Dallas (7-10) at Philadelphia (18-3)
Thursday, 8:20 p.m., NBC
BetMGM NFL Odds: Eagles by 8
Series record: Cowboys lead 71-57.
Last meeting: Eagles beat the Cowboys 41-7 in Philadelphia on Dec. 29, 2024.
Cowboys offense in 2024: overall (17), rush (27), pass (11), scoring (21).
Cowboys defense in 2024: overall (28), rush (29), pass (17), scoring (31).
Eagles offense in 2024: overall (8), rush (2), pass (29), scoring (7).
Eagles defense in 2024: overall (1), rush (10), pass (1), scoring (2).
Turnover differential in 2024: Cowboys minus-6; Eagles plus-11.
Cowboys player to watch
DT Kenny Clark. The Cowboys acquired the three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle in last Thursday’s blockbuster trade that sent Micah Parsons to Green Bay. A big game from Clark would strengthen the Cowboys’ porous rush defense from 2024 and help alleviate the sting of losing Parsons, who racked up 52 1/2 sacks in four seasons with Dallas.
Eagles player to watch
RB Saquon Barkley. In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley turned in a historic performance. He padded his regular-season total of 2,005 yards rushing by finishing with 2,504 yards on the ground that included playoff games.
Key matchup
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott versus Philadelphia defense. There are question marks in both areas, after a hamstring injury knocked Prescott out in mid-November for the season in 2024. He needs just 50 completions to pass Tony Romo for second in club history. Can he return to his previous success? And what about Philadelphia’s defense? The unit lost several big names from last season’s Super Bowl winning team, including Darius Slay and Brandon Graham. Will they be as stout as 2024 when they finished first overall and first against the pass in defensive statistics?
Key injuries
Cowboys: CB Trevon Diggs (knee) and LT Tyler Guyton (knee) are trending in the right direction to play on Thursday, coach Brian Schottenheimer said Tuesday. DT Perrion Winfrey (back) did not practice on Tuesday.
Eagles: G Landon Dickerson required meniscus surgery on his right knee after getting hurt in the preseason. He missed practice on Monday with an unrelated back injury. Backup QB Tanner McKee (right thumb) did not practice on Tuesday.
Series notes
Thursday’s matchup is the 32nd primetime meeting between the longtime NFC East rivals, which is the most in NFL history.
Stats and stuff
The Eagles will unveil a championship banner from their Super Bowl LIX title, but coach Nick Sirianni said the players would not be on the field to take part in the celebration. ... Sirianni is 48-20 in the regular season in four years at the helm at Philadelphia. ... Super Bowl MVP QB Jalen Hurts threw for 2,903 yards and 18 TDs last season and rushed for another 630 yards and 14 TDs. ... WR A.J. Brown had 1,079 yards receiving and WR DeVonta Smith had 833. ... In addition to Slay and Graham, other key players from 2024 lost from the Eagles’ defense include Josh Sweat, Milton Williams and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Returning to Philadelphia’s secondary are second-year cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. DT Jalen Carter anchors Philadelphia’s strong front. ... Dallas is 41-23-1 in season openers, the highest winning percentage among NFL teams. ... Prescott is 33-8 against the NFC East. ... Wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens have combined for 7,143 yards receiving since 2022. ... Lamb has 496 career receptions and at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of his last four seasons.
Fantasy tip
Watch out for the Cowboys’ special teams. K Brandon Aubrey set a club record with 40 field goals in 2024 and made 14 from 50-plus yards. KaVontae Turpin averaged an NFL-best 33.5 yards per kickoff return last season.
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The Associated Press
