Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles: Dallas rushing duo set to dominate in Philly

Ben Steele
21 December 2019

Dak Prescott is nursing an injury so will be reliant on the running game this week

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As the NFL moves in to Week 16, Ben Steele previews the Dallas Cowboys' trip to Philadelphia, where a win for either side should decide the NFC East champ...

"Dallas consistently found success on the ground in a Week 7 win over Philadelphia, with Ezekiel Elliott collecting 111 rushing yards and three different Cowboys scoring a running touchdown, so look for similar success again this week."

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday, 21:25 GMT
Live on Sky Sports Action

Title on the line in Philadelphia

In the penultimate week of the season eight of the 12 playoff teams are already confirmed, and division titles are starting to be wrapped up, but the biggest question mark lies in the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are both 7-7, the Cowboys top the division thanks to their 37-10 win over the Eagles in Week 7, and Sunday's game will almost certainly be the division decider. In Week 17 Dallas play the Washington Redskins while the Eagles play the New York Giants, both games that they should win easily, so this is Philadelphia's last chance to overtake the Cowboys.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys are coming off their first major win of the season and will be feeling confident. A dominant 44-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams has made Dallas rightful favourites to win this game, and with a playoff spot on the line head coach Jason Garrett will be looking for a repeat performance. Look for the Cowboys cover the 1.5 point spread on their way to their third NFC East Championship in four years.

Cowboys will rely on running

This season has been a real statement year for Dallas QB Dak Prescott; with two games to go he has already posted career highs in passing yards and touchdowns as his connection with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup has born fruit. However, this week will probably see the Cowboys revert to the formula they have used regularly over the last few years, run the ball early and often.

Dallas consistently found success on the ground in a Week 7 win over Philadelphia, with Ezekiel Elliott collecting 111 rushing yards and three different Cowboys scoring a running touchdown, so look for similar success again this week. Prescott is nursing a shoulder problem so the running game will need to be relied on even more. Last week Elliott had 117 yards on the ground, and scored twice but it was arguably his backup Tony Pollard who stole the show. Pollard, a fourth round selection in this year's draft, had 131 yards on 12 carries averaging nearly 11 yards per carry. I'm expecting both Pollard and Elliott to have success, Zeke is always a threat to score, while Pollard (at 6/1) looks good value to score anytime, combine the two Dallas runners in a Same Game Multi.

Sanders can help Eagles keep it close

The Philadelphia Eagles have been exceptionally inconsistent this season, one week they are holding the Seattle Seahawks, a Super Bowl contender, to 17 points but failing to score a touchdown of their own, then the next week they're losing a shootout to the lowly Miami Dolphins. Their seeming inability to put together a complete game on both sides of the ball is the reason they aren't a legitimate playoff contender at this point, although if last week is anything to go by, one man will at least give them a chance this weekend.

Miles Sanders had 172 total yards and two touchdowns against the Washington Redskins as he continues to establish himself as the Eagles workhorse. The rookie running back has had at least 20 touches in each of the last three games and is starting to show his talents. The Cowboys only gave up 22 rushing yards last week, a rare good game against the run that was partly down to the fact the LA Rams had to turn to the passing game as they tried to mount a comeback. I'm backing Sanders to continue his good form and find the endzone at least once on Sunday.