5 things to watch for in the Dallas Cowboys’ matchup against the Philidelphia Eagles

PHILADELPHIA — The Cowboys (7-8) hit the road against the division-leading Eagles (12-3) Sunday in a game that was flexed out of the 3:25 p.m. national window to a noon start. 

The Cowboys are out of the playoff chase, but they still have an opportunity to block the Eagles from claiming a division title this week. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will sit out because of the lingering effects from a concussion suffered in a loss to the Commanders Sunday. But the Eagles are still a 7.5-point favorite to win.

Here are 5 things to watch for in the Cowboys divisional tilt against the Eagles Sunday afternoon.

With Hurts unavailable and Kenny Pickett getting the start, it would only make sense for the Eagles to lean on the NFL’s rushing leader Saquon Barkley. 

He’s racked up 1,838 yards on the ground this season, putting him in shouting distance of two major milestones. Barkley needs 162 yards to become just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. And he’s 268 yards shy of matching the NFL’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set by Rams great Eric Dickerson.

The Cowboys’ defense held Barkley relatively in check in their first meeting this season. He ran for just 66 yards, but the Eagles blew out the Cowboys 34-6. The Cowboys struggle against the run, ranking 28th in the NFL, allowing 135.9 yards per contest. With Barkley leading the way, the Eagles entered Week 17 as the top rushing offense in the league racking up 188 ground yards per game.

The Cowboys could at least have a fighting chance if Hurts can’t go, but Barkley will be a handful regardless.

The Cowboys have decided to shut down star receiver Ceedee Lamb due to a lingering shoulder injury. Initially, the team believed Lamb wouldn’t risk further damage to the AC joint. But after additional imaging, they’ve opted to err on the side of caution. Lamb has soldiered through the last seven games dealing with the injury and produced record-breaking performances.

Lamb delivered 100-yard halves in back-to-back games. No other Cowboys receiver has ever pulled off that feat. For the season, Lamb has grabbed 101 catches for 1,194 yards —  just the third player in NFL history to notch 100 catches in three of his first five seasons. And his 496 career receptions are the most by any Cowboy in their first five years.

The Cowboys will miss the production as well as the leadership his grit and determination provided. Now it’s up to a largely unproven receiver group to step up. At the very least, it’s a prime opportunity for players like Jalen Tolbert, Ryan Flournoy, and Jonathan Mingo to make their case for next season,  on the Cowboys roster or elsewhere.

For the second time in his career, Cowboys backup QB Cooper Rush has won 4-out-of-5 games. Rush had a similar successful stretch when Dak Prescott was out with a calf injury in 2022. Now, Rush has a chance to make up for his forgettable performance in last month’s blowout loss to the Eagles. Let’s be honest: that 13-for-23, 45-yard outing was awful. 

Fast forward to today, and the seventh-year signal-caller is playing the best football of his career. Over the past two games, he’s shredded defenses, throwing for 292 yards and a touchdown against Tampa Bay after a three-touchdown showing against Carolina. Oh, and he’s also carved out a bizarre piece of NFL trivia: Rush is the only quarterback in history to beat four Heisman Trophy winners (Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Bryce Young, and Baker Mayfield) in his first 13 starts. Go figure.

He’s set to become a free agent after the season, and his recent performances might make him a hot commodity. The Cowboys would surely love to keep him as Prescott’s backup, but if he keeps lighting it up, he might just price himself out of town.

Brandon Aubrey’s right leg isn’t just a weapon—it’s a full-blown howitzer, continuing to take the NFL by storm. Against the Buccaneers, Aubrey drilled four field goals, including three bombs from 50-plus yards. That performance pushed his season total to 14 field goals from that range, a new single-season NFL record.

I’ve made this case before, but now that the playoffs are out of reach, here’s hoping Mike McCarthy finds a spot for Aubrey to take a shot at breaking Justin Tucker’s NFL record 66-yard field goal. Aubrey already crushed a 65-yarder earlier this season against the Ravens. He gave a 70-yard attempt his best shot against the Panthers, but the weather had other plans.

Speaking of weather, Sunday’s forecast in Philadelphia is calling for rain—not exactly ideal for record-breaking kicks. But the season finale at home against the Commanders? That might just be the perfect time for Aubrey to make history. It would be a fitting exclamation point on one of the best single-season performances we’ve ever seen from a kicker.

The final thing I’ll be watching in this one is how the Cowboys come out to play. What we witnessed a week ago against Tampa Bay was really interesting. After finding out hours before that they’d been completely eliminated from playoff contention, the Cowboys gave a remarkable effort. It was a hard-hitting and tense affair. And the Cowboys’ determination was rewarded with an upset win.

Now we get to see what they’ve got left in the tank against the hated Eagles. Make no mistake, the Cowboys don’t want to be a part of a so-called t-shirt game. They don’t want to be in Philly when the Eagles break out the shirts and caps proclaiming them as NFC East champs. Can the Cowboys avoid a letdown after playing so hard on Sunday night before a national audience? We’ll see if the Cowboys can summon up another big-time performance with nothing but pride on the line.