We're nearly there – the Eagles at Dallas in front of a crowd of, what?, 30,000 fans at AT&T Stadium. How many of them will be Eagles fans? Heck, The Three Jalens (Mills, Reagor, Hurts) are all from Texas. They're going to have family in attendance. Eagles fans are going to be there. It's going to be quite a show. On the field, there are a lot of factors to consider here. The Eagles and Dallas are in must-win situations. And even with the Eagles at 4-9-1 and Dallas at 5-9, there is a lot at stake.
Here is a six-pack of items to consider with such much happening – DeSean Jackson is active and Derek Barnett is out – on this Saturday.
1. The injury update: It's significant
A lot is going on. The Eagles won't have defensive end Derek Barnett, who did not make the trip because of a calf injury, and along with the loss of Josh Sweat, the Eagles are thin at defensive end with Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, and Genard Avery, who has played only 80 defensive snaps this season. Avery is going to need to bring energy and burst off the edge. Expect Joe Ostman, the team's Ed Block Courage Award winner elevated from the practice squad, to get some reps as well.
Sweat and cornerback Kevon Seymour have been moved to Injured Reserve, ending their seasons. Jordan Howard is also up on the active roster for this game to give the Eagles a power running back in short-yardage situations.
Tight end Caleb Wilson and defensive tackle T.Y. McGill have been promoted from the practice squad to the active roster.
The really interesting news: The Eagles activated wide receiver DeSean Jackson from the Injured Reserve list. Clearly, they've seen enough from him in practice this week to think he can help at Dallas. Jackson has played in only four games this season and hasn't played since the first Giants game on October 22. Jackson has had such an injury-plagued two seasons since returning to Philadelphia and it seemed the Eagles were turning the page at the position with the emergence of their young receivers. Jackson has 13 receptions for 155 yards this season. He's an intriguing addition to the passing attack, for sure. The speed is there. The deep threat is significant. How much of an impact can Jackson have for an offense that wants to be multifaceted against Dallas?
The Eagles are also without linebacker Duke Riley, who is good in the screen game and in coverage with his speed, so rookie Shaun Bradley may play an increased role.
Dallas is missing some key pieces on its defense at each level. Defensive tackle Antwaun Woods is out with an ankle injury. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is out with an ankle injury and the Cowboys are going to miss his aggressiveness and his sideline-to-sideline abilities. Safety Xavier Woods, who has played 96 percent of the team's defensive snaps, is out with a ribs injury. And defensive back Rashard Robinson, who helped Dallas with a lot of defensive snaps when the Cowboys had injuries in recent weeks, is out with a knee injury. In the cases of Woods, Vander Esch, and Woods, the Cowboys are losing starters in the middle of the defense. It's going to be interesting to see how the Eagles look to exploit those losses. Do they go after the inside of the Dallas defense and work their way to the edges?
2. Miles Sanders is ready for a Dallas experience
It wasn't necessarily pretty in the Eagles' 17-9 win last December against Dallas at Lincoln Financial Field, but the game provided an indication of the damage running back Miles Sanders can do against the Dallas defense: he had 20 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown and added five receptions for 77 yards. With the Cowboys' defensive injuries, Sanders could get a lot of touches on Sunday. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him featured in the high-energy running game, either, as Dallas is 32nd in the league in rushing defense, allowing 161.8 yards per game, and more than 180 yards per game in the last three weeks.
"The running game is very important," Sanders said. "Just getting it started and getting it rolling, it's going to open up a lot of stuff for us as a team and having a quarterback like Jalen, who can use his feet and pull it when it needs to pull it and just attacking the defense and staying on them and being aggressive in the run game is going to help us, regardless, whatever we want to do. They're still a great team over there, it's still a good football team. They've got NFL players on the team, so nothing is going to be easy despite the stats and whatever it is. We've just got to control what we can control and go out there and dominate, play after play."
Sanders did not play in the 23-9 win over Dallas on November 1. He has rushed for 810 yards in 11 games and, with a huge final two regular-season games, could become the franchise's first 1,000-yard rusher since LeSean McCoy in 2014 (1,319 yards). His thoughts on that possibility?
"I'm aware that we've got to win this week," he said. "I'm aware that if we win this week and everything handles itself, we have a chance to win the NFC East the next game. That's what I'm aware of."
3. Scoreboard watching? Not the Eagles
A lot of players were asked during the week about keeping one eye on the gigantic scoreboard at AT&T Stadium on Sunday as the Giants-Ravens game wraps up while the Eagles are on the field warming up and as Washington takes on Carolina at the same time the Eagles are playing. Nobody was biting, and veteran defensive tackle Malik Jackson summed it up best.
"My philosophy is just: Do our job," Jackson said. "It's one of those things, as a team we wouldn't be in this position, scoreboard watching, if we do our job. The one thing we have learned is – win the game. If we win and do what we're supposed to do, I believe everything will fall in place. We just have to win the game."
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December 27, 2020 at 12:39AM
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A six-pack sample: DeSean Jackson is active; what does it mean? - PhiladelphiaEagles.com
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