QB Hurts expected to be out as Eagles visit Cowboys

PHILADELPHIA (13-1) at DALLAS (10-4)

Saturday, 4:25 p.m. EST, FOX

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Cowboys by 4 1/2

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Eagles 8-6; Cowboys 8-6

SERIES RECORD: Cowboys lead 72-55

LAST MEETING: Eagles beat Cowboys 26-17 on Oct. 16 in Philadelphia.

LAST WEEK: Eagles beat Bears 25-20; Cowboys lost to Jaguars 40-34 in OT

EAGLES OFFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (4), PASS (11), SCORING (2)

EAGLES DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (19), PASS (1), SCORING (6)

COWBOYS OFFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (7), PASS (17), SCORING (3)

COWBOYS DEFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (T24), PASS (3), SCORING (T7)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Eagles plus-12; Cowboys plus-9

EAGLES PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Gardner Minshew. With Jalen Hurts expected to be sidelined by a sprained right shoulder, Minshew is in line for his first start for Philadelphia since a meaningless regular-season finale last year against the Cowboys. The Eagles had clinched a playoff berth as one of the lower seeds a year ago with Dallas locked in as the NFC East champion and rolling to a 51-26 victory. Now Philadelphia is a win away from the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and the division title. Minshew has an 8-14 record in 22 starts, all but two of those with Jacksonville.

COWBOYS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR T.Y. Hilton appears in line to make his Dallas debut almost two weeks after signing as a free agent. Hilton spent his first 10 years with the Colts, who didn’t bring him back after an injury-shortened 2021 season. The 33-year-old went unsigned until Dallas added him. QB Dak Prescott could use a deep threat, and Hilton says he can be one.

KEY MATCHUP: Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb vs. Eagles CB Darius Slay. These two figure to see plenty of each other in the rematch after Slay stepped in front of Lamb for one of three interceptions of Cooper Rush in the Dallas backup’s final game filling in for the injured Prescott in Week 6. Slay hasn’t had an interception since, and Lamb is on perhaps the best stretch of his career with three 100-yard games in the past six. Lamb just made the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year, and Slay is in for the fifth time.

KEY INJURIES: TE Dallas Goedert is expected back after missing five games with a shoulder injury. With Minshew starting in place of an injured Hurts last season, Goedert had six catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over the New York Jets. … Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch won’t play this week after injuring his neck against Jacksonville, but the club is hopeful he will return this season. … DE Dorance Armstrong should be available coming off a knee injury.

SERIES NOTES: The Cowboys have won four consecutive home games in the series. … Philadelphia’s nine-point win in the first meeting this season ended a four-game streak of double-digit margins, three of them Dallas victories.

STATS AND STUFF: The Eagles can also clinch the top seed in the NFC with a tie and a Minnesota loss or tie. … The Cowboys clinched a playoff spot when the New York Giants beat Washington last weekend. Dallas is close to locking up the fifth seed in the NFC, which would mean a wild-card game at the NFC South champion. … Prescott and Hurts are two of the three quarterbacks in NFL/AFL history with at 300 yards passing and three rushing TDs in the same game. Hurts did it last week against the Bears, Prescott in Week 2 of 2020 in a 40-39 victory over Atlanta. The other was Jack Kemp in 1963, when the Buffalo Bills were in the AFL. … This is a matchup of the top two teams in the NFL in sacks. The Eagles have 55, with 19 in the past three games. The pace has slowed a bit for the Cowboys, who have 49 but with just four the past three weeks. Philadelphia’s sacks total is the most through 14 games since New Orleans had 58 in 2000. … The matchup includes three players with double-digit sacks: Micah Parsons (13) for Dallas, and Haason Reddick (12) and Javon Hargrave (10) for Philadelphia. Reddick had two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery against the Bears. … The Eagles can set club records with a 14th victory this season and a 10th straight road win going back to last season. Philadelphia is the NFL’s only undefeated road team this season. … The Eagles have a 1,000-yard rusher (Miles Sanders) and a 1,000-yard receiver (A.J. Brown) with at least 10 touchdowns apiece for just the second time in franchise history. The other pair was Ricky Watters and Irving Fryar in 1996, when the Eagles lost in the wild-card round. … Prescott is 26-6 against the NFC East. … Cowboys RB Tony Pollard needs 31 yards rushing for his first 1,000-yard season. … RB Ezekiel Elliott can join Jonathan Taylor of Indianapolis and former Carolina back DeAngelo Williams as the only players in the past 15 years with a rushing TD in eight consecutive games. … CB Trevon Diggs has four interceptions and eight pass breakups in four games against the Eagles. … CB DaRon Bland has four interceptions, second among rookies to Seattle’s Tariq Woolen (six). … K Brett Maher needs one field goal of at least 50 yards to tie the NFL record of 10 in one season.

FANTASY TIP: Prescott has eight touchdown passes without an interception in his past two starts against the Eagles.

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