Eagles look to clinch NFC East title while Cowboys hope to play spoiler

Dallas (7-8) at Philadelphia (12-3)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox

NFL Odds: Eagles by 7 1/2

Against the spread: Dallas 6-9; Philadelphia 9-6

Series record: Cowboys lead 74-58.

Last meeting: Jalen Hurts threw two touchdowns and ran for two more in the Eagles’ 34-6 rout of the Cowboys at Dallas on Nov. 10.

Last week: Cowboys defeated the Buccaneers 26-24; Eagles lost 36-33 at Washington.

Cowboys offense: overall (16), rush (28), pass (10), scoring (20)

Cowboys defense: overall (27), rush (27), pass (21), scoring (30)

Eagles offense: overall (6), rush (1), pass (31), scoring (8)

Eagles defense: overall (1), rush (9), pass (2), scoring (5)

Turnover differential: Cowboys minus-3; Eagles plus-6

Eagles player to watch

RB Saquon Barkley is 162 yards shy of becoming the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season and needs 268 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984.

Cowboys player to watch

In his past five games, QB Cooper Rush has passed for nine touchdowns and one interception, looking more comfortable of late after taking over for Dak Prescott in November. Rush is 9-2 as a starter against teams that are not the Eagles.

Key matchup

Dallas’s rushing defense vs. Barkley. Can anyone stop him? The Cowboys will be the latest to try to corral Barkley, who has 1,838 rushing yards and 2,114 scrimmage yards, both of which lead the NFL. Dallas ranks 28th in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing an average of 135.9 yards a game. Philadelphia, behind Barkley’s stellar play, tops the league at 187.9 yards a game on the ground.

Key injuries

Cowboys: WR CeeDee Lamb will miss the final two games after getting shut down over the sprained right shoulder he's been dealing with the second half of the season. ... LB Eric Kendricks (calf) warmed up but wasn’t able to play against Tampa Bay last week.

Eagles: Hurts is in concussion protocol after leaving the game following a 13-yard scramble with 9:52 left in the first quarter last week. ... DE Josh Sweat (ankle) and Jordan Davis also left the game at Washington early. ... QB Ian Book was signed to the practice squad Thursday.

Series notes

The Cowboys made the playoffs in each of the previous three seasons, but were eliminated prior to their game against Tampa Bay last week when the Commanders came back from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Philadelphia. … Dallas is 5-2 on the road. ... The Eagles can clinch the NFC East and one of the conference's top two seeds with a victory. ... On Jan. 11, 1981, the Eagles defeated the Cowboys 20-7 at their former home, Veterans Stadium. Wilbert Montgomery rushed for a 42-yard touchdown to give Philadelphia an early lead that propelled the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance.

Stats and stuff

LB Micah Parsons needs half a sack to reach double digits in sacks for the fourth straight season to begin his career and would become just the fifth player to accomplish the feat in NFL history. … K Brandon Aubrey made a 53-yard and two 58-yard field goals against the Buccaneers, upping his league-leading total to 14 made of 50-plus yards. ... Kenny Pickett went 14 of 24 for 143 yards and a TD in relief of Hurts last week. If he can’t go because of the rib injury and Hurts remains unavailable, Philadelphia could turn to third-stringer Tanner McKee, a 2023 sixth-round pick. Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick, is no stranger to starting, going 14-10 as Pittsburgh’s QB earlier in his career. … Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected against Washington for committing two unsportsmanlike penalties. … The Eagles already set a team record for rushing yards in a season with 2,818, and they are within four rushing touchdowns of tying the club’s best single-season mark of 32, set in 2022. ... Barkley needs just 33 yards from scrimmage to break McCoy’s mark of 2,146 scrimmage yards, set in 2013. … WR A.J. Brown leads the NFL with 16.3 yards a catch and ranks ninth in the league with 1,043 receiving yards, joining Mike Quick (1983–85) as the only Philadelphia players to have three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

Fantasy tip

Philadelphia’s defense is tied for ninth in the NFL with a plus-6 turnover margin. With Hurts possibly sidelined, Philadelphia giving up an uncharacteristic 36 points last week and the chance to clinch the division, the Eagles defense likely will be extra motivated to have a good performance against a Dallas offense that ranks 21st in the league in points.

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