October 23, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Saquon Barkley should be back for the Eagles on Monday night against the Cowboys, and that should help, but only so much.
After four straight losses, the Philadelphia Eagles' season is spiraling. They'll face a similarly disappointing team on Monday Night Football in the Dallas Cowboys, who are obviously a major divisional rival. Normally, an Eagles-Cowboys matchup is a big event with a lot of pregame hype. In this case, Eagles talk has been more about the team's internal issues than the game itself. Here are our five things to watch.
The Cowboys had a historically bad defense in 2025, and it's been arguably worse in 2026. Their team defense stats:
| Cowboys defense | Stat | Rank |
| Points per game | 26.5 | 25 |
| Yards per game | 382.5 | 31 |
| Yards per play | 6.0 | 32 |
| First downs per game | 22.7 | 30 |
| EPA per play | 0.12 | 31 |
| Success rate | 47.89% | 29 |
| Rush yards per game | 149.8 | 32 |
| Rush yards per attempt | 4.7 | 26 |
| EPA per rush | -0.04 | 21 |
| Pass yards per game | 232.7 | 23 |
| Pass yards per attempt | 7.7 | 29 |
| EPA per pass | -0.29 | 32 |
| Average T.O.P. (excluding OT) | 27:37 | 30 |
They can't stop the run, they can't stop the pass, and they have the fewest takeaways in the NFL, with just 3.
Of course, if the Eagles had a good offense they'd be salivating over this matchup. Unfortunately... 👇
Let's go ahead an update the Eagles' putrid offensive stats through the first six weeks of the season:
| Eagles offense | Stat | Rank |
| Points per game | 17.7 | 28 |
| Yards per game | 255.5 | 30 |
| Yards per play | 4.4 | 32 |
| First downs per game | 14.8 | 31 |
| EPA per play | -0.19 | 31 |
| Success rate | 37.14% | 30 |
| Rush yards per game | 82.2 | 29 |
| Rush yards per attempt | 3.7 | 25 |
| EPA per rush | -0.18 | 26 |
| Pass yards per game | 173.3 | 26 |
| Pass yards per attempt | 5.7 | 29 |
| EPA per pass | -0.20 | 28 |
| Average T.O.P. (excluding OT) | 27:23 | 31 |
The Eagles could be getting Saquon Barkley back from a hamstring injury, so that'll help a little. He sure as hell is better than Dameon Pierce. But that should only matter so much, since the structure of the offense is so broken.
On Wednesday, when asked what gives him the confidence that he can get this offense where he wants it, Sean Mannion said the offense is "totally fixable."
"I think you look at a lot of the things that we need to improve, and I think they're totally fixable," he said. "It's a double-edged sword, right? You look at that, and you can get frustrated by it. You can also look at that and put a silver lining on and say, 'Man, if we just handle our simple stuff, we're going to yield a better result.'
"Like I said, it cuts both ways. On the one hand, you're like, 'Man, guys, we should be able to execute this better. We're right there if we just fix a handful of things that are holding us back.' So, it frustrates you on the one hand. The other hand, you're like, 'If we just master our own stuff, I think it'll make compounding improvements across our offense.'"
Mannion was later asked if he could volunteer what some of the simple fixes might be.
"I don't want to get into the details of the scheme, obviously, just for the competitive piece of that," he said. "But I think ultimately, [we] always look — Are we communicating with each other properly, are our fundamentals sound, and is our level of execution where it needs to be?
"Usually, it can kind of fit into those three buckets as a kind of a broad strokes to answer your question. Those are really the three main focal points for us, I think, to execute at a higher level [are] communication, fundamentals, and then the actual act of getting it done with your execution."
That sounds a lot to me like they have no answers.
The Eagles are missing Jalen Hurts and some offensive linemen, so struggles are to be expected. But if we're ranking reasons the offense stinks, I'd have coaching higher on the list than injuries.
Williams had a breakout season in 2025 when he rushed 252 times for 1,201 yards (4.8 YPC) and 11 TDs. This season hasn't been as good so far, as he is averaging a full yard less per rushing attempt. In six games, Williams has rushed 85 times for 317 yards (3.7 YPC). However, he has been a good "fantasy football" player, as he has 7 rushing TDs, plus a receiving TD.
"Javonte is a good runner," Vic Fangio said. "I had him in Denver, so I know what he's all about, and he's really good. They got behind the other night, and it became a passing fest for them, but they'd really like to be more balanced, and I expect them to try and be that."
They'd maybe like to be more balanced, but they haven't been balanced. Dak Prescott is second in the NFL with 246 pass attempts already. He's on pace for 697 (!) pass attempts. That would rank fifth, all-time. They're also passing on 67.5 percent of their plays, which leads the NFL.
The Cowboys probably feel like they have to have Prescott just chuck it all over the yard since they can't stop anyone on defense. But against a team like the Eagles that can't move the ball when they're on offense, I do anticipate that Dallas will try to be more balanced on offense, control the ball, and dominate time of possession like almost every other Eagles opponent has done to them this season.
"They've got great receivers, as everybody knows," Fangio said. "Their tight end group is really, really good. They've got a good offensive line. Dak is one of the top quarterbacks in the league."
After a down season in 2025, CeeDee Lamb is putting up big numbers so far in 2026.
| Cowboys receiving | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| CeeDee Lamb | 48 | 577 | 12.0 | 4 |
| George Pickens | 33 | 428 | 13.0 | 1 |
| Ryan Flournoy | 23 | 234 | 10.2 | 1 |
| Jake Ferguson | 17 | 115 | 6.8 | 3 |
| Javonte Williams | 19 | 103 | 5.4 | 1 |
The Eagles have had some communication issues in their secondary this season. As we noted in our Eagles-Panthers 10 awards post, the Panthers were able to put the game out of reach on a 19-yard TD pass to TE Tommy Tremble, who was left WIDE OPEN down the middle of the field.
No. 2 on the day for Tommy Tremble!
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
CARvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/k2atMk31qb
Asked what happened on that play, DeJean merely said, "Miscommunication."
It looked like DeJean expected Riq Woolen to take Tremble, but ultimately, nobody did, and it was an easy TD. You can see DeJean and Woolen both pointing at Tremble, like, "You get him," lol.
That's not the first time that has happened this season. A similar bust involving DeJean and Woolen happened against the Bears:
Motion flips the passing strength of the formation and then DeJean/Woolen both take the same receiver, leaving Kalif Raymond wide open. I'm not sure who messes up here, but either way you would like to see Mukuba recognize it and help out. None of that happens and it turns into a… pic.twitter.com/NMvvMofxDD
— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) September 29, 2026
The Cowboys' offensive line looks like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Tyler Guyton | Tyler Smith | Cooper Beebe | Tyler Booker | Terence Steele |
The interior of the Cowboys' offensive line is great. Tyler Smith is an All-Pro-caliber player, Cooper Beebe is becoming a solid starting center, and Tyler Booker was good immediately as a rookie last season and he has built on that in Year 2.
The Cowboys' offensive tackles stink. LT Tyler Guyton was the Cowboys' first-round pick in 2024. He had a bad rookie season, and then an inconsistent season in 2025 before a Week 12 ankle injury ended his season. PFF has Guyton down for 19 pressures allowed already this season. At RT is Terence Steele, who got paid big money after one decent season years ago but has been a well below average starter since.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, they aren't likely to exploit Guyton and Steele, because their top three edge defenders — Jalyx Hunt (knee, ankle), Nolan Smith (concussion), and Jonathan Greenard (ankle) — are all hurt, to varying degrees.
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