For the first time this season, we will be focusing more on the coaches on the sideline than the players on the field. With the Philadelphia Eagles extremely banged up on offense, and Brian Schottenheimer scooting closer-and-closer to the hot seat, this may be the biggest game of Schottenheimer’s coaching career.
The Cowboys head into this week seven matchup fully healthy on offense with the Eagles near full health on defense, minus Nolan Smith out due to a concussion. We have yet to really see it so
far this season, but the Cowboys need Schottenheimer to be the “elite play caller” he referred to himself as late last week.
Unlike the last two weeks, the Cowboys should expect a pretty clear picture of Vic Fangio’s plan. Like we have learned with Christian Parker, Fangio is not a heavy blitzer and relies on his coverage scheme to keep opposing offenses under control. While we should expect Fangio to ramp up his pressure a bit more due to the Cowboys struggles to handle it the last few weeks, Dak Prescott should not be dealing with as many exotic blitz looks pre-and-post snap like he did against Tampa Bay and Green Bay.
The Philadelphia Eagles defense currently looks like a shell of itself from recent years. Through six weeks, the Eagles defense ranks 25th in EPA/play, 23rd in drop back EPA/play, and 31st in rush EPA/play. Given the struggles of the Cowboys running game this season, this is a matchup they can get back on track with. Jalen Carter has turned it on over the last few weeks, after playing with an injured wrist early in the season. Zack Baun is still one of the better linebackers in the NFL, but the depth behind him can be targeted in the running game.
With Nolan Smith out tonight, expect the Cowboys to run it early towards AJ Epenesa and/or Arnold Ebikete. With the names like Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Riq Woolen, and Andrew Mukuba in the secondary, you would think the running game would be the only path to success for the Cowboys offense, but their secondary outside of Mitchell has struggled this year in coverage. Similar to Javonte Williams, this is a solid matchup for the Cowboys wide receivers to get back on track both as pass catchers and run blockers.
At the end of the day, this all comes down to Schottenheimer’s ability to prove himself as a play-caller and game-planner. We have not seen much consistency from the Cowboys offensive coaching staff so far this season, but it’s a great week, in a must-win game, to get back on track.
