Cowboys vs Eagles preview Analyzing key matchups strengths and predictions

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The first game between these two teams this season was, in the words of Jerry Jones, some "serious st."This time, it's even bigger.Just a month removed from their instant cla sic in Philadelphia, the (9-3) and (10-2) in Dallas. And there is a ton on the line in this rematch, including temporary control of the NFC East.The winner will also have a great shot to make a run at the NFC's No. 1 seed. The winning quarterback could emerge as the favorite to win the NFL's MVP Award. And the winner will have some much-needed momentum heading into the final month of a season, one in which both teams think they're capable of making a Super Bowl run.ADVERTISEMENT  "It's the Cowboys and the Eagles," said Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. "I don't think you have to say anything more on that."Well, yes. Forget for a moment that both of these teams were blown out by the this season. This is still a battle of NFC titans. The Eagles won the first game, 28-23 on Nov. 5, but the Cowboys literally lost by inches. They could only hope back then that the next time they faced Philly they'd still have a shot at the NFC East crown.This is the shot they've been waiting for. FOX Sports Cowboys writer David Helman and NFC East writer Ralph Vacchiano break it all down:Vacchiano: David, I know that the NFL is a Alex Wilson Jersey  league of mood swings, and opinions swing wildly from one weekend to the next, but after watching both these teams the last few weeks I've got a really bad feeling about the Eagles heading into this game. It's not just that they got crushed at home by the 49ers last weekend, it's how they've played in the last few weeks  particularly on defense.Admittedly, I'm holding them to an unfair standard. I mean, they've gone 3-1 the last month in a stretch of games that included the Cowboys, , Bills and 49ers. But their defense has looked so vulnerable in all of those games. They're really struggling against the NFL's better offenses.Is Jalen Hurts being scapegoated for the Philadelphia Eagles' struggles?      Which brings me to the Cowboys. They are obviously clicking right now. I think they've got the best offense in the NFL and I don't think there's a quarterback anywhere playing better  Blank Jersey than . They're using all their weapons now. They're even running the ball a little more effectively than they were early this season. So I gue s my question for you is: What's the weakne s in this Cowboys offense? Is there a good way to stop them or even just slow them down?Helman: Fittingly for this week, I think the Eagles showed you how to slow the Cowboys down when this game was played last month.Two likely Hall of Famers, and , play on this Dallas offensive line. Second-year guard Tyler Smith is also growing into one of the game's best young blockers. Despite that, the Cowboys' offensive line as a whole is what I'd call pretty good, not great. You can past them, as Philadelphia showed us when they sacked Dak five times last month  including one that really swung the game's final sequence in the dying seconds.The Cowboys have protected well over the last month because they've played several bad teams. But the got to Prescott last Thursday. He was sacked four times and even had to pull off some Houdini escape acts to make big plays. Jalen Hurts vs. Dak Prescott: Why NFL MVP might be at stake in Sunday's showdown Let me be clear: Dak Prescott is still playing well enough to overcome a good pa s rush. He nearly did it last time out against Philadelphia. If the Eagles don't get him on the ground a few times, I'm positive he's going to hurt their secondary a few times. So you can bet Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai will once again try to test right tackle and anyone else he sees as a weak spot in the Cowboys' protection.Let's stick with the quarterbacks. You mentioned that maybe the standard is unfair for Philly, and it feels like that applies to . I keep seeing speculation about why he seems to be struggling, and then I look at the stats and see that he's averaging 254 total yards Matt Moore Jersey  with nine total touchdowns over the last three games.Is this a case of Hurts not meeting high standards, or is his knee injury hampering him that much? And if it is, do the Eagles need to adjust their offense to addre s that?Vacchiano: I think there's definitely something to Hurts' knee being an i sue, especially because he hasn't run as much as he has in the past. But mostly I think he's a victim of his own really high standards. He was so incredible last year and so impo sible to game plan against, I think we're just shocked when it looks like teams have figured him out.What's really crazy about that, though, is in some ways he's having a better year this year. He's on pace for career-highs in pa sing yards, touchdown pa ses and even rushing touchdowns. And he's still 10-2 even though he's getting le s help from the Eagles' running game and very inconsistent help from their defense.Now, he has made more mistakes this year than he did last year. The 10 interceptions are a career-high already and are a bit alarming. In fairne s to Hurts, he has only thrown three in the last six games, dating back to an ugly, three-interception performance in a bad lo s to the .So I do get why people are concerned about him. He just keeps finding ways to win, though. And every time I think he's limping or trying to project his knee, he looks like the same old Hurts when he takes off on a run.We all probably should stop doubting and worrying about him, at least until he really gives us a reason.Time to take Dak Prescott, Cowboys seriously as Super Bowl contenders?      Of course, playing against the Cowboys defense could be a reason to worry. They did a pretty good job against Hurts last time. He threw for 207 yards and ran for 36, a substandard day for him. The Eagles did score four touchdowns, but they only had 292 total yards. I was shocked by how poorly the Cowboys defense played last Thursday night against the Seahawks, though.Was that an anomaly, or is there reason to be worried about the Dallas D?Helman: We can't call it an anomaly, because we've seen the Cowboys get gashed a few times this year. They might've done a solid job against Philly, but Seattle, Josh Harrison Jersey  San Francisco and even Arizona have hit them for 400 yards this season. Maybe it's just an NFC West thing.In a way, Dallas isn't too di similar to the Eagles. The pa s rush is fierce, but the  Victor Martinez Jersey secondary has struggled some without . And even if the young linebackers have impre sed, it's still fair to call that the weak point of the defense.Hopefully, that doesn't sound like too much of a knock. I'm well aware has set the NFL record for pick-sixes, and is having a nice season. Converted safety has been a pleasant surprise at linebacker, where he was never intended to play prior to training camp. But I still think this group can be picked on, as Seattle showed last week. I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles try to target the middle of the field, where the Cowboys have often been vulnerable.That same vulnerability in the middle of the field also prompts a question about the run game. I would typically say that Dallas isn't very good at defending the run if they don't have a lead, which is why it was so impre sive that they were able to limit the Eagles from running the ball in the first meeting. From my vantage point, Philadelphia hasn't been consistent on the ground all season. Is that something they can fix going forward?Vacchiano: That's absolutely something they can fix, because all the tools are there. The offensive line is still strong  maybe not as strong as last year, but still one of the league's best. Running back D'Andre Swift is fast and shifty and, so far, healthy. Jalen Hurts obviously can add to the run game too, making their RPO plays hard to stop.I think the biggest problem with their run game this season has been off