Eagles vs. Cowboys: What Eagles leaders are leaning on, and everything else to know ahead of Monday Night Football
Tanner McKee and the Eagles will host the Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Here’s what you need to know.
We’ve reached the stage of the losing streak where the Eagles are pulling inspiration from anywhere they can find it. Jordan Mailata is “doubling down” on the relationships and the time he has spent with his teammates.
“It’s what carries you through,” he said earlier this week.
He’s relying on one of the many mind tricks he learned from Jeff Stoutland, call it one of the countless Stoutisms that were beaten into his brain by the team’s former offensive line coach. Mailata has been playing next to a few inexperienced linemen, and he’s been reminding them to “just focus on four seconds at a time,” those “in-game, mini decisions” that make or break a play or a drive.
“No one is coming to save us,” Mailata said. “It’s a so-what, now-what mentality. That’s how we have to play up front. You can’t feel sorry for yourself.”
Saquon Barkley, meanwhile, is looking to his past.
“I felt like this was every year in New York, to be honest,” Barkley, who is questionable for Monday’s game, said Thursday at his locker stall. Sometimes the injuries there involved him, he noted.
The Eagles are on a four-game losing streak that threatens to reach five for the first time since 2016, and Barkley knows, if he returns, that the Eagles will need a lot out of him.
“The beautiful thing in this situation is everything we want is still there,” he said. “The NFC East is really asking for someone to take it over.
“It takes one game to kind of get things flowing.”
Barkley, Mailata said, returned to practice this week after missing the last two games and most of the one before that with a hamstring injury. The star running back didn’t do anything differently. “It’s just Say being Say,” Mailata said, providing his normal infectious energy throughout the day.
“Just because we’re in the s— and we’re going through and we’re experiencing so much, it doesn’t mean you need to change who you are,” Mailata said.
On Monday night, we’ll see if the Eagles can turn words to actions.
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How to watch Eagles vs. Cowboys
The Eagles and Cowboys kick off at 8:15 p.m. on Monday night. The Monday Night Football team of Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (analyst) has the call with Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge on the sideline.
As usual, Merrill Reese and Mike Quick have the hometown radio call on 94 WIP.
Looking to watch the game somewhere in the city with fellow Eagles fans? Here’s our latest list of places to watch.
Final injury report
How big would Barkley’s return be? For a team missing DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), Barkley’s presence is hard to overstate. He was a full participant in practice on Saturday.
The Eagles are already playing with backup quarterback Tanner McKee, who will man the No. 1 job for the foreseeable future as Jalen Hurts continues going through treatment for blood clots.
Eagles
Out
DB Michael Carter, abdomen
OLB Nolan Smith, concussion
WR DeVonta Smith, hamstring
WR Dontayvion Wicks, ankle
Questionable
RB Saquon Barkley, hamstring
CB Jakorian Bennett, knee
TE Grant Calcaterra, back
G Landon Dickerson, knee/pectoral
OLB Jonathan Greenard, ankle
OLB Jalyx Hunt, knee/ankle
TE Eli Stowers, quad
Cowboys
Dallas’ struggling defense is getting two key defensive players back in linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and cornerback Cobie Durant.
Out
T Drew Shelton, hamstring
WR KaVonte Turpin, ribs
LB Dee Winters, calf
Questionable
OLB Marist Liufau, forearm
S P.J. Locke, foot
Storylines to watch
McKee is going through some firsts right now with the Eagles. Last week marked his first start with real stakes. This week he started the week knowing he was the No. 1 after getting thrown into the huddle last Thursday when it became clear Hurts was out.
He’s going through his first extended run as a starter since he was a senior at Stanford in 2022.
McKee, my colleague Olivia Reiner wrote this weekend, contains “multitudes,” according to his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Stanford, Tavita Pritchard, who is now the school’s head coach. The Eagles will lean on the positive presence McKee brings, but they’ll also hope he shows why he’s “a freaking killer on the field.”
There remain many unanswered questions about Hurts’ care, but the Eagles aren’t saying much. They have issued two statements. The second was released because they said it was in the interest of full transparency, but they left a lot of information out and didn’t make available anyone from their medical staff.
Both offenses have been struggling of late, but Dallas’ unit has a lot more talent at the moment. The Eagles’ struggles have been unheard of in the Nick Sirianni era, according to the numbers.
Is this Hollywood Brown’s big chance to show the Eagles he can be part of the solution on offense, or is he just auditioning for another team?
Jalyx Hunt could be back, too, and he said his injury in London during a Week 5 loss to Jacksonville could have been a lot worse.
Our Eagles Week 7 preview show
What’s going on with the Eagles and what should you be looking for on Monday? Olivia Reiner and I discussed on this week’s pregame show.
Stick with us after Monday night’s game. Ryan Novozinsky will be reacting live after the final whistle.
Latest Week 7 odds
The Eagles are 4½-point underdogs to the Cowboys on Monday night. Before this season, the Eagles being a home ‘dog under Sirianni was a rare occurrence. In this disastrous campaign, it’s starting to become the norm.
Check out more odds and player props for this week here.
Eagles-Cowboys predictions
Jeff McLane: Eagles 19, Cowboys 17
Jeff Neiburg: Cowboys 24, Eagles 16
Olivia Reiner: Cowboys 27, Eagles 15
Ryan Novozinsky: Cowboys 24, Eagles 14
Check out the reasoning behind our writers’ picks and McLane’s keys to the game (and why he thinks the Eagles will win). As for the rest of the country, here’s a look at the national media predictions for Sunday.
What we’re saying about the Eagles
Here’s what our columnists are saying this week, starting with Mike Sielski, who wrote about Sirianni’s future.
Sielski: “If I were you, and this season turns out to be a disaster, there would be a course of action that would ensure I retained my dignity and self-respect. I could walk into Lurie’s office — maybe before the regular season’s final game, maybe just after it — and tell him that I’m walking away.” Read more.
David Murphy: ”The calculus of how to replace Hurts depends on some higher-level math. What is the Eagles’ likely path forward into the 2027 season? Who is the coach likely to be? What sort of offensive scheme will the Eagles be running?" Read more.
Marcus Hayes: “Did the Eagles and Hurts’ handlers have [preserving his health] in mind the past few days? Yes, according to two medical sources contacted by The Inquirer who have no ties to Hurts or the Eagles.” Read more
What the Cowboys are saying
Jerry Jones had some thoughts on the Hurts situation.
The Cowboys owner was asked whether he believed the Eagles and their medical staff handled the situation correctly when they allowed him to play against the Jaguars in London after finding a blood clot in his calf.
“There’s not one thing that I’m aware of that was left unturned to make those decisions,” Jones said. “It was handled with complete proficiency.”
Former Eagles defensive backs coach Christian Parker, now Dallas’ defensive coordinator, on facing the Eagles: “It’s just another division game. … It’s another divisional opponent and another task for us as a team."
What else we’re reading and watching
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time.
