The Eagles are hoping to secure the NFC East title and complete a rare sweep of their rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, on Sunday in Philadelphia.
The Eagles (12-3) might need to play without their starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, who suffered a concussion during last weekend’s 36-33 loss to Washington. That loss ended their 10-game winning streak, a team record.
Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett also sustained a rib injury against Washington, so Tanner McKee could be the starting QB for the Eagles on Sunday as they aim to sweep Dallas for the first time since 2011.
On the other side, the Cowboys (7-8) have been playing well with their own backup quarterback, Cooper Rush, who has led Dallas to four wins in the last five games, throwing nine touchdowns and only one interception during that stretch.
The Cowboys find themselves in the unusual position of playing spoiler, as they have missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Two more wins would give Dallas its fourth straight winning season under coach Mike McCarthy.
“It’s hard to win games in this league. It’s definitely an end goal just to have a winning season,” said Cowboys right guard Brock Hoffman. “But definitely where we’ve been at on this journey, take it week by week, win these last two games, have a winning season, and it’s definitely a big boost going into next season.”
The Eagles dominated the Cowboys in the first matchup, winning 34-6 in Week 10 in Arlington, Texas. Hurts threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two more, while Rush only managed 45 yards on 13-of-23 passing.
The Eagles did not practice on Christmas Day, so their injury report on Wednesday was an estimation. However, the team stated that Hurts would not have practiced, and Pickett would have been limited in practice.
Pickett stepped in for the injured Hurts early in the game against Washington and threw a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown.
“I thought it was so cool for our guys to have the confidence in (Pickett) to just hop in there and handle a third down, handle another completion, throw a third-down touchdown in the red zone,” said Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
McKee, a sixth-round pick from Stanford in 2023, has yet to play in a regular-season game.
“I feel like I’ve always been preparing to be the starter and preparing to play, and so my preparation is going to stay the same,” McKee said. “And you know, I’m obviously excited for any opportunity that I do get, but we’re going to take it day by day for those guys.”
Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Eagles are likely to rely heavily on running back Saquon Barkley. With 1,838 rushing yards, Barkley needs 268 more in the final two games to break Eric Dickerson’s 1984 NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards.
The Eagles’ injury report on Wednesday included linebacker Nakobe Dean (abdomen) and running back Will Shipley (concussion) as non-participants. Wide receiver/return specialist Britain Covey (neck) and defensive end Bryce Huff (wrist) were full participants in practice.
The Cowboys’ injury report was also an estimation, with star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (shoulder) and middle linebacker Eric Kendricks (calf) as non-participants. Receiver Jalen Tolbert (finger) was limited, while cornerback Jourdan Lewis (elbow) and defensive tackle Mazi Smith (back) were full participants.
