Cowboys keys to beating Eagles revolve around early shots, big stealth

It’s Eagles week for the Dallas Cowboys which means it’s time to ratchet up the intensity and embrace the rivalry that is awaiting the fans at AT&T Stadium in Week 12. The 8-2 Philadelphia Eagles are slight favorites as the 4-5-1 Cowboys look to make up ground in the 2025 playoff race.

With twice as many wins as Dallas and winners of their Week 1 meeting, the Eagles enter this affair appropriately confident. But the Cowboys are feeling strong in their own right, loaded with new playmakers and holders of homefield advantage, Dallas feels they can win this.

10 games into the season and the Cowboys have a pretty good idea what their strengths and weaknesses are on offense. They also know the strengths and weaknesses of their opponent. Building a strategy to guide the offense this week shouldn’t be difficult because the things the Cowboys are good it, they are really good at.

Play-action, for instance, is the bread and butter of this Cowboys offense.

Faking handoffs has served them well this season, with Dak Prescott No. 2 in the NFL in touchdowns off play-action. While a strong running game isn’t required for play-action to work, it certainly helps. In this area the Cowboys have been extremely fruitful, ranking No. 9 in rushing yards per attempt and No. 6 in EPA per rush.

A large portion of their rushing success comes from making the most from opportunities against light box counts. Javonte Williams has been okay against heavy box counts but he’s doing the real damage when things open up in the box and he has room to operate. The Cowboys can ensure he sees a high degree of light box counts by using their two high-flying receivers to scare the living bejesus out of the defense.

It’s here where the Cowboys, and particularly Brian Schottenheimer, must remain disciplined. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are two WRs who demand involvement in a game. If either one is left out early, they run the risk of checking out mentally. While this is inexcusable, it’s also reality, therefore it’s something they must work to avoid and Schottenheimer has to keep in mind when calling a game.

Logic says the Eagles can’t guard everyone, and even umbrella coverages will allow one of these players to get open on any given play. A smart offense searches for the best matchup and takes what the defense gives them. That could mean a big day for Lamb and a nothing day for Pickens. It could also mean the exact opposite.

Pickens and Lamb have to enter the game aware that outcome is possible because temper tantrums are inexcusable at this point in the year. Schottenheimer has to enter the game knowing the delicate balance and must work to avoid lopsided stat lines when at all possible. Getting both involved early is important but it can’t come at the cost of good decisions.

To recap, the Cowboys need to keep the Eagles defense afraid of Pickens and Lamb so that Philadelphia keeps their defense back and those box counts light. Dallas can build off of their rushing success by sprinkling in their play-action game downfield throughout the game. Prescott has to play it by the book and hit whoever gives him the best opportunity downfield. It's up to Schottenheimer to call plays that scheme his two WRs open so he can ensure both WRs stay involved and invested in the game.

Everything builds off of everything on this offense, which is why when things go right, they go really right. When things go wrong…? Let’s not think about that.

Cowboys: 34, Eagles: 27

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Eagles Elixir: Play-action, box counts key to Cowboys’ success