Dallas Cowboys: Gut feeling for Week Nine

The Dallas Cowboys will look to come away with a big win against a bitter rival. This week they take on the Philadelphia Eagles, here is a preview.

The Dallas Cowboys are coming off of their toughest loss of the season as their playoff hopes appear to be on life support. A big win here would go a long way to re-establishing them as contenders in the NFC East. So how exactly will Sunday’s game play out? Let’s take a look.

How will the left guard position hold up?
A big factor in this contest is how the offensive line will respond to Connor Williams being out with a knee injury. While he’s not expected to be out for a considerable amount of time, both Adam Redmond and Xavier Su’a-Filo should see significant snaps this week.

Su’a-Filo is a bigger/stronger player who could come in during power run plays and goal-line situations. Connor Williams was not exactly having an elite season so realistically the backups could come in and surprise a lot of people.

While this is not a long-term problem this situation will allow Dallas to evaluate some of the depth they have at offensive line and whether or not they need to make an investment in that area during the offseason.

Dak Prescott versus Carson Wentz:
Prescott: 10 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 247 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 7 fumbles (4 lost)

Wentz: 13 touchdowns, two interceptions, 89 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns, 7 fumbles (5 lost)

Very similar stats here with these young quarterbacks as both of their respective offensive lines have done a pretty terrible job of keeping them off of the turf.

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Carson Wentz has the three extra touchdowns through the air, but Dak Prescott has the two on the ground limiting the gap in their production.

This game may not be a battle of the gunslingers but being effective and productive is absolutely critical in this contest. The Dallas Cowboys have the third highest rated passing defense in the NFL (behind only, Jacksonville and Detroit). Went should have a fairly difficult time throwing the football on Dallas in this heated rivalry contest.

Philadelphia, on the other hand,d has an 18th ranked pass defense that is going to be without starter Jalen Mills. The Dallas Cowboys and Eagles are basically right next to each other in terms of pass rush rankings (6th and 7th) so both Prescott and Wentz should expect to be under some duress.

This game could come down to who helps their football team cash in on red zone opportunities. It seems simple, but the quarterback who makes the most plays this week should help guide their team to victory.

Final outcome:
The Dallas Cowboys are 0-4 on the road, that cannot last. The Eagles have always been a favorable matchup and their players giving Dallas a ton of bulletin board material this week cannot help.

The Eagles are great at stopping the run but that may not matter with their vulnerable secondary waiting to get thrown on. Dak seems out to prove to the doubters that he can be a productive and more importantly, winning, quarterback in the NFL and this game will be the perfect opportunity to do just that.

It just seems likely that the odds will finally work in Dallas’s favor and they will string together a couple of plays to get the big win over the Super Bowl champs.

Score: Cowboys: 28, Eagles: 24

• Published on 11/11/2018 at 01:53 AM
• Last updated at 11/11/2018 at 01:53 AM