Cowboys and Eagles Face Off With Divisional Lead Still Contested

The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles meet Monday night in Philadelphia, both carrying 2-4 records. A victory for either squad would place them within one game of the division lead. The NFC East currently sits in a state of historical disarray, with no team in the division securing a win in the past two weeks. According to NFL records, this is the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that a division has gone winless across two consecutive weeks.

The New York Giants hold the division lead at 3-2-1. The Cowboys and Eagles trail them by a half-game margin. Philadelphia is on a four-game losing streak, the first of that length since 2020. The Eagles have scored only 58 points across those four losses, indicating offensive issues that extend beyond the quarterback position. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is on injured reserve and will miss the rest of the season due to blood clots.

Tanner McKee is set to start for the Eagles. He spent most of his first two NFL seasons as a backup. His start last week against Carolina was the first meaningful start of his career. He had just two days of first-team practice before that game. This week, McKee has more than a full week to work with first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. McKee stated, "I feel like I have a good preparation process." He plans to increase his meetings with the coaching staff rather than preparing alone.

The Eagles' running game faces significant injuries. Saquon Barkley has missed more than two games with a hamstring injury, though a return is possible. Backups Will Shipley and Tank Bigsby are also out. Carson Steele, signed from the practice squad last week, injured his shoulder against Carolina. Dameon Pierce was the only running back to carry the ball in that game, rushing for 35 yards. Dallas allows 4.7 yards per carry this season.

The Cowboys face their own struggles. They rank 30th in the league in defense under first-year coordinator Christian Parker. Offensively, they scored only 29 points combined in their last two losses. That includes a 23-13 defeat to Green Bay last week. They have scored fewer than 20 points in consecutive Dak Prescott starts for the first time since 2019.

Owner Jerry Jones addressed the coaching situation at the NFL's annual fall meeting on Wednesday. He said he does not expect to make more coaching changes this season. He described the recent hiring of longtime defensive assistant Mike Pettine as a strategic and unique move.

Several individual milestones are on the line. Javonte Williams has seven rushing touchdowns through the first six games, the second most for a Cowboys player in that span. He trails only Emmitt Smith's totals from 1994 and 1995. CeeDee Lamb has 48 receptions, third in the NFL and the most in franchise history through six games. He is approaching 8,000 career receiving yards. Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert needs one catch to move into third place on the franchise's career receptions list.

Dallas is favored by 4 points. The Cowboys are 3-3 against the spread, while the Eagles are 1-5. Dallas leads the all-time series 72-58 and won the last meeting 24-21 on Nov. 23, 2025. Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m. CST on ESPN. The Eagles play at Washington on Nov. 1, then host the Giants. That divisional stretch will determine if their season can still be salvaged.