Will the Boys inflict their second defeat of the season on the Eagles?
Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of love and Christmas Eve a night of joy. This year in the NFL, however, that doesn’t apply, as the Dallas Cowboys’ “hate duel” against the Philadelphia Eagles is scheduled for Christmas Eve of all nights.
There are hardly two other teams league-wide that can stand each other less. Yet this matchup is also a very high-scoring one this year. Both are already qualified for the playoffs and are considered top 5 favourites to make the Super Bowl.
Of course, the Eagles’ season in particular reads like a bit of a fairytale. That they would have by far the best record in the NFL on game day 16 was hardly expected by any expert – despite their fairly easy schedule.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, have been showing their second inconsistent face time and again lately. This positive consistency and the significantly lower error rate also speak for Philly on Sunday, which is why our prediction for Cowboys vs. Eagles is a narrow success for the away team, even if Hurts should drop out (which currently seems possible).
Kickoff of this exciting NFC East duel is on Sunday night at 10:25 pm in Dallas. The game can be followed live on ProSieben, on ran.de and on DAZN.
Dallas Cowboys – Statistics & current form
The Cowboys are becoming more and more of a surprise package this year and they can’t like that at all. So while a great game and a win is possible again on Sunday against Philly, it can just as easily backfire completely.
Especially after high leads, the Boys are champagne or seltzer this season. Sometimes they win by more than 30 points (Vikings, Colts), but sometimes they totally collapse like against the Packers or last Sunday against the Jaguars.
Dak Prescott not a top-10 quarterback
More and more, it’s crystallizing that Dak Prescott is simply not a top-10 quarterback. That means he’ll have to put himself in the category of Kirk Cousins or Jared Goff – good, but not good enough to play at the top.
Already eleven interceptions thrown this season underline this thesis, whereby Prescott was even out of several games at the beginning due to a broken thumb. The 17 touchdowns he has thrown don’t help him much, especially since they are expected from this personnel (Lamb, Gallup, Pollard).
Philadelphia the chance for more confidence
Their numerous collapses after high leads naturally gnaw at their own self-esteem, which is traditionally very high in Dallas. Thus, the game against Philly is no longer so decisive for the standings, but even more so for the feeling with which one goes into the playoffs.
Defensively, both teams take little away from each other (19.2 to 19.1 points conceded per game) and offensively, both franchises are also close (28.1 to 29.4 from Dallas’ point of view). But where the Eagles are clearly ahead is their ball security.
They have only lost 13 balls, whereas the Cowboys have already lost 17. This small but subtle difference could also be decisive on Sunday, which is why we favour the slightly higher odds on the away team for Cowboys against Eagles.
Key Players:
QB: Dak Prescott
RB: Tony Pollard
WR: CeeDee Lamb
TE: Dalton Schultz
K: Brett Maher
Philadelphia Eagles – Statistics & current form
The Eagles have the NFC East all but secured. A win against the Cowboys and they would have reclaimed this division from the Boys, which would certainly be a particularly sweet feeling away in Dallas. They will be motivated accordingly – despite their comfortable situation in the standings.
With that, they should also feel a greater looseness, which shouldn’t hurt. They simply have a run and win even games like against Chicago in which not everything goes perfectly for a long time. They have this ability ahead of the Cowboys at the moment.
Hurts better than Prescott?
We have already written about Dak Prescott’s problems above. The situation is exactly the opposite with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Before the season he was declared a wonder package, but in the meantime he has even played his way into the MVP discussion.
We currently assume that he will be able to play on Sunday. Should that change, we would take bets on the Eagles with slight caution. However, the odds then rise to such heights that low stakes bets are again feasible.
Unlike Prescott, Hurts’ strength is the running game (13 rushing touchdowns already!), but he is nevertheless more assured in the passing game as well. For example, Hurts is only at five interceptions, which is less than half of Prescott’s – with five more games total.
Matchup suits the Eagles
Never the less, the running game is still key to the Eagles’ successes. They boast the fourth-best rushing offense with 158.6 rushing yards per game, while averaging 2.1 rushing touchdowns per game this season – a league best.
Since the Cowboys are one of the NFL’s eight weakest teams against the run (133.1 yards conceded per game), that naturally suits the Eagles. Another point to favour a tip on the Eagles in Dallas vs Philly.
Key Players:
QB: Jalen Hurts
RB: Miles Sanders
WR: A.J. Brown
TE: Grant Calcaterra
K: Jake Elliott
Dallas Cowboys – Philadelphia Eagles Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
This duel is naturally very common to see due to the same division. Even though Philly won the last duel in October, the Cowboys have set the tone here in recent years.
The Texans have won seven of the last ten meetings. The Eagles will be all the more motivated to improve on that record. If not this year, when will they do it?
We are betting that they will not let up against Dallas either and see them narrowly ahead in the end. Thus, the odds are on Philly to win in Dallas vs. Philadelphia. Even a possible loss of Jalen Hurts does not change anything, although we currently assume that he will be able to play.
Dallas Cowboys – Philadelphia Eagles Tip
The Cowboys are enormously strong at home, which of course has to be taken into consideration. However, the Eagles are a power away from home and have not lost a single away game this season (7-0). With their current run, it is almost impossible to bet against them.
We see it the same way. Most importantly, the matchup with one of the weaker run defenses also works in their favour, making them favourites. With Cowboys vs. Eagles, a bet on Philly is thus our clear No. 1 betting recommendation.
Betting on a touchdown by Jalen Hurts is of course also an option, if he will start. He has already scored 13 touchdowns this season, by far the most of any quarterback. Most recently, against Chicago, he found the end zone three times on foot.
