Game Time:  8:15 PM ET, Saturday, January 8th, 2022

Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Where to Watch:  ABC ESPN

 

FanDuel: point spread: NL

BetMGM: Cowboys -7; O/U 42.5

Caesars: Cowboys -7; O/U 42.5 points

 

Cowboys: 11-5, 1st place NFC East

Eagles: 6-10, 2nd place NFC East

At the start of this season the NFC East looked like the worst division in football.  That’s because over the last 2 seasons the division where a .500 finish was good enough to win… and all four teams struggled to try to get to that mark and simply didn’t. The Cowboys and Eagles were so very disappointing in 2020 because they finished 3rd and 4th in the NFC East while the Washington Football Team finished in first place with a 7-9 record.  It was the worst division.  This season things turned around a bit.  Sure, The New York Giants are terrible at 4-12 and the Washington Football Team is not great at 6-10… both still having to play the magical new 17th game.  Yet for the Cowboys at 11-5 and the Eagles at 9-7.  The Cowboys clinched the Division win and the Eagles clinched a wild card playoff spot.  They both still have a game left, but both are in the postseason.  

The Dallas Cowboys were beaten by the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday 25-22.  It was a loss for the Cowboys and a loss ATS and it hit the Under.  The Cowboys went in favored but had trouble stopping QB Kyler Murray in his favorite stadium. (Murray is unbeaten in the Cowboys stadium going back to when his high school played there for a state Championship).  QB Dak Prescott struggled to get the Cowboys’ offense going early, but did finish the day with 3 TD passes and a completion for a two point conversion.   Once again Head Coach Mike McCarthy failed to properly manage the game and the Cowboys were stuck without a time out and unable to review a bad call on a fumble on what could have been the game winning drive. Still, the season is going well.  The Cowboys have clinched the win in their division.  With just the Eagles game left to play on the season and the playoffs right behind that, they may sit key players to avoid the risk of injury.

The Eagles are on a 4-game winning streak and bound for a wild card spot.  They must be a good team?... no.  The Eagles are a bad team masquerading as a playoff team.  This whole winning season is just an elaborate trick of scheduling. These are the teams they have beaten: The Washington Football Team (twice), The New York Giants, The New York Jets, The New Orleans Saints, The Denver Broncos, The Detroit Lions, The Carolina Panthers, and the Atlanta Falcons… not a winner in the bunch.  Not only did they not beat any of the good teams they faced… They also lost once to the lowly New York Giants.  The four-game winning streak reads NYG, Wash, NYJ, and Wash…. A stretch of schedule that is the envy of every other team not named the Lions.  Still, as winners of 7 of their last ten games the Eagles led by QB Jalen Hurts are guaranteed their playoff spot, but have no reason to rest anyone.

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RECENT FORM

Dallas is 11-5 on the season, but 12-4 ATS.  They have logged 7 Overs and 9 Unders.  They are 6-2 in road games.

 

Philly is 9-76 on the season, but 8-7-1 ATS.  They have notched 9 Overs and 7 Unders.  They are only 3-4 in home games.

 

The Cowboys are 1st in scoring with 29.9 ppg, 2nd in yards with 402.8 ypg.  That breaks down to 3rd in passing and 10th in rushing.  They are a nearly perfectly balanced team.

The Eagles are 12th in scoring with 26.1 ppg, 14th in yards with 362.8 ypg.  They are a tale of two units as they are ranked 22nd in defending the pass and 1st in defending the run.

The Cowboys defense is ranked 19th in the league while allowing 353.3 yards per game… They are 24th in defending the pass and 15th in stopping the run.  They do step up in the red zone however as they are ranked 7th in defending points while only allowing 20.8 ppg.

The Eagles defense is ranked 7th while allowing 319.7 yards per game.  They are 11th in defending the pass and 7th in defending the run.  They are ranked 9th in defending points with a razor thin difference form the Cowboys while allowing 20.9 ppg

Our prediction for Saturday, January 8th is… Cowboys 27 - Eagles 17

With both teams guaranteed a spot in the postseason… the result will be conservative game calling and a slow low scoring game.  Expect back-ups in key spots on both units of both teams.

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The Cowboys are 7-1 ATS in road games this season.

The Cowboys are 10-1 ATS against conference opponents this season.

The Eagles are 1-3 ATS versus division opponents this season.

 

Cowboys: RB Ezekiel Elliot (knee) Quest ** RB Tony Pollard (foot) Quest ** S Jayron Kearse (hamstring) Quest ** TE Blake Jarwin (hip) Quest

Eagles: QB Jalen Hurts (ankle) Quest ** OL Landon Dickerson (thumb) Quest ** WR Quez Watkins (knee) Quest ** 

Dallas: QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliot, WR Michael Gallup, WR Amari Cooper, WR CeeDee Lamb, TE Dalton Schultz, LT Tyron Smith, LG Connor Williams, C Tyler Biadasz, RG Zach Martin, RT La’el Collins

Philly: QB Jalen Hurts, RB Boston Scott, WR DeVonta Smith, TE Tyree jackson, TE Dallas Goedert, TE Jack Stoll, LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, C Jason Kelce, RG Nate Herbig, RT Lane Johnson

Dallas

Touchdowns: Ezekiel Elliot 10

Rushing Yards: Ezekiel Elliot 915

Passing Yards: Dak Prescott 4,154

Receiving Yards: CeeDee Lamb 1057

Sacks: Micah Parsons 13

Interceptions: Trevon Diggs 11

Philly

Touchdowns: Jalen Hurts 10

Rushing Yards: Jalen Hurts 784

Passing Hurts: Jalen Hurts 3,144

Receiving Yards: DeVonta Smith 875

Sacks: Javon Hargrave 7.5

Interceptions: Darius Slay 3

 

Sunny and cold.  33*