Eagles-Cowboys Week 16 Predictions: Will Carson Wentz Answer Bell In Biggest Game Of Career?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It all comes down to this, just how everyone drew it up: Week 16, Lincoln Financial Field, late December, the NFC East on the line. The Philadelphia Eagles, through all of the ups and downs -- and there have been many downs -- can still claw their way to a division title.
That battle begins Sunday when they welcome the Dallas Cowboys to town. At 7-7, both teams are tied for first place in the division, but only the Cowboys can clinch this weekend. If the Eagles lose, they're done. If they win, they'll need either a win against the Giants or a Cowboys loss/tie to Washington to clinch in Week 17.
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For the Birds, it's a really simple quest this weekend. Win, and they're in a great position to win the NFC East. Lose, and the countdown to training camp begins.
Can the Eagles do it? CBS3's football experts give their predictions.
Carson Wentz has put this offense on his shoulders lately, pulling out two come-from-behind wins in consecutive weeks. He threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, including perfectly thrown TD balls to Miles Sanders and Greg Ward. However, in his first meeting against Dallas this year, Carson was sacked three times and threw an interception in the 37-10 loss. What must Carson do differently against the Cowboys this time around?
Sports Director Don Bell: The first thing that comes to mind is: improve ball security. Wentz is four years into his career and shows the pocket awareness of a novice. In fact, he's second in the NFL in fumbles (14), which trails only Giants rookie QB Daniel Jones. At times, he's nothing short of reckless with the ball and he's been able to cheat football death in back-to-back weeks against talent deficient rivals. In a football sense, he needs to grow-up. One other piece of advice: take what the defense gives you. Instead of taking sacks and throwing the ball away, settle for the four-yard check down to the Boston Scotts of the world. You can't go broke taking a profit.
Sports Reporter Lesley Van Arsdall: For starters, Wentz needs to take care of the football. Obviously, fumbling has been a major issue. But I think an equally daunting problem has been his streaky accuracy passing the football. Wentz needs to be locked in and aware of his surroundings -- ball security will be key against the Cowboys.
Reporter Pat Gallen: Be relaxed. Don't try to win the game on every play. They're going to have to play clean football, and it's likely that with the way the Eagles' defense has been playing, that Carson is going to have to score a few times. I'm just worried about the added pressure getting to him. This is one of the biggest games he's ever played in.
Reporter Dan Koob: Wentz can't fumble the football. Wentz has become synonymous with fumbling the last month with 11 fumbles in his last five games (losing five). He fumbled twice in the first half against the Cowboys and the Eagles immediately fell into a 14-0 hole. That's not all Wentz's fault, but with a distinct talent disadvantage around him, he has to keep the Eagles on the plus-side of the turnover battle to win.
Sports Producer Andy Wheeler: I'm not certain there is anything Wentz can do. He can play the way he's played the past few weeks, but truth be told, he's played well against really awful teams. He can try to get the ball out quicker, but unless the Cowboys lose a significant amount of talent on the defensive side of the ball, he may not be able to do anything to improve.
Miles Sanders seems to be a star in the making. After rushing for 122 yards and catching six balls for 50 yards and a touchdown, he set franchise records for most yards rushing and total yards from scrimmage by a rookie. How will Doug Pederson and company scheme Sanders against the Dallas defense that gives up nearly 104 rushing yards a game?
Bell: Sanders is the only bonafide game-breaker on the offense. (Sidebar: I have a sneaking suspicion Scott is the other, but I'd like to see more.) This is why Sanders should never come off the field. Doug Pederson has to get Sanders the ball by any means necessary. Also, given the state of the wide receiver position, using him as a weapon underneath coverage to create space for others is a good way to go.
Van Arsdall: The scheme should be simple: get Sanders more touches. When he has the ball in his hands, great things tend to happen. So whether it's from the backfield or catching passes, just get the rookie the ball and let him do what he does best.
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Gallen: I thought what they did last week was perfect. A great balance of run/pass involvement for the guy who is clearly their most explosive offensive weapon. I'd say don't change anything schematically from the previous week. Get him 18 to 22 touches on the ground and four to six catches out of the backfield and he should have a productive day.
Koob: The progression of Sanders in the second half of the season has to make even the biggest Eagles Grinch smile. He's improved his vision, how he finishes runs and has continued to be explosive deep into his rookie season all while avoiding the dreaded "rookie wall." He's the most dynamic player on the Eagles' offense and he needs to be fed.
Wheeler: They'll throw. I'd be shocked if they run Sanders more than they throw to him. The only other problem you run into is that any coaching staff worth its salt knows that it has to stop Sanders so I'm certain the Cowboys are going to prepare for him and attempt to shut him down.
The Eagles' secondary got torched once again by Washington rookie Terry McLaurin as he caught five passes for 130 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown. Possibly more concerning is that the defense was unable to record a sack against rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins as he was able to throw for 261 yards and two touchdowns. This defense continues to get steamrolled by bad teams. How concerned are you about the Jim Schwartz-led defense heading into this must-win game?
Bell: Very. Consider this: the Eagles' secondary has allowed 10 different 100-yard receiving performances this season. Ten! One of those was Amari Cooper, who beat them for 105 yards on Oct. 20. On that day, the Cowboys beat the Eagles by 27 points. Is this Jim Schwartz-led defense capable of stopping Dallas? They held Russell Wilson and Tom Brady to a total of 34 points, so the answer is yes. Is it likely? Nope.
Van Arsdall: Very concerned. The secondary has been absolutely picked apart the past two weeks and the once-dominant defensive line has disappeared, so concerned might be an understatement. We tend to overlook major issues after two last-minute wins, but if the defense breaks down against Dallas, everyone will have the "D" in their crosshairs.
Gallen: Pretty concerned with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup on the way. I'd say nine out of ten on the concerned scale. Cooper has been banged up this year, but he's still capable of throwing up 150-plus yards seemingly in an instant. And don't sleep on Gallup as he is on the cusp of a 1,000-yard season. The best thing to do is understand that one of these guys is breaking a long TD. Just hope that they don't go off. Hold on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Koob: What's the highest code-alert level? Red? Bright red? Stare-into-the-sun-orange? Whatever it is, that's where I'm at. They can't get to the quarterback and they can't cover on the back end.
Wheeler: Very concerned. Look, on paper and on the field the Cowboys are a better football team, player for player, than the Eagles. There is no debate. That being said, it should come down to the coaching staffs. If the game does come down to that, I like the Eagles' chances with Schwartz vs. Garrett. As for the game plan, the Birds have to stop Ezekiel Elliott and slow down the Cowboys' passing game. Simple enough to say, much harder to do.
It all comes down to this for the Birds. If they beat the Cowboys, they miraculously still have a chance to win the NFC East. If they lose, their playoff dreams are dashed. Last time these two teams met in Week 7, the Birds were embarrassed on Sunday Night Football in the 37-10 loss to Dallas. With so much on the line, how will this Eagles team respond?
Bell: The same way they responded against the Giants and Washington. They'll play hard, often flawed but gritty football, with the limited talent they have available. It's hard to compete for division titles when, for example, your top three receivers (Greg Ward, JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Rob Davis) have a career total of 27 catches.
Van Arsdall: Honestly, if anyone says they know how the Eagles will respond then they haven't been watching the first 14 games of this season. The one and only thing we've learned about this team is, they are inconsistent and unpredictable. I wouldn't be surprised if they came out against Dallas and dominated. But would I be surprised if they laid an egg on Sunday? Nope. That's just the nature of the 2019 Eagles. You don't know what team you're getting from week to week. It's what made this season exciting at times and frustrating at others.
Gallen: If we only knew! This has been a season from hell and I guess being in the hunt for the playoffs late in the year is better than not? That said, while my prediction record has been solid this year in picking Eagles games (12-2, NBD) I honestly thought they had 13-win talent and potential. That has obviously not been the case. My point is, it has been a down year by almost every measure, but I think they understand the gravity of the situation. Home game. Cowboys. Playoffs hanging in the balance. If they don't respond for this one, then they certainly don't deserve to be anywhere near the playoffs. And let's face it, with the way they've played this year, they probably don't anyway, but here we are.
Koob: I keep getting killed online for "not being an Eagles fan" because I don't pick the Eagles to win every week. Journalism guidelines aside, it is possible to look at a team objectively and figure out if they're any good. Here it goes:
- The Eagles have gotten fat and happy on bad teams
- The Cowboys are the better team on paper
- The Cowboys have a point differential of plus-90
- The Eagles differential is plus-6
- Thus, the Cowboys ceiling is higher when they're at their best
- The Cowboys have three capable wide receivers
- The Eagles can't cover one capable wide receiver
- The Cowboys have Elliott, who averages 160-plus yards against the Eagles
- The Cowboys have Jason Garrett
That last one is a joke.
Wheeler: They have to respond like professional football players. They know what's on the line, they know what's at stake. They will try their best. It comes down to this game and they will have to outplay a better team. My guess is the game will be closer because of this, but that doesn't mean they can outplay Dallas.
Predictions?
Bell: If we're being objective, the Cowboys have a top-10 roster with a host of game-changing players 25-and-under approaching their primes. The Eagles have the third-oldest roster in the NFL and injuries galore. If not for poor coaching and management, Dallas would have run away with this division. Can you imagine if, say, Mike Tomlin coached this team?! Where would they be?
When teams are evenly matched, grit, drive and strategy play major roles. When there's a major talent disparity, the most gifted team often wins.
Cowboys 27, Eagles 22.
Van Arsdall: Feeling cautiously optimistic. Eagles win, 28-24.
Gallen: Dak Prescott's shoulder is an issue and although he says he'll be OK on Sunday, that is BIG. Because of that, plus a rowdy home-field, I think the Eagles sneak by.
Eagles 28-Cowboys 23.
Koob: The Eagles are what they are at this point. The home crowd will juice them up, but the Cowboys are a better team from a personnel standpoint. I think they win. Call it 27-21. None of that felt good to type.
Wheeler: Cowboys win, 31-17.