The Eagles look to win the NFC East title while completing a rare sweep of the rival Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Philadelphia.
The Eagles (12-3) may have to play without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, who suffered a concussion in last weekend’s 36-33 loss at Washington that snapped their 10-game winning streak.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett suffered a rib injury against the Commanders, which likely put Tanner McKee under center Sunday as Philadelphia tries to sweep Dallas for the first time since 2011.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys (7-8) are clicking with their QB2 in control. Cooper Rush has guided Dallas to wins in four of its last five games, throwing nine touchdown passes and one interception in that span.
The Cowboys are in the unusual position of playing spoiler, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Two more wins would give Dallas its fourth straight winning season under fifth-year coach Mike McCarthy.
“It’s hard to win games in this league. It’s really the ultimate goal to have a winning season,” Cowboys right guard Brock Hoffman said. “… But definitely where we’ve been on this trip, take it week by week, win these last two games, have a winning season, and definitely a big improvement going into next season.”
The Eagles won 34-6 over the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, in the first meeting in Week 10, with Hurts throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for two scores. The Rush finished with 45 yards on 13-of-23 passing.
The Eagles did not practice on Christmas Day, so their injury report Wednesday was an estimate, but the team said Hurts would not practice and Pickett would not participate.
Pickett replaced Woozy Hurts in the first quarter against Washington and finished the drive with a touchdown pass to AJ Brown.
“I thought it was great for our guys to have the confidence in (Pickett) to just jump in there and catch a third down, catch another play, throw a third down in the red zone,” Eagles coordinator Kellen Moore. said Tuesday. “I thought that was a really good time.”
A sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, McKee has yet to appear in a regular season game.
“I feel like I’ve always been preparing to be a starter and preparing to play, so my preparation will always be the same,” McKee said Tuesday. “And you know, obviously I’m excited for any opportunity that I get, but we’re going to take it day by day on those guys.”
Regardless of who plays QB, the Eagles will likely lean heavily on Saquon Barkley. With 1,838 rushing yards, he needs 268 over the past two games to break Eric Dickerson’s 1984 NFL single-season record of 2,105.
Philadelphia’s initial injury report on Wednesday also listed linebacker Nakobe Dean (abdomen) and running back Will Shipley (contusion) as out. Wide receiver/return specialist Britain Covey (neck) and defensive end Bryce Huff (wrist) were full participants.
The first injury report for the Cowboys was also an estimate. Star wideout CeeDee Lamb (shoulder) and middle linebacker Eric Kendricks (calf) highlighted the list of non-participants. Receiver Jalen Tolbert (finger) was limited, while linebacker Jourdan Lewis (elbow) and defensive end Mazi Smith (back) were full participants.
–Field Level Media
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