The Eagles are looking to clinch the NFC East title while completing a rare sweep of the rival Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Philadelphia.
The Eagles (12-3) may have to play without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, who sustained a concussion during last weekend’s 36-33 loss at Washington that snapped their team-record 10-game winning streak.
Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett suffered a rib injury against the Commanders, potentially putting Tanner McKee under center Sunday as Philadelphia tries to sweep Dallas for the first time since 2011.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys (7-8) are clicking with their own QB2 at the controls. Cooper Rush has guided Dallas to wins in four of the last five games, throwing nine touchdown passes and just one interception in that span.
The Cowboys are in the unfamiliar position of playing spoiler, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Two more wins would give Dallas its fourth straight winning season under fifth-year coach Mike McCarthy.
“It’s hard to win games in this league. It’s definitely an end goal just to have a winning season,” Cowboys right guard Brock Hoffman said. “… 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 cruised to a 34-6 win over the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, in the first meeting in Week 10, with Hurts throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for two scores. Rush finished with just 45 yards on 13-of-23 passing.
The Eagles did not practice on Christmas Day, so their injury report Wednesday was an estimation, but the team said Hurts would not have practiced and Pickett would have been a limited participant.
Pickett replaced a woozy Hurts in the first quarter against Washington and finished the drive with 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,” Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said Tuesday. “I thought that was a really cool moment.”
A sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, McKee has yet to appear 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 Tuesday. “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.”
No matter who plays QB, the Eagles likely will lean heavily on Saquon Barkley. With a league-leading 1,838 rushing yards, he needs 268 in the last two games to break Eric Dickerson’s 1984 NFL single-season record of 2,105.
Philadelphia’s initial injury report Wednesday also 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.
The Cowboys’ first injury report also was an estimation. Star wideout CeeDee Lamb (shoulder) and middle linebacker Eric Kendricks (calf) highlighted the list of non-participants. Receiver Jalen Tolbert (finger) was limited, while cornerback Jourdan Lewis (elbow) and defensive tackle Mazi Smith (back) were full participants.
–Field Level Media
