Week 13. It's going to be a close game and both teams will have a chance to steal a victory before it ends, but the circumstances are piling up in Dallas' favor for this one.
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