Eagles-Cowboys preview: Five things to watch

The Philadelphia Eagles will kick off the NFL season on Thursday night against the Micah Parsons-less Dallas Cowboys. Here are five things to watch.

1) The Eagles' rushing attack vs. the Cowboys' "improved" run defense

The Cowboys' run defense was abysmal in 2024:

Cowboys run D Stat NFL rank Rush yards allowed per game 137.1 29 Rush 1st downs allowed per game 8.3 31 Rushing TDs allowed 25 32 Yards per rush allowed 4.8 28 Rush DVOA - 29

This offseason, the Cowboys lost their best run defender in DeMarcus Lawrence, and they traded for LB Kenneth Murray to replace the injured DeMarvion Overshown. Grain of salt with PFF as always, but they have given Murray horrid run defense grades for years. NT Mazi Smith has also continued to be a major disappointment.

It might be pointed out here that the Cowboys will have a new defense in 2025, with the hiring of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Of course, Eberflus' Bears defense finished 31st in run defense DVOA last year.

The Cowboys did add Kenny Clark in the Micah Parsons trade, and Jerry Jones spoke at length about how Clark will help the Cowboys' run defense. Eh.

Meanwhile, the Eagles have an elite rushing offense led by Saquon Barkley, who was arguably the best player in the NFL last season; and Jalen Hurts, who doesn't get enough recognition for his contributions to the Eagles' rushing attack.

The Eagles rushed for 366 yards in two blowout wins over the Cowboys in 2024.

2) The Eagles' receivers vs. the Cowboys' banged-up cornerbacks

The Cowboys are thin at corner. Their projected starters are Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Kaiir Elam. Let's cover them each individually.

• Trevon Diggs: In January, Diggs had a "chondral tissue graft procedure" on his left knee. He also tore an ACL in that same knee in 2023. Diggs had a huge year in 2021 (11 INTs, 2 pick-sixes), but hasn't been the same player since because of injuries and inconsistency.

Diggs returned to practice last Monday. To be determined if he can get into football shape in 10 days, but his availability on Thursday night appears to be a real possibility. Still, even if he is able to return to the lineup in time for the start of the season, what is he going to look like?

• DaRon Bland: Like Diggs, Bland also has a monster season in the NFL under his belt, in 2023, when he had 9 INTs, 5 (!) of which he returned for TDs. However, in his follow-up season, Bland missed the first 10 games of the season with a stress fracture in his foot. He played the final 7 games, and had 0 INTs.

With 2024 slot corner Jourdan Lewis leaving in free agency, Bland is likely play outside in the base defense, and shift inside to the slot in nickel.

• Kaiir Elam: The Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick in 2026 to the Bills for Elam and a sixth-round pick in 2025. Elam is 6'1 and he runs a 4.39 40, but for whatever reason he was a first-round bust for the Bills. He has just 12 career starts in 3 seasons.

The Cowboys' primary backup corners are all unavailable:

• Caelen Carson (IR): Carson is a second-year player who started five games for the Cowboys as a rookie last season. He suffered a hyperextended knee in training camp, and will begin the season on IR.

• Shavon Revel Jr. (NFI): Revel was the Cowboys' third round pick. He tore an ACL in September of last year, ending his season. Otherwise, he'd have been picked much higher. He will miss at least the first four games of the season on the non-football injury list.

• Josh Butler (PUP): Butler is a depth corner who started three games for the Cowboys last season. He tore an ACL in 2024, ending his season. He'll begin the 2025 season on the PUP list.

So who is left in reserve at CB for the Cowboys? A couple of guys they claimed off of waivers (Trikweze Bridges and Reddy Stewart), and a career special teams guy (C.J. Goodwin). 😬😬😬

Anyway, that group will have their hands full with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson.

3) The Eagles' cornerbacks vs. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens

The Eagles' concerns at cornerback are child's play in comparison to the Cowboys' cornerback issues, but they are concerns nevertheless.

Quinyon Mitchell and slot corner Cooper DeJean are both primed for stardom, but the CB2, likely to be manned by Adoree' Jackson, is the most worrisome spot in the starting lineup, on either side of the ball.

And certainly, the Cowboys have a trio of receivers who can exploit that in Lamb, Pickens, and playmaker KaVontae Turpin.

4) Where might the Eagles go feastin'?

The Cowboys' offensive line will look like this in 2025:

LT LG C RG RT Tyler Guyton Tyler Smith Cooper Beebe Tyler Booker Terence Steele

Let's start with the interior.

• Smith is a very good player. He's the only sure thing along the offensive line.

• Beebe had a decent rookie season starting at center after mostly playing guard in college. It's reasonable to assume he'll improve in 2025.

• Booker, the Cowboys' rookie first-round pick, has prototypical size at 6'5, 321, with 34 1/2" arms, and gigantic hands. As you might expect of a player his size, he gets movement in the run game, and he can anchor against power in pass protection. He also does a nice job of reading stunts and twists, and most importantly to the Cowboys, apparently, is that he is widely regarded as a smart player with leadership intangibles.

But, man, he is not a great athlete, to put it kindly.

That 10-yard split... Yeesh. That's like, civilian speed. Still, the interior of the Cowboys' O-line could (maybe should?) be fine.

The tackles? Yuck. 🤢

• At RT, Steele signed a five-year deal worth $82.5 million during the 2023 offseason after a very good 2022 season. He has since been a below-average starter, allowing 17 sacks over the last two seasons, per PFF.

• At LT, Guyton started as a rookie in 2024, and finished second in the NFL with 18 penalties. PFF had him down (very generously) for 6 sacks in 2024. He got benched multiple times during the season.

If there were a player that the Cowboys really needed to have a good training camp this summer, it was Guyton, but he broke a bone in his knee and missed the bulk of camp. Guyton has since returned to practice in a limited capacity, and may or may not play Week 1.

If Guyton can't play, 2024 seventh-round pick Nate Thomas (0 career snaps) will likely start in his place.

Personally, I would take any other tackle tandem in the NFC over Guyton and Steele.

With the Cowboys likely to give Booker a lot of help against Jalen Carter on the interior, expect Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt to have one-on-one opportunities all night against these tackles.

#FeastinMeter: 7/10 turkey legs. 🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗

5) The Cowboys have a couple of elite special teams weapons

The Cowboys might have the best kicker in the NFL in Brandon Aubrey, who is a career 24 of 27 (88.9 percent!) from 50+ yards. He also has the second-longest made field goal in NFL history, at 65 yards.

What's crazy about that kick is that it was the first quarter. It's not like it was with seconds left in the half. The Cowboys were confident enough that Aubrey would make that long-ass kick that they were willing to risk giving the Ravens the ball at the Cowboys' 45-yard line instead of pinning them deep at around the Ravens' 10.

Aubrey is a weapon who changes in-game strategy.

The Cowboys also have arguably the best return specialist in the NFL in KaVontae Turpin. He can do things like this:

Turpin's M.O. is to slow play his returns, like he did in the video above. He kind of lulls you to sleep by almost jogging to start his returns, and then he turns on the jets and hits top speed in a blink.

Turpin's value is higher this season than it was a year ago with the NFL's new rule that touchbacks come all the way out to the 35 yard line. The Eagles might be inclined to just concede the 35-yard line against a team with a roster that they otherwise completely outclass.

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