The Philadelphia Eagles are headed down to Dallas to try to beat the Cowboys in AT&T Stadium for the first time since 2017.
In order to preview this Week 10 NFC East battle, I reached out to our enemies over at Blogging The Boys. The dapper Dave Halprin kindly kindly took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming tilt. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers about the Eagles, stay tuned to BTB.]
1 – Dak Prescott is hurt. Cooper Rush or Trey Lance: who will start at quarterback, who should start at quarterback, and what’s your confidence level in them?
The Cowboys will almost certainly start Cooper Rush this week. Jerry Jones is pretending the season can be saved, see the unwise trade for WR Jonathan Mingo as evidence. The Cowboys are 3-5 so they don’t have a horrible record, but their underlying issues combined with not having Dak Prescott should certainly signal that the playoffs have basically slipped out of reach. But expect the Cowboys to give it the ol’ college try for the next week or two and Cooper Rush will lead that charge. What they should do is, at minimum, give Trey Lance a few series along the way with a package tailored to his skill set and see what happens. Starting him would also be an option and they should be doing that before long. For now, expect Rush, possibly exclusively this week as the front office tries to pretend they are saving the season. I think my confidence level in anything associated with the Cowboys right now can be gleaned from the fact I think the season is cooked.
2 – The Dallas defense is allowing the second-most offensive points per game in the NFL. What’s the reason for those struggles?
The first reason you have to point to is the injuries. Their top four defensive ends, Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Marshawn Kneeland and Sam Williams have either missed some or all of the season. We are down to the bottom of the depth chart at defensive end. Thus, no pass rush. Combine that with a very weak interior defensive tackle position and you have a front four that gets bullied. The Cowboys have also been missing CB DaRon Bland all year, and his replacement, rookie Caelen Carson, has been injured and had his own struggles when healthy. The safety duo of Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker has gotten exposed in the passing game. Top that off with a new defensive scheme under Mike Zimmer that has been known to take a while to master, and you have a defense that is a shell of what it was for the past few seasons under Dan Quinn. They can’t stop the run and they don’t get a lot of turnovers or sacks.
3 – What are some of the biggest positives the Cowboys have going for them right now?
They should get a lot of compensatory draft picks for the 2025 NFL Draft. Okay, a little too cynical? How about linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. He missed his rookie year with an ACL tear, but has come back this year and is looking like a playmaker. He is quick, closes with amazing speed, and can deliver a hit. He is still raw, so there are issues with diagnosing plays and reading his keys, but that should all improve with playing time. Rookie center Cooper Beebe has had stretches of time where he looks like he could be a high-quality center in the future. The Cowboys are also slated to get back Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland soon. DeMarcus Lawrence and Brandin Cooks could also return at some point, so they will at least get some of their star players back, some of them possibly this week.
4 – Mike McCarthy is totally getting fired, right? Who will be the Cowboys’ head coach in 2025? And who do you want it to be?
Technically, he won’t get fired, they will just let his contract run out after the season and then go looking for a new coach. But yes, in effect, he will be fired after this season. As for what comes next, the elephant in the room is Bill Belichick. It was somewhat discussed this past offseason although they decided to keep McCarthy. Belichick’s name will definitely come up. I would rather they go in a different direction. A young offensive whiz kid like Ben Johnson at Detroit, or Bobby Slowik at Houston, somebody that fits that mold. The Cowboys offense is stale, they need fresh ideas from guys who are innovating in the modern NFL. Who knows, maybe Jerry will pursue Kellen Moore if you guys go deep in the playoffs.
I don’t think there is any reason to think the Cowboys will win this game. They are a sloppy, undisciplined team that will be starting a backup QB and playing at home where they have yet to win this year. Even if they do get back a few key players they just don’t have the firepower on offense to keep up. If you can contain CeeDee Lamb you can pretty much contain the Cowboys offense. I would think the Eagles win by something like a 28-17 margin. And seven of Dallas’ points will come in last-minute garbage time. As for the rest of the season, I am wanting the Cowboys to be smart and start playing players based on their potential future with the club so we can prepare for a new regime in 2025. But I’m not expecting it, and I have no confidence that they will turn things around in a meaningful way.
